Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Tuesday Trip Report: Sage Finishes the NH48 on the Tripyramids. November 6, 2011

Livermore Trail, Scaur Ridge Trail, Pine Bend Trail, Tripyramid Trail.

About 12 miles roundtrip, 3000 feet of elevation gain.

Sage's 48th 4K!

First, a huge thank you to all the people who sent emails of congratulations and messages of support. Sage was overwhelmed by all the good wishes. :)

Now for the trip report --

Joining us on this happy occasion were Happy Hiker, MadRiver, Tim C, DaveBear, Mike, Thor, and, of course, Hugh and Alex.





We set off on the Livermore Trail in fine spirits.















Along the way, Alex played with Thor...



Looks like Irene took a bit of a toll...



Breaking for a snack...





Heading up the Scaur Ridge Trail...







The intersection with Pine Bend Trail...



Going up...





On the summit of North Tripyramid, 4K #47.



On the actual high point...



Snack time...



Happy Hiker brought Munchkins (yum!)...



Heading down to the col between the peaks...



Heading back up...

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Sage pauses to gaze upon Mount Tecumseh, her first 4K. She ascended Tecumseh in February 2010, at the age of four.



The group makes the traditional final summit archway...



Here she comes...



...and there she is, on the summit of Middle Tripyramid, her final 4K!



Views from the top...



Snack break at the viewpoint...













An intense argument broke out over which peak was which...



The boys resolved it somehow...(someone please give me a caption for the below photograph!)...



DaveBear enjoys the day...



After consuming vast amounts of chocolate and munchkins, we headed down. Sage and Alex introduced Hugh to the art of buttsliding...





Returning to the Livermore Trail...









On the way out, Alex slayed the Invisible Yeti...





The girls were extremely energetic on the return and ran most of the final mile...


Beautiful moonrise...



Almost there!



Finished. :)





Our friend Sandy was waiting at the trailhead with her kids, Kyle and Kayla.



Happy Hiker looking happy...



MadRiver gave Sage her NH48 patch...



Proud Papa...



Party time!



Thanks again to everyone for making Sage's finish a special event.

Funny, when Alex finished the NH48, I had the strange feeling that her last 4K might be "it." Meaning, I didn't want to assume that she'd keep hiking or that Sage would follow in her footsteps. For this hike, Sage's finish, I'd no such feeling. Both girls have made it clear that they will continue to hike. Both want to keep highpointing. Both want to explore many more slides and rock scrambles. Alex wants to finish the winter list. Sage wants to do a specific kind of hike that we'll announce later. This hike was a milestone, but it was in no way a "finish" in the literal sense of the word.

Onward, upward.

Again, to the many hiking and nonhiking communities who have been so supportive and kind -- thank you, thank you, thank you.

See you on the trails...and, in April, on the literal and virtual bookshelves.

3 comments:

Cumulus said...

Congratulations, Sage!

I think it's great, not just that she finished, but that she finished on Middle Tripyramid, which is one of my favorite peaks. I think MT is underrated. It's a great place to hang out, which is why I've done flags there three years running. I really wanted to be there to help Sage celebrate, but I had already scheduled a weekend in Maine.

Cumulus said...

Since then I've been on Middle Tripyramid again, for another hiker's finish! Stephanie, the Manbearpig's pride and joy, finished not only her NH4Ks, but her NE4Ks, on MT on the 30th of Dec.

Patricia Ellis Herr, Alexandra Herr, and Sage Herr said...

Congratulations to Stephanie! :)