Author Archives: Andrew Ziehl

About Andrew Ziehl

An avid outdoorsman.

Wildcat, Wildcat!

On the weekend on the 9th, a planned day hike turned into an ambitious overnight, and Sweeney, Rob and I once again made the trek to North Conway to hike the Wildcat range across the street from our winter hang out.

The plan was to light-weight backpack (~20-25lbs) starting at Glenn Falls, across the Wildcats, up Carter dome and the rest of the Carters, then summit Imp, Moriah, and Selburne Moriah, and descend to Wild River campground on Saturday. Then on Sunday hike out via Carter Dome and back over the Wildcats.

On Saturday we got off to a great start with beautiful weather after a rough storm the night before. Eager to make some mileage, we quickly ascended to Wildcat D where the top of Wildcat’s lifts are.

First up for the day, Wildcat summit with the bits of snow in the bowl as a backdrop.

Descending into Carter Notch made for some impressive views, and a very steep descent and ascent of the Carter Dome.

An awesome look at the daunting Carter Dome from the Carter Notch Hut.

Looking back at Wildcat from the hut, one of a few AMC huts fed by spring water.

Ascending Carter, looking back to the glacial ponds of the Notch.

We hung around briefly on top of Carter to re-coup, but then pressed on to Mt. Hight which had far superior views.

Presidential Range panorama. All the photos come from Sweeney’s expert photography and far superior camera.

After Carter the rest of the ~4000 footers started to blur together a bit, but the ridge offered continuous views of the northern Presidential Range.

The northern end of our Saturday traverse, soaking in the views

We crested Selburne Moriah in early evening, and booked it to camp. We’d decided to go stoveless, which was not exactly my preference. It worked out okay, and I was never hungry, but I think next time I’d do freeze-dried meals and a pot for approximately the same weight, like Sweeney and I did on our Bigelow Range traverse.

Evening view of the Presidential Range, looking back at the peaks we’d crossed

On Sunday we weren’t exactly rearing to go, but we broke camp and got moving quickly. Unfortunately on of the first scenes we encountered was this:

Our first encounter with the Wild River Sunday morning.

Is that the trail across the river? It was. After Rob assured me the depth was a trick of the light, we made a waist-deep wade across, with our shoes around our necks.

After crossing the river, we proceeded down the Wild River Trail, until the trail abruptly disappeared into the river. About .5 miles past the (closed) Wild River Campground, the trail had fallen completely into the riverbed, a remnant of Irene. There had been no warnings, so we attempted to find the trail again, but eventually were forced to re-route and continue down the less exciting, but intact, High Water trail, after re-crossing the Wild River, this time via wooden suspension bridge.

At this point we’d backtracked a fair amount and wasted time locating trails and looking at maps. We re-evaluated our options, settling on a Carter Dome ascent via the Black Angel trail, and descent out Nineteen Mile brook trail from the base of Carter Notch.

We made a dogged ascent of Carter, once again a humbling experience. As we descended, Rob went ahead to get the car, while Sweeney and I hiked out. We were all relieved to get out of our wet trail shoes and head to Moat for a post-hike chow down.

The hike itself stands alone as the hardest, and one of the most rewarding hikes I’ve done to date, hitting 12 4000 footers and totaling ~40 miles round-trip.

Extremely European Excursion

Last month I was in serious need of some R&R before I joined the workforce permanently. It was the perfect time to visit my parents where they live in the Netherlands, for a European holiday.

Almost all the following photos were taken by my sister Elisabeth. At least all the good ones are hers.

A very Dutch photo, with a standard Dutch bike.

The majority of the trip was centered around good food and good beer, but we did a fair amount of exploring, especially on a four-day jaunt over to Deutschland. It was awesome to be back in Europe after almost seven years, and touring by car and experiencing more of the day-to-day activities gave me a fresh perspective.

As we headed to Nijmegen by train, The first thing I noticed was how flat the Netherlands is. I knew it was flat, but it is another thing to see the endless fields and orderly rows of trees. The highest points of land seemed to be mainly dykes and highway bypasses.

Orderly trees on a hiking trail near Malden, the Netherlands.

The trip got off to a nice leisurely start. I went for a bike ride with my Dad and got a feel for the Dutch lifestyle. Every one of the Dutch owns several bikes, and usually get their first bike around 5 years old. No one wears a helmet, which astounded me. Another major change is that bikes have the right of way over pedestrians and cars, so almost everywhere the cars must yield at rotaries. Coming from biking in Boston this was unsettling–more than once I hit my brakes inadvertently.

Wijchen, where I was staying, being a very Dutch town, has both a castle and a mill.

The Wijchen working mill at dusk.

On the 18th I went for a walk in the woods. There aren’t many forested areas in the Netherlands, at least around Nijmegen, and I was struck by how young the trees were. The trails were wide, sandy and flat, yet still about as close to hiking as you can get without leaving the country. Many of the Dutch were biking on the extensive scenic trail network that connects most of the cities and towns in the Netherlands. Whereas around town most bikes have internal hubs and are more of a comfort style with upright handlebars, out in the woods I saw bikes more common in the US, with derailleurs and drop bars.

One of the oldest trees I found. Most of the trees in the Netherlands seemed very young.

That Saturday we drove off to south-western Germany to visit friends nearby Heidelberg. They were kind enough to put us up at their house and show us around. That evening I had the pleasure of enjoying my first Germany beer of the trip in Schwetzingen at the Brauerei zum Ritter. Though there aren’t tons of different hoppy microbrews like in the US, the Germans know how to make a great hefeweizen.

Gardens at Schwetzingen Schloss

Enjoying the unusually good weather

The most majestic peacock.

A very German, but inexpensive dish. Meats, including Saumagen…which is meat cooked in cow’s stomach. And of course sauerkraut.

The Neckar river valley near Heidelberg where we were is very picturesque, almost exactly as I remembered it. There are many Roman ruins dating back to before the common era. We hiked around some walking trails that were part of the Kunst weg (Art trail). It’s incredible that the Roman watch towers built as early as 1100 are still standing.

A Roman Watchtower on the Neckar, partially restored

Looking down from the Schwalbe Nest onto the Neckar

Vineyards on a hill outside Schriesheim

This hillside quarry looked like it had some sweet climbing. Apparently there are 3 tiers to it.

We visited Koblenz on our way back to Wijchen, a city that both my sister and I had been to on our Germany exchanges. However, this was the first trip my family has been overseas together in many years. In Koblenz is the Deutsches Eck, where the Mosel joins the Rhein, and the site of an enormous statue of Emperor William I, as well as several pieces of the Berlin wall. It’s quite a tourist attraction, but also a cool place to check out. Besides the statue, the surrounding monument stands as an aspiration for German unity since the country was divided, then reunited.

William I monument at the Deutsches Eck

Unfortunately the trip was over all too quickly. We spent a bit more time in Wijchen and also an afternoon in Nijmegen. Anyone who has seen the movie “A Bridge Too Far” might recognize the Nijmegen bridge that is crossed on the way to the Arnhem “bridge too far”. The movie depicts Operation Market Garden, an unsuccessful Allied incursion during World War II.

Nijmegen bridge.

We took the train to Amsterdam the Sunday before we left. We managed to go on one of the several Dutch holiday weekends in May, and it was pretty busy. Again I was surprised that no one even in the city wore a helmet while biking–the bike lanes didn’t seem nearly as safe on the narrow streets packed with tourists not watching where they were going.

I Amsterdam

We took the obligatory boat tour, which gave us a quick overview of the city and its history, then decided to head for the Heineken brewery tour. On the way we passed many of the famed Dutch “coffee shops”. The brewery, though no longer in use, was pretty cool, and Heineken did everything they could to teach you, not just about their beer, but about their company’s advertising. Even so the beer was tasty and the motion ride in the POV of a beer was unique. We were near the I Amsterdam statue afterwards, so we headed to the museum park to see it. Although Amsterdam was interesting, it wasn’t really for me partly due to the number of other tourists we encountered.

Inside the Heineken Brewery.

We spent the last day in Xanten, the only Germany city that begins with X. Next to the city is the excavated Roman town of Colonia Ulpia Traiana. The town was active between the years ~70-400 mainly to support a Roman military base. At one time 2 of the 28 Roman legions were stationed in CUT (Xanten), which accounts for around 10,000 soldiers. Though there were bits of the city, including a restored Amphitheater, the highlight was the museum with Roman weapons, tools and preserved baths excavations.

Partially restored temple in Xanten

I don’t think Xanten is a typical American tourist location, since I believe we were the only ones speaking English there, although all the information was in several languages.

I’m already making plans to return for a different sort of trip next winter, so I’ve got a few months to brush up more on my German.

Return To Rock

The recent warm weather has really made me want to start climbing again, and this past weekend we did just that. I headed down to Quincy Quarries with my friend Matt and my sister. Although Sweeney and some friends had driven north to get some late season skiing in, it seemed like everyone else was descending on the Quarries in droves.

It was packed on Saturday, but we managed to set on a route that looked easy enough on the right side of the M Wall. It was probably 5.5, with a scramble start over a chunky block covered in white paint. I used 2 small nuts and webbing around an iron loop in the rock for the anchor. I let Matt and my sister climb it first.

Matt making his way up.

Belaying.

My sister on her first ever route!

It was my sister’s first time ever climbing, and I was psyched she managed to top out the route. After resetting to another pitch, we tossed a frisbee around for awhile enjoying the sun.

(Not So) Solo Presidential Venture

This past weekend was great, and nothing went as planned. It also stands as a testament to the unpredictable and extreme weather around Mt. Washington.

My original plan was to backpack two days, one night, and then ski Tucks today (Sunday). I’d been itching to camp out, and a solo trip seemed like the way to go, since Sweeney and Rob were busy getting their backcountry powder fix in the Wallowas in Oregon. From the get go I had to make some quick adjustments to my trip plan. Originally I wanted to park near Glen Falls, and head up to Boot Spurr, and then hike along the southern part of the presidential ridge, hitting Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce, and possibly Jackson, camping at elevation, but below treeline at Nauman.

But, when I got to Glen Falls parking area south of Pinkham Notch, the area was gated and all the signs were bagged. It didn’t look too inviting so I re-routed my ascend to the Boot Spur trail. Later I saw cars parked where the gate was, so I guess it wasn’t too big a deal. At Pinkham I checked the weather, then threw all my gear, both winter clothing and overnight essentials into my big 70L Osprey Aether pack, and headed up the Ravine trail to the cutoff.

As I crossed the bottom of the Sherburne, it was completely bare and dry. The Tucks trail was a mess of mud and rock at the bottom. Were we really just skinning from the base only a month ago? And skiing all the way down? It looked like a different world.

As I got higher up on Boot Spur I began breaking through the remnants of snow and ice into the running water below, which I was not a fan of. The wind was picking up, and looked like it trying to blow down the trees. As I crested treeline I nearly got blow away. The wind was fierce and it was very exposed. I’d read that the summit was reporting gusts above 85 mph, but I did not expect to need to make a hasty retreat to the shelter of the trees.

I snapped a quick photo of the bowl as I got above treeline on Boot Spurr

I quickly realized there was no way in hell I was hiking ~5 miles completely exposed on the peaks. I didn’t really want to give up and go back the way I’d come though, so I decided the brave the wind for about a mile while I headed up to connect with Boot Spurr Link trail, and descend into the Ravine. I threw on my shell, gathered my wits, and made agonizingly slow progress against the wind, sometimes on all four or bracing against cairns. The steep descent of Boot Spurr Link wasn’t too much fun–no one had broken trail and I was postholing the entire way down the Hermit Lake.

It was still early morning, but there were a bunch of skiers at Hojos, heading up to Hillmans and the bowl, so I decided to make a day of it, and enjoy the blue skies and warm weather (and lower wind speeds). There was the usual assortment of spring skiers, including people duct taping their skis to their packs and almost falling down left gully. I hiked around the bowl a bit and took my time before descending the Tucks trail. I felt a little silly hanging out in the bowl with a big pack but no skis with me.

Hillmans Highway from Hojos

Skiers heading up left gully, which had some soft bumps

The rapidly deteriorating bowl, and waterfall hole

Afterwards, I camped out at Barnes Field and prepped for some skiing Saturday, since my backpacking plans had been comprised. Due to some miscommunication between Alex and I, we didn’t meet up Saturday like we’d planned, and so Saturday morning I hung around Pinkham Notch until it looked like things were going to soften up, then made my way up to Hermit Lake on my own. I made record time to Hojos, about 40 minutes I think, and chatted with a few people on the way up, including a guy who was planning to summit via Lion’s Head, since they just re-opened the summer route.

At Hermit Lake I talked with a ranger who speculated that the bowl still wouldn’t soften up to prime corn for another hour or so, so I took my time and snapped a few photos for a group who were from the Johnson State College Outing Club. When they found out I was on my own, they offered to let me join them. They seemed like they knew what they were doing, so we departed together to ski Left Gully. It turned out I’d been hiking up the Tucks trail with their friend earlier, and a few of them had been into back-country skiing and coming up to Tucks for a number of years. It worked out great, they were super chill and it certainly made the day more fun than skiing on my own, and also gave me some peace of mind.

Though it was supposed to be cool and cloudy, the sun broke through, and I was sweating bullets in the heat as we ascended. We hit Left Gully just as it got soft, and had a great first run. I was feeling a bit slow on the ascent, I guess my jaunt Friday left me a bit tired. For second run, we headed up Left Gully again just as some hiker narrowly avoid taking out the whole line after he lost his footing and slid down the entire run. We topped out and headed towards Hillmans Highway across the rock fields, looking for a bit of variety. I hadn’t skied Hillmans all season, so I was game to give it a try. There was a choke point on the descent where you had to side-step down and the snow pack briefly got narrower than my skis, but the rest of the run was good spring conditions, though I doubt it will be worth skiing much longer. The Sherburne was in rough shape. You could kind of ski 30% of the way, as long as you didn’t mind skiing over rocks and grass and doing a bit of hiking in between.

In the sun on top of Left Gully, you can see my skin beginning to take on a reddish hue.

The weekend ended up much different than I’d planned, mostly due to the rapidly changing weather. Mt Washington is getting a bit of rain today, so it probably wouldn’t have been as much fun to ski anyway. Thanks again to the friends I met at from outing club, especially Jess and Sam, it was a blast skiing with you guys!