13 Before 13

13 Before 13

I created a hiking list called 13 Before 13.  This list is composed of 13 hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and only children under 13 qualify to earn anything on completion of the list, hence the title.  The hikes are split into sections of four with Easy, Medium, Hard, and one last hike of Little Haystack.  Each of the first 3 sections contains a hike with views, a hike with scrambles, and a hike with waterfalls.  The last of the 4 hikes is one that the children choose themselves.  On completing each of the 3 sections before Little Haystack, the kid receives a sticker. 

On finishing the whole list, the child earns a patch.

The goal of 13 Before 13 is to give young people a project that is not too intimidating.  I want them to feel like this list was made for them...because it was!  Ideally, this list would introduce children to hiking and motivate them to move on to more difficult lists after they finish 13 Before 13.  The stickers, besides being motivational, are there for if a child doesn't finish the whole list but he/she completes one or more of the sections.

If you finish all or at least one section of this list, email aherr@hamilton.edu to receive your sticker or patch.

Note:  All trail descriptions, directions to trails, and information about surrounding areas can be found in Steve Smith's White Mountain Guide.  This guide has full descriptions of not only these trails, but of all the trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  It is very useful for planning a hiking trip; there are many helpful and accurate details.  This book is a necessity if you want to hike in the Whites!  I use it all the time.  If you get a chance, visit Steve's bookstore, The Mountain Wanderer, in Lincoln, NH.  

Easy:
————
Views: Bald Mountain in Franconia Notch 0.8 miles round-trip
252 feet of elevation gain
Artists’ Bluff Loop Trail


Scrambles: Goodrich Rock Trail in Waterville Valley 3.9 miles round-trip
741 feet of elevation gain
Greeley Ponds Trail


Waterfalls: Ripley Falls in Hart’s Location 1.1 miles round-trip
308 feet of elevation gain
Ripley Falls Trail


Choose your own: any hike you feel is easy -- can be near your home or anywhere you like


Medium:
————
Views: North and/or Middle Sugarloaf near Twin Mountain 2.6 miles round-trip
800 feet of elevation gain
Sugarloaf Trail


Scrambles: Morgan and Percival in Center Sandwich 5.4 miles loop hike
1600 feet of elevation gain
Mt. Morgan, Morse, Mt. Percival, Crawford-Ridgepole Trails


Waterfalls: Arethusa Falls in Crawford Notch 3.0 miles round-trip
900 feet of elevation gain
Arethusa Falls Trail


Choose your own: any hike you feel is "medium" -- can be near your home or anywhere you like


Hard:
————
Views: Mt. Chocorua in Albany 8.5 miles
2982 feet of elevation gain
Mount Chocorua Loop Trail (the way up is hikers’ choice)


Scrambles: Caps Ridge Trail (to the Upper Cap) near Twin Mountain 3.8 miles round-trip
1800 feet of elevation gain


Waterfalls: Zealand Falls (by Zealand Falls Hut) in Bethlehem 5.4 miles round-trip
575 feet of elevation gain
Zealand Trail and the Twinway


Choose your own: any hike you feel is difficult -- can be near your home or anywhere you like


————
The 13th hike -- ADVANCED -- Little Haystack in Grafton County 6.4 miles round-trip
3050 feet of elevation gain
Falling Waters Trail

Caps Ridge Trail (to the Upper Cap) - Hard Section "Scrambles"

Caps Ridge Trail

3.8 miles round-trip

1,800 feet of elevation gain

Here's a report from a 2015 hike Sage (my sister) and I (Alex) did of Caps Ridge Trail.  Caps Ridge is quite an adventurous trip -- and the summit of Jefferson is just a few rocky tenths of a mile away once you're above the Caps.  Below are some pictures from our trek to give you a sense of the difficult and fun terrain.  The pictures were taken from my mom's post of the whole hike which you can find here if you're interested.

The terrain starts off in the trees, then becomes rocky and even more rockier and much steeper as you continue along.  Once out of the trees (one mile from the parking lot), you'll soon reach the first of three "caps."  Each "cap" is a climbing/rock scramble.  You will be above treeline and exposed to all weather for all the caps (and for the continuation to the summit of Mt. Jefferson, if you choose to continue onward), so make sure the forecast is for excellent weather, and make sure you have layers, lots of water, and the Ten Essentials with you.

Be careful on some of these sections!  As you can see, it gets very, very steep.

There are some old videos of Sage climbing parts of the Caps back when she was 5 years old on this post -- - https://sagehikes.blogspot.com/2010/08/mt-jefferson-4k-2-august-29-2010.html.  That trip report will give you a good idea of how very young (and enthusiastic) kids can handle these kinds of scrambles (with a parent or caregiver spotting them), and it also shows how high up you'll be while climbing.  

Once above the Caps, you can continue to the summit of Mt. Jefferson, a Four Thousand Footer (and two mountains over from Mt. Washington).

You'll have a great time hiking Caps Ridge Trail!

Morgan and Percival - Medium Section "Scrambles"

Morgan and Percival

5.4 miles loop hike

1600 feet of elevation gain

In 2012, we hiked Morgan and Percival.  It's a fun hike with ladders and caves!  I still remember it well today even though we hiked it so long ago.  Definitely do this one!  Here are some pictures to give you an idea:

https://www.trishalexsage.com/2012/05/tuesday-trip-report-morgan-and-percival.html

By the way, leave the dog at home on this one!  Max, our border terrier, did not appreciate being carried up ladders and having to navigate caves with large boulders and sharp rocks.  He was not happy on this hike.  We do not recommend this hike for dogs.

The trail begins flat and charming as shown below.

After a while, you'll arrive at the ladders.  As long as you watch where you're going, you should be okay!  Take it slower with the little ones, though, and spot them wherever you can.

The summit of Morgan:

Percival has beautiful views when the day is clear, but our hike happened to be cloudy.

There are exciting caves on the way down!

You'll have so much fun on this adventurous hike!

Goodrich Rock Trail - Easy Section "Scrambles"

Goodrich Rock Trail

3.9 miles round-trip

741 feet of elevation gain

In 2012, Sage and I hiked Goodrich Rock Trail.  Here are some pictures from back in 2012 that were taken by our mom.  You can find the full post of this entire hike on TrishAlexSage here if you're interested.

The trail starts off like below with a simple uphill grade.

Look how huge those rocks are!

And to top that off, the hike also includes a fun ladder to climb.

Happy hiking!

Ripley Falls - Easy Section "Waterfalls" - with Plymouth NH GS Juniors

********************************************************************************

May 27, 2019

The Plymouth NH GS Juniors seemed to have a great time hiking to Ripley Falls (Easy Section), a hike in Hart's Location that is 1.1 miles round-trip.  Due to an unfortunate mix-up among other events, the Troop and I didn't end up hiking the trail together, but we hiked it mostly apart and then I combined our pictures into this post.  Also, technical problems with my phone led Mom to take the pictures this time.  I was grateful to her for doing that.

The girls heading up the trail...

As you can see, the terrain is, unsurprisingly, rocky and the grade is moderate.

Photo by Stacy Strickland

You have to cross this railroad before continuing up the trail.

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

Go left for Ripley Falls!

Photo by Trish Herr

At the waterfalls, the girls looking chipper as always:

Photo by Brooke Wakefield

Heading down...

Photo by Stacy Strickland

Taken by Trish Herr

The girls enthusiastically sang different camp songs while heading down the trail.

Photo by Trish Herr

Last group pictures of the day!

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

 The girls seemed to have a great time, and I enjoyed hiking the trail.

Ten Essentials and Proper Layers of Clothing

The Ten Essentials are the ten items you must carry with you when you hike for your own safety and protection.  The following was borrowed from the Hike Safe website (cited below).

The Ten Essentials

Map

Compass

Warm Clothing

-Sweater or Pile Jacket

-Long Pants (wool or synthetic)

-Hat (wool)

Extra Food and Water

Flashlight or Headlamp

Matches/Firestarters

First Aid Kit/Repair Kit 

Whistle

Rain/Wind Jacket & Pants

Pocket Knife

More specifically, it is important to bring different layers of clothing with you (no cotton!).

Upper Layers

The first layer is a long-sleeved shirt or a T-shirt (no cotton!), depending on the weather.  You should also pack a "windshirt, a lightweight rain shell, and a puffy." (http://goeast.ems.com/gear-to-hike-the-nh-48/)  I always pack a fleece jacket, a rain jacket, and a puffy coat.

Lower Layers

You want to wear/pack long pants or shorts along with rain/snow pants and a base layer (fleece pants, for example).  Socks should be wool (again, no cotton!)

Learn more here: http://www.hikesafe.com/index.php?page=full-gear-list

Bald Mountain - Easy Section "Views" - with Plymouth NH GS Juniors

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May 11, 2019

I hiked Bald Mountain in Franconia Notch (Artists Bluff Trail with the Bald Mountain Spur), a "views" hike in the Easy section of 13 Before 13, with a Junior Girl Scout Troop from Plymouth, NH today.  We had a great time!  The girls seemed to have lots of fun.

The Girl Scouts brought their own backpacks and necessary gear for the trip.  They were chipper and excited when we began the hike, and they ascended at a quick pace, talking and laughing all the way.

At the intersection with the Bald Mountain Spur, the girls stopped for a water break.  When everyone was ready to continue, we kept going.  After the spur, the trail became rockier and steeper, but everyone handled it really well.  The girls traveled over the terrain with ease and seemed to enjoy themselves.

Then, we got to the part of the trail with the most scrambles: the section very close to the top.  Everyone got up that well, and after some slight spotting here and there, we got to the summit.

Photo by Trish Herr

The view was pretty on the clear day.

Summit pictures!

Heading down...

Coming down another part with scrambles:

Everyone seemed to have a great time, and the girls did really well!  I hope we can hike together again sometime.

Introduction - April 2019

13 Before 13

I created a hiking list called 13 Before 13.  This list is composed of 13 hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and only children under 13 qualify to earn anything on completion of the list, hence the title.  The hikes are split into sections of 4 with Easy, Medium, Hard, and 1 last hike of Little Haystack.  Each of the first 3 sections contains a hike with views, a hike with scrambles, and a hike with waterfalls.  The last of the 4 hikes is one that the children choose themselves.  On completing each of the 3 sections before Little Haystack, the kid receives a sticker.  On finishing the whole list, the child earns a patch.

Patch design, still under construction

The goal of 13 Before 13 is to give young people a project that is not too intimidating.  I want them to feel like this list was made for them...because it was!  Ideally, this list would introduce children to hiking and motivate them to move on to more difficult lists after they finish 13 Before 13.  The stickers, besides being motivational, are there for if a child doesn't finish the whole list but he/she completes one or more of the sections.

I am a Girl Scout, and one of the requirements for this project of mine is that I hike and interact with children.  Therefore, if you and your child are interested in pursuing 13 Before 13 and would be open to hiking one of the hikes with me, please send me an email at alexandraherr@outlook.com.  It would be great to hike with a young person and hear how he or she feels about the hike and the list in general.  Thank you!

Note:  All trail descriptions, directions to trails, and information about surrounding areas can be found in Steve Smith's White Mountain Guide.  This guide has full descriptions of not only these trails, but of all the trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  It is very useful for planning a hiking trip; there are many helpful and accurate details.  This book is a necessity if you want to hike in the Whites!  I use it all the time.  If you get a chance, visit Steve's bookstore, The Mountain Wanderer, in Lincoln, NH.  

Easy:
————
Views: Bald Mountain in Franconia Notch
0.8 miles round-trip
252 feet of elevation gain
Artists’ Bluff Loop Trail


Scrambles: Goodrich Rock Trail in Waterville Valley
3.9 miles round-trip
741 feet of elevation gain
Greeley Ponds Trail


Waterfalls: Ripley Falls in Hart’s Location
1.1 miles round-trip
308 feet of elevation gain
Ripley Falls Trail


Choose your own:


Medium:
————
Views: North and/or Middle Sugarloaf near Twin Mountain
Around 2.6 miles round-trip
Around 800 feet of elevation gain
Sugarloaf Trail


Scrambles: Morgan and Percival in Center Sandwich
5.4 miles loop hike
1600 feet of elevation gain
Mt. Morgan, Morse, Mt. Percival, Crawford-Ridgepole Trails


Waterfalls: Arethusa Falls in Crawford Notch
3.0 miles round-trip
900 feet of elevation gain
Arethusa Falls Trail


Choose your own:


Hard:
————
Views: Mt. Chocorua in Albany
The way up is the hikers’ choice


Scrambles: Caps Ridge Trail (to the Upper Cap) near Twin Mountain
3.8 miles round-trip
1800 feet of elevation gain


Waterfalls: Zealand Falls (by Zealand Falls Hut) in Bethlehem
5.4 miles round-trip
575 feet of elevation gain
Zealand Trail and the Twinway


Choose your own:


————
Little Haystack in Grafton County
6.4 miles round-trip
3050 feet of elevation gain
Falling Waters Trail