New Hampshire
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.
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.
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!
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New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
New Hampshire
Boston MedFlight expands into NH
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
New Hampshire
Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains
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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.
Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.
When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.
HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK
An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)
Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.
Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.
FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF
Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.
Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.
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