My 4th (Mount Whiteface) 4,000 footer!!

I think that I like my Thursday schedule:
Leave at 6 AM for Breakfast in Boston
fill up at either Everett or Tewksbury
drive north to the mountain(s)
hike!!
drive back to Tewksbury for fill-up
drive to Manchester-by-the-Sea (in time for dinner?)

A Quick Note: I wanted to do the Tripyramids (North, Middle, and South) today, but THE LIVERMORE TRAIL WAS CLOSED FOR REPAIRS!!

Since the fine is $5,000, I went back into Waterville Valley and hit the web to look for a fallback - I found Mount Whiteface. Like my "museum visits", I recommend going on-line to see if you can even get to the Mountain you want to hike (www.fs.usda.gov/whitemountain).

Keeping in the "Southern Group", June's Mount Tecumseh and July's Mount Osceola and East Osceola are in green, while today's hike (Mount Whiteface) is in the red circle:


Mount Whiteface is the southernmost 4000 footer. From my Thursday Morning Men's Breakfast in Boston, go 103 miles up 93 to exit 24, then northeast for 27 miles to get to the Ferncroft Road parking lot (beautiful drive on 113 around the north side of Squam Lake)


I used Map My Walk - the whole trip took 4 and 1/2 hours (9.3 miles hiked) and covered about 5,700 feet in climbing elevation (2,850 up, then return):


It should be a nice hike up Blueberry Ridge Trail:


I think that is Mount Whiteface in the distance:


The trail starts off easy - maybe this is a good sign.


Steps aren't so bad:


but maybe steeper steps aren't such a good sign:


Stunning views on the way up:


and yes, this is still part of "the trail":


this is Whiteface Ledge, where I took my 1st selfie and some great pictures.








I had to go a little further north on the trail/ridge to get to the cairn that marks the actual summit:


Because this was a "fall-back" mountain, I had not done my homework - I could have fit in Mount Passaconaway! Too bad, but there's always another day/another hike. Views to the north and northeast:




And now heading back down the "trail":




back down past a nice stream:


and finish the climb back in the field, looking at Mount Whiteface straight ahead, with Passaconaway off to the right:


Thank you God for a GREAT DAY!

Thursday, July 24, 2014
Boston, MA
103 miles -- up to Exit 24, 93 North (2 hours)
27 miles onto 25, then 113 -- to Mount Whiteface trailhead (1 hour)
9.3 miles -- hiking (4 1/2 hours)
27 miles/1 hour -- back to 93 South
2 1/2 hours -- to get home

here is today's playlist:

started the day with Pat Metheny's latest: Kin by the Pat Metheny Unity Group

Sounds a lot like 80/81, with Chris Potter taking the place of Joshua Redman's horns, and Giulio Carmassi taking the place of Lyle Mays' keyboards Very nice.

And then continuing to listen to all my songs, in alphabetical order. I was in the C's today: I started with "Cheree" from the band Suicide, which sounds a lot like "Dream Baby Dream" (it should! both were written by Alan Vega and Martin Rev in Suicide), and ended the day with "China Girl" by David Bowie from the Club Bowie cd mixes.