Summer of 48

The great state of New Hampshire has 48 mountain peaks that are 4,000 feet high (or higher) and over the years I have climbed 36 of them.  Some, like Washington, I’ve done more than once. But, for one reason or another, there are 12 that I have missed altogether.  Some because they are pretty remote, such as: Cabot, Waumbek, Isolation and Owl’s Head.  And, some because they just weren’t on the way to wherever I was going, such as: Willey, Hale, Tecumseh and The Hancocks.  This summer I plan to rectify this situation.

Now, any normal person would just plan a trip around hitting those 12 peaks and be done with it.  Check the NH 48 off their “to do” list and move on.  However, if you are a regular reader of this particular blog (my condolences, by the way) you’ll know that I’m far from normal.  So, what I’ve decided to do this summer is run/hike ALL 48 peaks.  In 6 days!

The fastest known time (or FKT) to complete all 48 of New Hampshire’s four thousand foot peaks is: 3 days, 15 hours, 51 minutes and 18 seconds by Tim Seaver of Calais, Vermont.  Tim accomplished this feat  in 2003 and you can read all about his incredible adventure HERE. Over the past 10 years, many “speed hikers” have tried to break Tim’s record, and failed.  Which just goes to show you what kind of super-human effort it took to achieve that time!

I have ZERO interest in trying to break any land-speed records.  I just want to hike these peaks as fast as I possibly can and still be able to enjoy beauty of the trip.  To that end, I set up some guidelines for my adventure.  I wanted to hike for about 12 hours a day.  I wanted climb an average of 8 peaks per day and I wanted to make sure to rest for at least 8 hours every night.  I also wanted to do it all without asking anyone to “crew” for me.  Meaning, I’d be doing all the prepping, driving & re-fueling on my own.

Logistically speaking, hiking all 48 peaks in one shot without crew support is a bit of a nightmare.  Particularly if you are: on a tight schedule, planning on doing some “one-way” traverses and want to be as efficient as possible.  Fortunately, the Appalachian Mountain Club (or AMC) has a Hikers Shuttle that I plan on taking full advantage of.  Unfortunately, the shuttle only runs at specific times.  So, I’ll need to be right on schedule, if I don’t want to hitchhike or (worse yet) lose a day waiting for the next one to come along!

Below is an OCD spreadsheet itinerary for my 6-Day adventure.  Due to family and work commitments, I couldn’t manage getting away for 6 days in a row, so I’ll be doing my hike on two very long weekends.  June 21^st - June 23^rd and July 11^th – July 13^th.  During each of those 6 days on the trail I’ll be averaging about 33 miles, 12.5 hiking hours, & 13,500 feet of elevation per day.  And when it’s all said and done, I’ll have traveled 200 miles, in 124 hours, and climbed over 81,000 feet of elevation!

If you’d like to meet me on the trail for a summit or two (or 8!), let me know and I’ll try to coordinate with you.  Or, if you’d just like to mock me as I "zombie" by, my expected times of arrival for each location are also meticulously listed below.  Wish me luck!  I think I’m going to need it!