Sage Turns 13, and the Girls Will Take It From Here

Sage is 13!  When I started documenting her first hikes, she was only 3 years old.  It's been ten years of hiking...wow.  What a great life we've had; I have ten years filled with great memories hiking with my kids up the wild mountains of New Hampshire and on beautiful trails around the country and in different parts of the world.  I am a fortunate woman.

Alex and Sage in August 2009, the day Alex finished her first round of the NH4Ks at 6 years old (on Moosilauke),
 and just before Sage started hiking 4Ks
 (she is 4 years old in the photo and was partially carried up on the day this photo was taken).

The girls on Moosilauke last December (2017).  They each now have accomplished hundreds of NH4K ascents,
 close to two hundred non4K peaks (NH and across the country), 46 state highpoints, and a handful of thru-hikes
(John Muir Trail, Cohos Trail, Camino de Santiago, and the Laugavegur Trek).  They are also responsible for the creation of the Terrifying 25 list, which they both now fully manage (and they moderate the Facebook page),
and, last year, they began the GraniteGals podcast.
A lot can happen in ten years!

When I first started documenting our hikes, the girls were of course not old enough to have blogs or their own online presences.  There is a minimum age of 13 in our house for participating directly in/with social media.  When Alex turned 13, she was allowed to start her own blog so she could be the one keeping track of her own hiking -- that blog is Alex in the White Mountains.  She's been documenting her hiking (and Sage's) since January 2016.  Now that Sage is 13, she too has her own blog in which she documents her own hiking (and Alex's).  That blog is Sage's White Mountain Treks.  From here on out, the girls will take turns writing the trip reports for their hikes...except, of course, when each hikes solo, and then that particular solo hiker will write her own trip report of her experiences.

This blog will continue to exist mainly as a way of keeping track of the Grid peaks, and as a way of having a published record of all the girls' hikes dating back to 2008.

Another transition is public speeches -- Alex joined me on our talks earlier this year at the AMC (Sage was supposed to as well, but she caught pneumonia and was out of commission for most of February).  Now that they are teenagers, it is appropriate both Alex and Sage speak for themselves about their childhood adventures.  I have been the spokesperson for years, but now they are the appropriate ages to have their own public voices.

Thanks to everyone who has followed us over the years, and thanks to those who read UP and then kept track of all our subsequent journeys.  We have always appreciated your support, and I am glad we have had an influence on some parents who want to facilitate their children's love of the outdoors.

Alex in the White Mountains
Sage's White Mountain Treks
GraniteGals podcast
Terrifying 25

Jackson. November 1, 2016

Jackson-Webster Trail, 5 miles roundtrip, 2150 feet of elevation gain.

Alex's trip report of this hike is here.

This was supposed to be a fast and easy hike - we usually knock off this peak in three hours or less.  Both girls have a ton of schoolwork to finish over the next couple of weeks before they leave with their dad for a pre-Thanksgiving vacation, so this week's hike and next week's hike were/are supposed to be easy-speedy.  We knew there would be ice on the trails, since we keep up with current trail condition reports on various social media sites, but we figured we'd wear traction and be fine.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough ice to warrant wearing traction...yet there was sufficient ice to slow us down tremendously.  It's that frustrating in-between season right now.

Alex's solo adventures are on hiatus until late spring.  I am a strong supporter of hikers going solo once they have the appropriate navigation and safety skills under their belts (Alex has these skills), but I am not a fan of solo hiking during winter or almost-winter.  That sentiment is strictly for me and my children -- I know of many hikers who solo in winter and I do not feel that makes them negligent.  The risk factor with solo hiking during winter skyrockets though, and it is something I am not comfortable with when it comes to me or mine.  However, for any of you reading this who are skilled solo winter trekker -- hike your own hike, have fun, and stay safe. 

Our hike began easily enough...though I was noticeably slower on the first section than I should have been, thanks to my recent consumption of far too much Halloween candy.

Here comes the ice...there, so hiking becomes tricky, but not there enough to wear microspikes without smashing the spikes into rocks.

We averaged a mile an hour for our ascent, which for us is pathetic, but oh well, safety first.  Finally, we reached the section near the top where you can see the summit.

We climbed up the ledge (too busy watching my step to take photos, sorry!) and were immediately greeted by the resident gray jays.

The sun was out and the scenery was gorgeous!  It felt warm up there; we could linger without getting cold.

I love this shot

Jackson's summit, with the southern Presis and Washington in the distance...

The girls on Jackson...

The girls plus gray jays on Jackson...

Views...

We stayed on the summit far longer than we had intended.  It was such a gorgeous day, and it was warm up there, so we just didn't want to leave.  We finally made ourselves (carefully) descend and ended up getting back to the car two hours later than we had planned.  Oh well.  With hard work, both girls finished all the schoolwork they had to do for the day anyway, so it all worked out.

Hope everyone is enjoying the season of almost-winter.

Grasshoppers on Garfield. November 3, 2015

Garfield Trail.
10 miles roundtrip with 3000 feet of elevation gain.

It's November, a new month for Grid work!  The girls and I have very few 4K hikes logged for November months, so, when we looked at our hiking history, we saw we could pick almost any of the 4Ks for our weekly hike.  For those of you unfamiliar with NH 4K hiking, the Grid is hiking all 48 of New Hampshire's highest mountains during each of the months of the year.  Since 2008, the girls and I have hiked 4Ks (interspersed with 52WAV and TW72 peaks) almost every week, so, without trying, Alex is now about a third finished with the Grid and Sage is about 1/4 finished.  If we focus solely on 4K hiking from now on, then both girls will finish the Grid before they reach the age of 17.

We are not under stress or pressure to accomplish this -- it will simply be the result of our having hiked every week throughout their childhood, which is what we would do anyway, lists or no lists.  The weekly hiking is and always has been vital for our mental and physical well-being.  No matter what changes happen in the girls' lives, no matter what's going on academically or socially, these mountains will always be here.  The mountains are constant, they are reassuring.  The girls will always have them, even when they are my age, even when their children are my age.

On to Garfield.

We hadn't hiked Garfield since January 2012.  This would be Alex's fourth time on the summit, and Sage's third time, but, since it had been almost four years since we'd been on this trail, neither girl could remember their past Garfield experiences.  We had boots at trail around 7:30am -- I was excited to experience this peak through both their sets of eyes...I remember each and every hike the girls have ever done, so it's fun to re-introduce them to peaks and watch as they start recalling bits and pieces of this, that, and the other.

Starting out

A few tenths of a mile from the parking lot, we met an old Garfield friend.  This fallen tree, with its roots exposed to the trail, has been there since before 2008.  Both girls remembered it once they saw it.  There are fallen trees all over the Whites, of course, but this particular tree stands out because it is right next to the trail, and because you can see it from 50 feet or so away.

Alex and Sage with Fallen Tree, Nov. 2015

Just for fun, here are two past pictures of that old fallen tree.  The first is from Alex's first hike of Garfield in 2008, and the second is from Sage's first hike of Garfield in 2011.

Fallen tree (and Alex), Oct. 2008

Fallen tree, 2011

The hike up Garfield is mellow.  The trail only becomes steep after the intersection with Garfield Ridge Trail.  For most of the way up, it looks like this --

A few tenths of a mile below the intersection, more Garfield friends showed up.  Gray jays!

I did not have my birdseed handy, and I did not feel like digging it out of my pack just yet, so we continued onward.  We figured our friends would still be there when we descended.

At the intersection!

The last time we were here, the area looked a bit different.

January 2012

We began the steep bit of the ascent, which lasts a tenth of a mile or so.

There was a teeny bit of ice here and there, but nothing we couldn't step around.  No microspikes needed.

A teeny bit of ice on the steeps just beneath the summit area.

Up we continued...

Treeline!

The day was warm for the season, but the wind bit unpleasantly into our skin, so we ducked down into the shelter of the look-out cabin (what's left of it, anyway).

I had forgotten how gorgeous the views are from the top of Mt. Garfield!

Franconia Ridge

Pointy Flume and pointy Liberty

Looking at the ridge between Lafayette and Garfield

Looking toward North Twin

Looking toward the Bonds

Owls Head seems so close!

Franconia Ridge

It's gorgeous up here!  Owls Head is the green bump next to Alex, on the right.

You can see Flume and Liberty to the right (Alex's left).

Grasshoppers (brownie version).  Chocolate-mint brownies with mint frosting
and Junior Mints.  They looked a lot nicer before we left the house.  

The girls with grasshoppers on Garfield, with Franconia Ridge in the background.

We sat for a while and enjoyed the grasshoppers (Desserts on the 48!), then headed down.

The jays were waiting for us, of course.  Sage sacrificed one of her goldfish crackers while I dug out the birdseed.

'Twas a nice walk in the woods!  I love living in the Whites.  I swear we have the best hiking trails and scenery in the United States.

We will attempt another Bonds Traverse this week.  I'll post the trip report next weekend.

Happy hiking, and stay safe.