Tag: nature
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Adirondacks – Algonquin, Iroquois & Wright
Friday, August 14, 2026 We waited behind a car at the gate to the Adirondack LOJ lot. The attendant in the booth was on the walkie, and we were sure that we were out of luck. We were relieved when we drove up that there were still spaces available, though not in lot #1. It…
melissaminery
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Adirondack Mountains – Colden
Thursday, August 13, 2026 I’m nearing the end of my summer break, so John took a few days off for a trip to the Adirondacks. We’re SLOWLY working on the 46 mountains over 4,000 feet in New York. We started our trip with 6 under our belts. By the time we made our way home,…
melissaminery
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NH White Mountains – N. & S. Kinsman & Cannon
Saturday, August 1, 2026 John and I are ticking off 4,000-footers for our second GRID. Since I don’t need any for August, it was his choice. He decided on North and South Kinsman and Cannon by going over the Cannonballs. We easily got a spot in the southbound parking lot for the Basin at 8:45AM;…
melissaminery
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NH White Mountains: Adams and Madison via Great Gully
Saturday, July 25, 2026 This was John and my first hike in the whites since returning from Colorado’s 14-ers, and we were curious to see how we’d do with more oxygen. The weather forecast was ideal for a hike in the northern presidentials: mostly sunny and light winds. Deciding on Adams and Madison was simple.…
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Colorado 14-ers – Mt. Bierstadt & Mt. Blue Sky
Saturday, July 18, 2026 We knew this was going to be a hard day. It started with getting up at 3:15am. Since we stayed in Georgetown, the drive to the trailhead at the Guanella Pass was about 30 minutes. We went straight to the upper parking lot, not even looking to see if we could…
melissaminery
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Colorado 13-ers: Father Dyer Peak- Crystal Peak -Peak 10
Wednesday, July 15, 2026 Background: John and I are planning to hike as many of the 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado as we feel comfortable doing, knowing that we probably won’t be hiking Little Bear Peak, Pyramid Peak, and Capitol Peak – each of them class 4 – based on beta gleaned from books, blogs,…
melissaminery
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Colorado 14-ers – Grays Peak & Torreys Peak-
Monday, July 13, 2026 John and I had read enough about the road conditions up to the Grays Peak Trailhead that we knew would be parking in the lower lot and walking the 3 miles up the 4×4 road. We woke up at 3:45am, and were out the door by 4:20, at the lower lot…
melissaminery
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Colorado 14-ers – DeCaLiBron
14,ooo-footers: Mt. Bross, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Cameron, Mt. Democrat Saturday, July 11, 2026 John and I awoke at 4AM and were out of the condo by 4:30. From Breckenridge, the drive to the Kite Lake Trailhead for the DeCaLiBron hike is about 40 minutes. We had a full week to get acclimatized to the altitude…
melissaminery
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Colorado 14-ers – Mt. Elbert
Northeast Ridge Saturday, July 5, 2025 Mt. Elbert is the highest mountain in Colorado at 14,438′. We hiked this with friends on a gorgeous Saturday with an ideal weather forecast. They stayed at Mt. Elbert campground; we had an hour-an-a-half drive, so we left at 4:30 AM to meet them at 6:00 AM. It was…
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NH White Mountains – Owl’s Head
Owl’s Head– via Black Pond “bushwhack,” up the slide and down Brutus bushwhack Owl’s Head is number 43/48 of the 4,000 footers in the white mountains of NH. It’s not a favorite of many; I can’t think of a single person. But, for those working on a list, ya gotta do it. Here’s one option…
Adventuring with Mel and John 