Yesterday Alli and I got up and drove to the New Hampshire seacoast, near Raymond, NH, to hike Mount Pawtuckaway.  We picked the highest summit (1,011′, not much, but still the highest there) and toughest trail on the mountain, the North Mountain Trail.

We had a blast.  The trail is not long, but steep, rocky, and has a variety of things to climb through.  The weather was perfect, and we were alone on the trail for nearly the entire time.  We did meet one other guy who was climbing with his two-year-old daughter on his back (impressive!), and we chatted with them at the summit, but that’s it.  Other than that, it was us to ourselves, figuring out the trail and the mountain, and having a great time.

We hope to be climbing increasingly tougher, more technical terrain as the summer and fall wear on.  Then, in the winter, I hope to take some ice climbing classes and add those skills as well.