With yet another cold windy day on tap Jillian and I set off for North and South Twin. We parked at the end of Little River Road and set off. The "bushwhack" was well packed and conditions were good, I was in snowshoes and Jillian in Microspikes.
The conditions were fine until we hit the junction with the Fire Wardens Trail that leads to Hale, from there on the snow in the trail started to increase.
By the time we were approaching the last three quarters of a mile to North Twin the trail was completely drifted in and it was more trail breaking for us.
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| Summit of North Twin |
There was more of the same between the peaks with heavy winds and snow drifts.
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| Summit of South Twin |
It is with a bit of sadness that we say this will be the last post for us. Jillian has decided to put an end to trying for all 48 in one winter. She feels that the grind of all the hiking is just too much for her. I feel that as a parent I have to be careful to watch the line between encouraging your child and pushing your child, and I would rather play this one cautious. Neither one of us are happy about it, but we both feel it is for the best. Hiking was just becoming not fun for her at all. She has always been a hiker that hiked on her terms, and this strips that away from her. She was hiking because she had to, not because she wanted to. Thank you to everyone who has encouraged, said kind words, and thought of us in your lives, as a father I can not explain how much I appreciate it. To see so many people treat your child as a peer while hiking not as a "cute kid" means a lot, and I sincerely thank you all. Needless to say, regardless of the outcome, I am beyond proud of what she accomplished this winter.
33 down and that is it.
Great job to the both of you. You should still feel proud, Jillian, regardless. You're an incredible kid 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess the support form family meant a lot to us.
DeleteHi Jillian, Congratulations! You are a REAL hiker! You know when to call it off. Even though you may set goals and have a well-deserved feeling of accomplishment, there is a double bottom line here - SAFE and FUN. You have more wisdom and maturity than many adults. If it's not fun any more, it may be later on. That's wonderful you did many of those beautiful climbs, my daughter Prema (who is 29) and I have only done two winter ones Tom and Tecumseh. Best of luck with everything, enjoy the rest of the winter and everything else that you choose to do! And Chris, Congrats to you as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Beckie, Jillian is wise beyond her years in the hills. While it is hard to come up short on a goal it is also gratifying to me to see that she is already aware of her body and mind, and she can see that if your head is not in the game it is dangerous. It lets me know I am teaching her the right way to do things in the mountains. I have a hard time imagining that we will not give another shot we don't like to leave things unfinished.
DeleteCongratulations to both of you on a great accomplishment, even if it didn't end the way you wanted! You should be very proud of all that you did in one winter!
ReplyDeleteThank you she is quite proud.
DeleteHi Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your trip reports and pictures as Jillian attempted the single-season 48. It's a great accomplishment to have gotten 33 of the 48 peaks done through mid February. Especially since this has been a brutally cold and snowy winter. Hope you guys get back out there soon enough and it becomes fun again for her :)
Thanks Chris, I enjoy your trip reports as well and congrats on you single season 48 finish. She is fine for hiking in fact I think if the weather is good we will be out this weekend. We are planing our summer right now for finishing the New England 4000 footers and getting the Belknap Range this spring and the endless working on the grid so we will be hiking for sure.
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