Hawaii Girl Adventures

Elevation: 5,712ft Trails: Jewell Trail, Gulfside Trail & Jefferson Loop Elevation Gain: 3,215ft Distance: 11 miles roundtrip Duration: 8.5 hours
My 4000+ Peak #2
Listed 4000+: #3 
Difficulty:  Very Strenuous

Back in April I spent a couple hours at the Cog Railway at the base of Mt. Washington during a photo workshop. There was still snow on the ground and winter chill in the air. Today it was a bit warmer and the snow was all but gone. And the Cog ran its route, with early season riders aboard its colorful cars.
Our Meetup Group (4 Seasons - http://www.meetup.com/4-Seasons-Hiking-Group/) met up at the Cog Railway to start our ascent on the Jewell Trail. I was anxious to hike this mountain as this was the 3rd highest in New England behind Adams and Washington. We were instructed to bring more water than usual. Along with a headlamp, rain gear, first aid kit, food, snacks. Importantly was warm clothing as most of the hike would be above the tree line. This hike was billed as "slow&qu…

Great Blue Hill Blue Hills Reservation
Difficulty:  Easy

Overcast the entire hike, but the rain held off, lucky us! This reservation is located just outside of Boston and didn't take long to get to. Our meetup group, Beginners & Intermediate Hikers Over 40/50, at http://www.meetup.com/Beginers-and-intermediate-hikers-over-40-50/, was supposed to meet at the Blue Hills Reservation Headquarters parking lot at Houghton Pond. But there was a detour on Hillside Street due to a bike race so not all of us could get to the parking lot via Hillside. Some of us ended up in the parking lot of Picnic Area 5 and were able to meet up with the rest of the group on the short half mile hike to the headquarters.
The Skyline Trail is originally a 9 mile hike. But we did the shorter version picking up the trail at the Reservation Headquarters, and looping around back to the Headquarters.  The trail is well marked with blue blazes and my favorite parts of the hike were....you guessed it! Scrambling ov…

My favorite adventure photographer is at it again! Alexandre Buisse has come out with an eBook titled Extreme Perspectives on mountain photography! Beautifully laid out and contains more sweet tips on photography! Read about it on his blog at: http://www.alexandrebuisse.org/blog/Extreme-Perspectives,-a-new-ebook-on-mountain-photography

Purchase and download his eBook Extreme Perspectives online at:
http://craftandvision.com/books/extreme-perspectives/

Perfect weather for rock climbing! One of my favorite places is Stonehouse Pond in Barrington, NH. This crag is just up the street from Kellie's Climbing Barn and where I did my first ice climb as well. It's also favorite to fishermen (Catch and Release) because of its well-stocked pond!  The parking lot was opened not too long ago with the Pond overall opening to the public about a year ago. In other words, you ain't gonna find any routes listed online anywhere. The routes are there, they just aren't officially named or graded. There are also a few spots for bouldering. I plan to get back to the pond later this month to do more photographing. 
The1/2 mile hike from the parking lot is flat until you get to the cliffs. From the cliffs the view is stunning and overlooks the pond and surrounding wooded area. We spotted two campfires, one of which was still smoldering! Campfires are prohibited in the pond, but there aren't any signage displayed or, worse yet, anyone pat…

Enter Alpkit.com contest for a chance to win a signed copy of "Remote Exposure" or beautiful prints by my favorite adventure photographer Alexandre Buisse.Good luck!

Alpkit.com Contest Entry: http://www.alpkit.com/comps/remote-exposure