Connect with us

New Hampshire

Knocking out New Hampshire – The Trek

Published

on

Knocking out New Hampshire – The Trek


For much of the time that I have been on the trail, the White Mountains have been a continued topic of fearmongering and rumors. Hikers continually talked about how slow you had to go through the Whites and how they could totally throw off a hiker’s pace. Before I got to New Hampshire, I totally fell victim to these rumors, but after walking in those mountains, my mind has been changed.

Moosilauke and the Kinsman’s

My journey through the White Mountains started out with Mt. Moosilauke and the Kinsman mountains. I submitted Moosilauke in the pouring rain and had a very perilous descent down the backside of it as I traversed slippery rock slabs and sketchy steps. I was somewhat disappointed that my first above-treeline experience was totally covered in clouds.

On the bright side, after going over Moosilauke, I stopped at the Notch Hostel to resupply and slackpack. After hiking many of the previous sections solo, I was so excited to be reunited with so many friends at the hostel. When I arrived, it was full of familiar faces who I finally got to see again.

Advertisement

The following day, I slackpacked over the Kinsman Mountains. Again, the climbing and scrambling was fun, but the summit was totally covered in clouds. So without a view from the top of my first four thousand-foot mountains, I was a little disappointed about what the Whites truly held.

Franconia

After two days of clouds and inclement weather, the day I left The Notch was gorgeous. Again, I was reunited with tons of old friends as soon as I got back on the trail. These friends quickly convinced me to shorten my plans for taking on the Whites (from a total of 6 days to 5) in order to get a better weather day on top of Mt. Washington. I was in, and the climb began.

After tons and tons of climbing, we finally made it to Franconia Ridge. This was the first truly above-treeline sections that I had seen on the trail. It was a stretch of a few miles of totally exposed trail. It was so beautiful to be able to look ahead and see exactly where I would be walking in just a few miles. And being able to see out in any direction for miles was just incredible. In short, my mentality was changed. The Whites were incredible!

Getting to the Presidentials

After doing Franconia the day prior, this day had the purpose of getting me to the Presidential Range. While there were some great views on it, the excitement of what was to come outweighed them.

At the end of this day, I did get to do a work-for-stay at the Mizpah hut. Where I cleaned tables and swept the floors in exchange for leftovers from dinner and getting to sleep on the floor in the hut. Leftovers and a  floor to sleep on had never seemed so great after the two long days of hiking that I had done before (17 and 20 miles, respectively). And getting to hang out with the croo was a great time as they shared their stories of work in the huts.

Advertisement

The presidentials

The Presidential Mountains are the cream of the crop of the Whites, a 12-mile above-treeline traverse with amazing views. But as I started my traverse, many of the views were unfortunately taken away by clouds. And the clouds continued to come on thicker as I climbed up Mt. Washington. I worried that I wouldn’t get any good views from the famous range. So I quickly took my picture with the famous sign and continued hiking.

As soon as I had descended a mile or two off of Mt. Washington, all of the views suddenly returned. I looked back and saw that just Washington was stuck inside a thick cloud, and I saw that the rest of the day was going to return to the endless views that I had gotten two days prior. The walk down the rest of the Presidential Range was absolutely stunning.

I had originally planned to stay at a designated tent site at the bottom of the Presidential Range, but another hiker convinced me that there would be some dispersed sites that were better further down the trail. Unfortunately, those sites never appeared, and I ended up doing a 22-mile day with over 7,000 feet of ascending and descending (a massive day for the Whites). We also ended up showing up at the Carter Notch Hut at 8 p.m. to beg for a work-for-stay just so we would have a safe place to sleep for the night (which we were fortunately given).

Ending the Whites

My last day in the mountains was a 15-mile stretch to get to Goram, NH. These miles went over the Carter mountain range. Which I conveniently timed going over in a thunderstorm. While the storm was a scare, I survived and made it to the hostel in Goram for a shower and felt much better after.

All in all, I was able to make it through the White Mountains much faster than I had anticipated (finishing all of New Hampshire in only 9 days). The views were also way better than I expected. I have never been so truly wowed by mountains like that before, and I want to get back to hiking like that as soon as I can!

Advertisement
Affiliate Disclosure

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek’s ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

New Hampshire

Missing motorcyclist found dead after crash in Shelburne, NH

Published

on

Missing motorcyclist found dead after crash in Shelburne, NH


A New Hampshire motorcyclist who had been missing since the Fourth of July was found dead in Shelburne late Thursday night.

State police say they received a request from the Berlin Police Department just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday for help locating 41-year-old Wesley Grondin — the Berlin man was last seen riding his motorcycle on Saturday, July 4, and had been reported missing.

Troopers received a call a couple of hours later, around 10:10 p.m. Thursday, from a concerned resident who had been out looking for Grondin along Route 2 in Shelburne. The person told police they had found Grondin dead, along with his Harley Davidson.

According to state police, a preliminary investigation determined that Grondin was riding his Harley on Route 2 westbound in Shelburne when, for reasons that remain under investigation, he crossed over into the opposing lane, struck a post, and came to a final rest in the wood line.

Advertisement

The crash is believed to have occurred just before midnight on July 4. At this time, police say there’s no indication that another vehicle or person was involved.

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation, however. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is asked to contact Trooper Hunter Newsham at Hunter.P.Newsham@dos.nh.gov.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

New Hampshire

Nashua, NH, woman jailed for falsifying marriage to claim late man’s estate

Published

on

Nashua, NH, woman jailed for falsifying marriage to claim late man’s estate


KEENE, N.H. — A Nashua woman who had a town clerk falsely certify a marriage that never happened so she could claim her late partner’s property has been sentenced to seven days in jail, placed on probation and ordered to repay thousands to his estate.

Attorney General John Formella said Wendy Leedberg‑Snow, 60, turned to Winchester Town Clerk Jim Tetreault after the death of her longtime partner, Eric Leedberg — who was born in Lowell — using the falsified license to pose as his spouse and lay claim to property from his estate, an effort prosecutors describe as an attempt to rewrite the couple’s history for financial gain.

“This case involved a deliberate effort to manipulate official government records and exploit the death of a loved one for personal financial gain,” Formella said in a press release announcing the sentencing. “Our vital records system depends on honesty and integrity, and those who seek to corrupt that system will be held accountable. I want to thank the investigators and prosecutors whose work ensured justice for the victim’s family.”

According to Leedberg’s obituary, he was 53 when he died on Oct. 12, 2023, following a two‑year battle with cancer.

Advertisement

In the obituary, Leedberg-Snow is described as his “significant other.”

Prosecutors said Leedberg‑Snow moved quickly after his death, relying on Tetreault’s signature to fabricate a marriage that never occurred and position herself as Leedberg’s surviving spouse.

Tetreault, who was a New Hampshire justice of the peace at the time, falsely signed the marriage license claiming he had officiated the couple’s wedding. He later admitted he never performed any ceremony for Leedberg‑Snow and Leedberg and had no personal knowledge of them ever being married.

Leedberg‑Snow used the fraudulent certificate to obtain property from Leedberg’s estate, including a pickup truck and trailer, and later attempted to influence a witness connected to the scheme.

Leedberg‑Snow pleaded guilty in Cheshire County Superior Court in Keene to felony counts of solicitation to commit vital records fraud, title fraud, theft by misapplication of property and witness tampering.

Advertisement

In addition to her seven‑day jail term, she must serve two years of probation, pay $4,600 in restitution, return the truck and trailer to Leedberg’s estate and comply with a suspended three‑and‑a‑half‑ to seven‑year prison sentence, which means the sentence only takes effect if she violates the conditions of her probation.

Tetreault, who continues to serve as Winchester’s town clerk and “fully cooperated with the State’s investigation,” according to prosecutors, pleaded guilty in April to notarial misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor. As part of a negotiated plea, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of vital records fraud. He was sentenced to 90 days in the house of corrections, all suspended for two years on good behavior, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus a $240 penalty assessment.

He resigned his commissions as a justice of the peace and bail commissioner and agreed not to seek recommissioning as a justice of the peace or notary public during the two‑year suspension period.

Tetreault could not be reached for comment at his office number.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

New Hampshire

Rescue Crews Help Injured Woman Off Mt. Washington

Published

on

Rescue Crews Help Injured Woman Off Mt. Washington


SARGENT’S PURCHASE – On Saturday, personnel from multiple rescue crews teamed up to help an injured woman get off of Mt. Washington to seek medical treatment.

At approximately 7:45 AM, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Conservation Officers were notified that a staff member at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Lakes of the Clouds Hut had taken a serious fall at the hut and was left unable to walk.

Fish and Game subsequently mobilized search and rescue personnel to come and help evacuate the young woman from her remote location.

By 10:00 AM, members of the Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team (AVSAR), Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue Team (Pemi), AMC and Fish and Game had gathered at the Base Station of the Cog Rail. The Cog Railway generously donated room on their trains, and rescuers and equipment were given rides up Mt. Washington to the West Side Trail, which allowed for a shorter and less strenuous 1.6 mile hike than other routes.

Advertisement

By 11:20 AM rescuers were at the hut with the patient. The patient was subsequently packaged in a litter and prepared for an overland carryout back to the Cog tracks.

Rescue personnel made steady progress, and by 2:15 PM had made it back across West Side Trail and to the train tracks. A Cog Railway train picked up the whole rescue party and brought everyone back down the mountain. Once roadside, the patient was evaluated by personnel from Twin Mountain Fire and Rescue.

She was ultimately driven from the scene by a friend and went to Memorial Hospital in North Conway for further evaluation
and treatment of multiple injuries related to her fall. The patient was identified as Cali Turner, 26, of Willimantic, Maine.

Fish and Game would like to thank all of the people and organizations involved in this rescue effort. Through the help of everyone, the rescue was a great success and got done in a timely manner.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending