Seek The Peak 2013

13 more days until the Seek The Peak 2013 Mt. Washington hike!

I'm just a bit short of my goal - please help me reach my goal of $200 by donating here: http://seekthepeak.kintera.org/20130627121312338#sthash.KybJxu5O.dpuf

Mahalo nui loa (Thank you very much) to those who have already donated! If I reach my goal of $200, I receive FREE Admission to the Seek The Peak 13 After Party. And to boot, I also get some really, really cool prizes, check it out!  http://www.seekthepeak.org/prizes.php

Rock Rimmon – Rock Climbing

Spent several hours climbing Rock Rimmon today. A bit muggy and the ground is trashed with broken glass and litter. But the rock is so good here - easy on the fingers and hands, and I love to climb it! Took some photos with my iPhone…..sorry for the blurries!

Mt. Rowe, Gunstock & Belknap Mountains – Solo Summer Hike

Mount Rowe (1,680ft)

Gunstock Mountain (2,240ft)
Belknap Mountain (2,382ft)

Total Elevation Gain: 1,349ft
Trails: Ridge (White) Trail, Saddle Trail, Blue Trail, Brook (Yellow ) Trail
Distance: 4.5 miles roundtrip
Duration: 4.0 hours (includes stops at all summits)
Difficulty: Moderate

I bagged 3 more summits in the Belknap Range! I had put off peakbagging for 3 months to be able to take some AMC Rock Climbing courses. Today I wanted a hike that was an easy up and back down as I have more rock climbing the next day and  didn’t want to tire myself out with an 11-miler. I was expecting the Gunstock Mountain Resort to be empty, but I was wrong. There were folks walking around, swimming in the lake, and lots of folks on the Zip line. There were also folks taking the ski lift up to the summit of Gunstock and hiking down the Ridge (White) Trail.

That road up to Mt. Rowe was tough in the heat, it was hot with hardly any shade whatsoever! Now I know why I love winter hiking so much. I didn’t spend any time at the summit…..just  enough time to snap a few photos and then I headed out along the ridge toward Gunstock Mountain.

At the trailhead (2)

 Along the Ridge Trail

Cell Tower at the Mt. Rowe summit

The portion of the Ridge trail, just before the Yellow Trail junction,

is my favorite! I loved the open ridge and the views from it. 

 

That last portion of the Ridge trail (along the ski trail) to the Gunstock summit was steep.

Lots of loose gravel and soil made some spots slippery. At the summit I spent 20 minutes taking photos from the deck of the Panorama Pub and talking with the attendant of the Zip Tour. 

Along the Blue trail to the Belknap summit I met Bill of BRATTS

(Belknap Range Trail Tenders) who was raking the trail from the summit. 

At the Belknap summit a couple just left the tower so I had the

summit all to myself and spent another 20 minutes photographing,

and enjoying the 360 views and my PB&J sandwich in peace! 

Views from the Belknap Mountain fire tower (3)

On the way down, the Brook (yellow) trail crosses ski trails several times. I watched

as more folks came down the zipline above me hooting and hollering. I didn’t see any 

black  flies, but the mosquitoes were bad. I was able to hike the remainder in peace

with my head net protection. As I got to my truck, it started raining pretty hard. 

But it lasted only few minutes and the cool showers were a welcomed relief.

Rumney Midweek Rock Climbing

Kellie got a group out to rock climb at Rumney Rocks during the midweek. It was so much more less crowded than the weekend, but nonetheless, still busy! I handed my camera over to Brit and she took most of the photos while I got to climb!

Me on Dung Beetle!

Access Fund Conservation Team was in town to help the

Rumney Climbing Association improve Rumney's trails!

Self-Rescue Course

Self-Rescue Course
with Marc Chauvin
Chauvin Guides International LLC
June 15 & 16, 2013

What a great weekend it was for learning. There were 10 students in the course and we met Marc Chauvin of Chauvin Guides International LLC at Quincy Quarries.  The course was offered through the AMC Boston Chapter Mountaineering Committee and covered on both Saturday and Sunday. Lecture was for the most part of Saturday at the “O” Wall and we practiced some of the techniques Marc covered in his lecture. On Sunday we reviewed the techniques that were covered the day before and then put them to practice on the rock! We covered Transitioning from Belay, to either a counter balance rappel, a haul or belay escape.

Reading: Self-Rescue by David Fasulo (ISBN 9780762755332)

Some photos I took during the weekend course:

 

Quincy Quarries

 

Marc Chauvin on rappel rings

Outdoor Lecture

Setup: Transition to rappel on two ropes

Setup: Transition to rappel on a single rope

Setup: Hauling

Setup: Tandem rappel

 

Practice on the rock (7) between the C and D Walls

Me practicing setup for "Technical Ledge"

Sonya Iverson of Slackline LLC was there again with a high line setup

between the Q & M walls. A bunch of folks attempted to cross, but only

this guy made it across and back without falling! Merci beaucoup! (4)