Winter 48 & Single Winter Season Finish

What an incredible weekend it was to be on some of the highest peaks in New England! It was great to run into and chat with many of you on the trail enjoying the last days of winter. Everyone was all smiles and speechless about the weather. Paces slowed down because of the resistance from jaws being dragged along the snowy slopes due to the best winter views ever, not literally, but enough where I now have so many photos from this weekend, that I don't know where to begin, and I just want to go do it all over again!

All of this was a huge reward, I guess you could say, for the last weekend of a challenging adventure for me throughout this winter. My weekend was going to be, and was complete with exciting finishes and success, and I was loving every second of it since getting ready for it last week. As Saturday grew near, I was lickin' my chops at the forecast for my Monroe and Eisenhower hike. It turned out so amazing that I hit Washington first, then went over Monroe to Eisenhower. I've now reached the summit of Washington in all winter months. After that, I enjoyed my traverse along the southern Presi's to Eisenhower. This is one of my favorite spots, and I can't wait to post the trip report! After Eisenhower, I descended the Edmands Path and walked the Mt. Clinton Road back, which I have to say I really enjoyed. Edmands Path was a new trail on the redline for me, and it was well drifted and untraveled on Saturday - quite a tough descent after a beautiful day.

After driving off from the Cog parking lot, I grabbed some dinner to go, some snacks, and went to Lincoln Woods to try to get a few hours of sleep. At about 1:30am - I was headed to the Bonds for sunrise. For 10 miles, I walked through the Pemigewasset Wilderness under a clear winter sky and billions of stars. I stood at the rock before the final steep pitch to treeline on Bondcliff, and prepared myself for what would be one of the most exciting above tree line and summit experiences to date. It was still, silent, and it appeared as if I could reach out and touch all of the other mountains.

All of this craziness, and the rising sun carried me across the ridge to Bond, and then to West Bond, where I reached the summit, finishing the 48 White Mountain 4000 footers in winter, and at the same time finishing them all in single calendar winter. It is hard to describe how it feels at the moment to finish this incredible challenge. I enjoy going for the big moments, and when it works out as planned, for me, it creates a lasting memory for myself and it makes every hike all worth more than just another summit for me.

West Bond Summit - 48th Winter 4000 Footer

Thanks to the family for their support. I know its been tough to watch me go out there solo, in the middle of night in frigid temperatures. To all my followers and Facebook Fans, thanks for everything, as you keep me going in my pursuit to enjoy and share the great outdoors.


What's next, I'm sure you're asking? Well, a weekend off! I've already got a few things planned for the summer, such as a unique Pemi Traverse, a double Presi Traverse in a day (24hrs), and Whitewater Rafting Canada Falls on the Penobscot River. Stayed tuned for all of that and all of this I hope to put together from the last several weeks:

• Winter Weekend in Baxter State Park - Gear List
• Winter Weekend in Baxter State Park - March 1-4
• Monroe & Eisenhower (and Washington too)
• The Bonds - Sunrise Winter 48 Finish & Single Winter Season Finish
• Videos from: Owls Head, Northern Presis, South Gully, Baxter, Bluebird Day on Washington and Sunrise on the Bonds - (Will I ever get to these all?)

My brother and I also have two other longer videos that we've been working on for a while now.

• Deboullie Maine Video - For a while now, my brother's been working on a movie for the 3-years we've gone to Deboullie, Maine. 
• Mt. Whitney movie - For the last six months, at least, I've been working on a movie from our Mt. Whitney trip in 2012. It will be one year since in June, and I am shooting for that date to have the "movie" ready, which, trust me, is going to be awesome, and will include footage I've never posted.

That's a lot of awesome action coming your way from DMOutdoors! If you have any suggestions for videos, I'd be happy to hear them to see if I can bring you what you're looking for.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Happy Trails, and Congratulations to all other winter 4000 footer finishers!