Episode 181 - Welcome Alanna, Zealand Hut & South Hale, Stomp’s Daughters

[00:00:08] Here is the latest Higher Summits forecast brought to you by our friends at the Mount Washington Observatory. Weather above treeline in the White Mountains is often wildly different than at our trailheads. Before you hike, check the Higher Summits forecast at mountwashington.org. Weather observers working at the non-profit Mount Washington Observatory

[00:00:36] Write this elevation-based forecast every morning and afternoon. Search and rescue teams, avalanche experts, and backcountry guides all rely on the Higher Summits forecast to anticipate weather conditions above treeline. You should too. Go to mountwashington.org or text FORECAST to 603-356-2137.

[00:01:03] And here's your forecast for the weekend of January 18th, 2025. Friday, mostly in the clouds with a slight chance of snow showers early, then trending towards clearing under partly sunny skies. Possible snow accumulations of a trace to less than one inch.

[00:01:30] Upper single digits for temp with winds west at 15-30 mph, increasing to 25-40 mph late. And the wind chill is going to be about 10 below to 20 below. Friday night in the clear under partly cloudy skies, then trending towards mostly in the clouds under mostly cloudy skies late. With a low starting in the upper single digits, then rising to the lower teens.

[00:01:57] Winds will be west, shifting southwest at 25-40 mph early, then increasing to 45-60 mph with gusts up to 75 mph. Wind chill again will be 10 below to 20 below. So, Saturday, in and out of the clouds under mostly cloudy. Trending towards in the clouds with a chance of snow showers. Possible snow accumulations of 1-3 inches with a high in the upper teens.

[00:02:27] Winds will be southwest at 50-75, sorry, 70 mph, increasing to 60-80 mph with gusts up to 100 mph. Damn. And the wind chill will be 10 below to 20 below, rising to 5 below to 15 below.

[00:03:18] Peckers Studio in the great state of New Hampshire. Welcome to the Sounds Like a Search and Rescue podcast, where we discuss all things related to hiking and search and rescue in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Here are your hosts, Mike and Stomp.

[00:03:34] Alright, Stomp, welcome. Yeah, yeah, sorry. Alright, start over. You, you, you, you, you smashed my vibe. Welcome, welcome.

[00:04:04] No, I stomped. No, you stomped my vibe. Welcome, welcome to episode 181, Stomp. How are you? Good, I feel like a shriveled human being. We're all scared. Snowmobiling in cold weather. Very scattered today, you're like, I'm tired, la la la la. Oh yeah. Woo! Burning it at both ends. Where did you snowmobile today? Well, Breton's open now. Okay.

[00:04:31] First week of the season, so I was up and over Zeeland Notch all day. The trails are still sort of sketchy, so we're only doing this up and back over Zeeland Road. Yeah. Not Zeeland, what the hell am I talking about? I'm so tired. Jefferson Notch Road, pardon me. Oh, Jefferson Notch, okay. Jefferson, yeah. Jefferson, yeah. Do you ever go over to Zeeland Road? Because we saw a bunch of snowmobilers on there last weekend.

[00:04:55] I thought that, well, Zeeland, yeah, Zeeland, well, yeah, but right now it's like low tide for snow, so it's not that great over there right now. Yeah, it's getting a little dirty in the corner that, like, you have to turn off. 100%. 100%. It's funny, because I was talking to somebody about Zeeland, no, Sawyer, and that's a big hub, too, for snowmobiling, but I think it's closed still, even for snowmobiles.

[00:05:22] Can you go right through that out to, like, Hancock Notch and stuff? I'm not 100% sure. I think it's a closed loop, but somehow Bartlett connects. Yeah, I would think so. Hurricane or Barenauts Road. Oh, no, Barenauts Road would connect. Yeah, Barenauts Road would somehow connect up near Livermore or something. It's got to be. Yeah, it's some kind of loop like that, but I don't think they can access that right now because of the roads.

[00:05:48] Yeah, yeah, the snowpack's not too, it's not too deep at this point, so. How are the guests? Yeah, the washout, though. Yeah. Oh, fantastic, man. I'm telling you, the new owners, when I started this, it was run by this guy named Bear. Yes. Who had a medical incident, disappeared, his son bought it, and they're sparing no expense, it's unbelievable. It's all top-of-the-line gear. Okay. I've got a locker now. We have a locker stomp? I've got a locker. Wow!

[00:06:17] I've got a $600 snowmobile jacket. Really? I feel like a big cheese in this place now. It's cool. What's in a jacket that would cost, that make it cost $600? Wow! I mean, they're fully waterproof, but they're meant for warmth and insulation. So when you're moving that fast, it's that wind chill factor. It's just not even an issue with these. It's like Gore-Tex, like wind resistant. Uh-huh. Okay. 100%. It's like armor.

[00:06:47] It's very stiff. Okay. Yeah, it's great. All right. Well, I've got to get out there and snowmobile. I have the 14th of February off, so maybe I'll book a special event for you. Today? That's a Thursday, isn't it? I think it's a Monday. I think it's either a Monday or a Friday. I'll have to look. Oh, yeah. All right. Well, I'm doing Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays in between PT. All right. But yeah, man, snow's great right now. It's thin, but it's really nice. So... All right.

[00:07:15] Well, I'm happy that you guys are getting... I'm praying for a good season for you, Stomp. Yeah. So far, so good. Yeah. And if you want to book, how do you book to get you to be the guide? Oh, you have to request me. I think you can do that online, but it's Northern Extremes Snowmobiling. Okay. Sure. And the one that I'm at is at Bretton Woods, not Bartlett. Okay. All right. Well, we'll put that in the show notes. And if you do book, Stomp, make sure you... A million cups of coffee for Stomp.

[00:07:46] Right? I love being busy. Right. You do. It's good. It's good. So welcome to episode 181 of the Sounds Like a Search and Rescue podcast. This week, we are joined by our friend Alana, who is a writer, content creator, adventurer, and white mountain hiker. So Alana is going to share some of her adventures and talk about hiking and sobriety and all kinds of cool stuff. So excited to have the, have her on. And then plus that, we've got a rundown of events that are coming up in and around the

[00:08:16] White Mountain, some cool stuff going on. I'm going to give a trip report of an overnight stay at Zeeland Hut and then a bushwhack out to one of New Hampshire's 100 highest peaks. I am starting to become the bushwhacking expert on the podcast now, suddenly. Stomp doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm the expert. And then speaking of Stomp, he's back. We just talked about a snowmobile guiding, but he's also got a chance to get together and do a segment with his daughters, which I haven't heard yet.

[00:08:45] So Stomp's daughters. Stomp has like a million daughters. And they're going to join us to talk about hiking with kids. And then they're, I guess they're going to share some memories of what it's like growing up with the legendary Stomp as their dad. So I'm Mike. And I'm Stomp. And this is the part where Littlefoot says, let's get started. Let's get started.

[00:09:18] So, all right. But before we do this, let's get into, let's hear from our friend Christina from Wild Raven Endurance Coaching, and then we'll come back on the other side. I'm Christina from Wild Raven Endurance Coaching. I work with athletes of all levels from hikers to triathletes, helping you reach your goals with personalized guidance.

[00:09:46] With years of experience hiking, mountain biking, and trail running across New England, I also have a deep knowledge of the New Hampshire 4,000 footers and the surrounding trails. Whether you're a beginner hiker or a seasoned athlete, I'll guide you towards your goals, reducing injury risk and improving your performance through smart, tailored coaching. Are you looking to transition from hiking to mountain running? I'm here to make that journey easier too.

[00:10:12] My approach combines strength training, mindfulness, and life balance on and off the trail. Let me help you find more joy in your sport while getting stronger and healthier along the way. Visit www.coaching.christinafulsick.com and start your adventure today. All right, Stomp. So thank you, Christina.

[00:10:42] Definitely look her up if you want to get in shape. It's a new year and a new you. Yeah, she's the one to do it with for sure. I mean, she does the virtual thing too. Yes. She's phenomenal. Yeah, awesome. Yeah, the communication's right there. She can track you and communicate on the fly. She will hook you up for sure. All right, Stomp. We've got a list of a couple of events that are going down that we wanted to let people know.

[00:11:08] So on Saturday, January 25th at 6 p.m. at the Medallion Opera House in Gorham, New Hampshire, the title of this event is Survival and Sacrifice on Mount Washington. So join Ty Gagne and a panel of backcountry experts as they dive further into the story of the Lions of Winter. So Ty joined us previously, but if you want to get an in-person event with Ty and a few other people, this would be your opportunity.

[00:11:36] So we'll share the links in the show notes and admission is by donation for the New Hampshire Outdoor Council. So not only do you have an entertaining night with cool, interesting people, but you also get to support the New Hampshire Outdoor Council. Awesome. Saturday, January 25th at 6 p.m. Okay. Next up is recreation and rescue in the White Mountains. So this is, what is the Stomp? You got me confused here.

[00:12:05] Is this a video or is this an event? It was an event that happened and the video was posted. So it's an after the fact post, but you can look at this video and hear these good, fine speakers. Okay. All right. So that makes more sense. Sorry. I thought I had a couple of links for events here. So yeah, so we're going to post this video. It features Michael Weichert and he's a writer and I'll talk about him in a second.

[00:12:32] And Christine Woodside, who is the editor of Appalachia Journal and handles all their accident reports along with Christopher Jusin, who is a retired Mount Washington Avalanche Center director. So this was a panel moderated by Joe Klematovic. So it's definitely worth checking out. And Michael Weichert, he is a member of the board of directors for mountain rescue service. And he is a climber and I've actually stopped.

[00:13:02] I've been reading his book, which is called Hidden Mountains, which is the story of two couples who they're from the Boston area, got to know each other through like climbing in New Hampshire and in the surrounding areas. And then they had gone out and done like a big adventure in Alaska on these like unclimbed peaks. So I've read like about half of this book and it's really good. Michael Weichert had written it and I highly recommend it. It is called Hidden Mountains.

[00:13:33] And I think I got it from Mrs. Mike has a friend who I think went to college with one of the people that was involved in this climbing adventure that required a rescue. So that's that's the connection there. But I may reach out to Michael and see if he wants to come on to talk about it. So it's pretty cool book, Hidden Mountains. That sounds great. When did when did that come out? Let me take a look here. See if I got the date here. I'm not sure, Stomp. You're always asking me questions I don't have answers to.

[00:14:03] So 2023. 2023 is the copyright. So Harper Collins. It's legit. It's a great book. It's got an awesome jacket. And yeah, it's it's it's fantastic. Okay. Excellent. All right. Michael Weichert, I think is how you pronounce his name. And then next up, Stomp in your neighborhood, Waterville Valley Athletic and Improvement Association has their winter social. I think we give a heads up to people on on this every year.

[00:14:32] So this is going to be an event that goes on. It's Saturday, February 22nd. The Waterville Valley Athletic Improvement Association is an outdoor club that's been around since 1888, Stomp. It's older than you are. And it's it's hard to believe. It's hard to believe. Exactly. It's their big event. And it's a great way to gather everyone under one roof and a great way to meet and mingle and get to know the Improvement Association a little.

[00:14:59] It's open to the public, which means that even Stomp is allowed. They're asking if we can make it. But I don't know. I'm just so busy right now. Yeah. Yeah. We're invited. Yeah. Okay. I'll go. So keep it open. Keep it. Keep an open mind and join our good friends. I would love to. I would love to. So excellent.

[00:15:20] And then also there's another event with Ty Gagney and Nick Higgins from the Mount Washington Weather Observatory, which is the Snow Safe Summit, which is February 15th to the 16th. And why don't you go into this, Mike? I am going to this. So this is going to be in Arumne at the Barn Door Hostel.

[00:15:43] And yeah, there's going to be a bunch of people there that are going to be doing clinics and seminars on safe winter hiking. So I'll be there. I think they had asked me to do a winter hiking gear breakdown. So I'm going to bring all of my gear, all my tents and my crampons that I barely ever use. Everything. Everything. Nice. That'd be fun. Yes.

[00:16:11] I might try to stop by if I can get there at a reasonable time. Yeah. I think I'm going. So the deal with this thing is so Snow Safe Summit, you can book. And our friend Lynn, the lovely Lynn who helps us with everything, she is going to be organizing a lot of this. So she, I think, has put together a great event. But you can camp out that night.

[00:16:40] And so you can go on whatever the 15th, sleep over, and then enjoy some presentations on the 16th or go hiking, whatever you want to do. It's a fun time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In a safe way. It's always nice to have a safe test run if you're going to try to dive into winter camping. That's right. There's a good way to do it and a bad way to do it. And this is a safe way to do it. Yeah. Not like us stomp where we just like winged it. A hundred percent. Right.

[00:17:10] So, but yeah, so Lynn, yeah, Lynn Sweezer is involved in that one. And then she saw, I mean, she's everywhere. She's everywhere. She's got another event that I think she's involved with along with our friends from 48 Peaks, the Alzheimer's Association. They have an event which is a winter safety fundraiser. So they are hosting an event which is in, it's on Saturday, February 8th. And it is at Public Lands in Framingham.

[00:17:38] And this is a hiking fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association and Public Lands for, it's a winter hiking safety event. So learn about winter hiking, the 10 essentials for your winter pack, and more about how you can get involved with 48 Peaks. So, another great event. So Megan will be there. I'm sure Cindy will be there. Lynn will be there. All, all great people. Yeah. Good time. Yeah. I think Lynn is like a clone. I think there's like a couple hundred of her running around. She's amazing.

[00:18:07] She's absolutely amazing. But we'll put the link in if you want to register for that. And yeah, she's like, what she gives back to the community is just amazing. Yeah. Yeah. A hundred percent. I'm 10 percent. Way more than you do, Stomp. Well, come on. I donated my tick jokes. I mean, that was a good donation. You did. You did. But speaking of tick jokes, Stomp, we haven't heard a dad joke in a while. Yeah.

[00:18:37] It's been a long time. The well is dry. Yeah. Yeah. It's been a long time. Let me flip through my Lance and Camilla book. See if I can find some. Excuse me. Well, I'm at the point where I've done so many of these, Stomp, that I'm nervous. You don't want to be a repeat offender. I don't want to do a repeat. Hold on. I don't like these here.

[00:19:06] What's brown and sounds like a bell? Mmm. I give up. Dung. Oh. Get it? That's like a Dave blanks in the woods kind of. That's right. Vibe. Vibe. Vibe. What position does a ghost play in hockey? The ghosty? A ghoulie. A ghoulie. Instead of a goalie, a ghoulie.

[00:19:36] Terrible. Terrible. That's a good one. Terrible. Hey, what's that sound? It must be time for the pop culture segment with Mike and Stomp. Anyway, all right.

[00:20:04] So now we're moving on to, so we didn't pull that many news articles just because we have segments we got to deal with here. So we do the pop culture thing. Stomp wants to talk about Wicked the movie. Stomp's always a month behind everybody else, but what do you want to talk about when it comes to Wicked? Well, when the girls came up for Christmas, we sat down and watched it. And I didn't necessarily go in kicking and screaming to watch it. I saw it live, which was fantastic in Broadway. Yes. Yep.

[00:20:32] And I thought the movie was phenomenal, actually. I thought it was great. Yeah, I'm a little behind the eight ball here, but very well done. The music was great. I mean, everything about it was just phenomenal. So hats off if you haven't seen it. And if you're reluctant like me, put the reluctancy away and give it a shot. It's good stuff. It's an amazing movie. So unlike you, I saw it in the movie theaters right when everybody else was buzzing. I'm always right on top of the trend, Stomp. And it was fantastic.

[00:21:02] I love the soundtrack. I like that they switched it up a little bit with the details. You know, they had a little bit more focus on the school situation, which I think they didn't spend much time on in the actual theater musical. So I like that. And then my only critique at the end was that the Defying Gravity scene was dragged out a little bit too long. It's funny you say that because that's my complaint.

[00:21:28] I thought that the power of that song lost its momentum and impact because they kept on cutting it, throwing in a scene, and then going back to the song, throwing in a scene way too long. Yeah. I wish they could have done that over. But yeah. I mean, they should tighten it up a little bit, but Cynthia Erivo, amazing. Ariana Grande was okay. A little disturbing looking. I don't know what is something throwing me off. She looked a little different in that one, but I think that they both voices are incredible. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:21:58] Great stuff. And then part two is coming out next year, I think, right? Yep. Yeah. We got to wait a year. Just like Lord of the Rings though. They filmed it back to back. Yes. Yeah. So that'd be good. Yeah. You know, Ariana Grande actually is dating that little redheaded guy now. They're together. Oh, really? Yeah. He was married and had a kid and now he broke up with his wife and he's with Ariana Grande now. Look at that, huh? It was a scandal. Fortune. Unexpected fortunes.

[00:22:28] I think these good looking actors, they get stuck in like a, what are those things they call it? Trailers. And they're in the trailers and they get bored and then husbands cheat on wives, wives cheat on husbands. I don't know. Yeah. It's a den of iniquity. Yes. But it all burned down. Apparently. It did all burn down. Hollywood is history. Yep. But everyone stayed awake stomping. It's weird. That's right. Stomp.

[00:22:58] We just happened to want to just give a plug to one of our sponsors. CS coffee. Amazing. So yeah, CS coffee. Athlete ready. CS instant coffee. www.cs instant.coffee. Great backpacking coffee. Excellent backpacking coffee. Agree. Yeah, it really is. Yes. Hey, we haven't plugged the stickers in a while.

[00:23:23] So you can get your stickers at Ski Fanatics and Spinners down in Andover off Dascom Road. Say hi to Dolls and Pops. Advertising with Slashers is still an option if you want to plug whatever you want to plug. Just reach out to us and we can send you some rates. The swag is still flying off the shelves at the Bonfire Shop, the classic VTs. The hoodies. The hoodies are the most popular by far. Yes. I would say. And let's see.

[00:23:52] Slash your five-star reviews for Apple Podcasts. This is my semi-regular plea is I get a immense ego boost by the 4.9 rating that we have, but I want to get back up to a five. Somebody, I think I know who it is, sabotaged us with a bad rating. Interesting. Probably because I don't like you, Stomp. Not me, but you. Oh, 100%.

[00:24:21] But I want to get back up to see if I can get a five-star rate. If I can get more five-star ratings, maybe we'll get up to a 5.0. Well, yeah. But remember, there's no such thing as bad press. If it weren't for me, we'd probably be at like a 4.7. True, true. I guess. True. But anyway, if you want to give us a nice review on Apple Podcasts or give us five stars, it really does nothing other than stroke my tiny little ego. So anyway.

[00:24:51] And continuing on with the coffee theme, Stomp, do we, I feel like we, we, if you want to donate, Stomp's always got plans to buy new equipment and he's always tweaking the, he's got some, it looks like Simon says to me, it's got lights everywhere and buzzes, but he, he knows all this stuff. So we buy equipment with the money that we get. So if you want to donate coffee, what, what do we do, Stomp? You do this part. Yeah. Well, you can go to the Buy Me A Coffee website, which is off of the Instagram's link tree.

[00:25:21] And you can, it's an easy donation process and you can even make it a recurring donation, which is super cool. Uh, but yeah, you're right. I mean, we just upgraded the PA stuff for the next round of live shows. So it's going to be a lot clearer, louder without any feedback or any of that nonsense. Um, so yeah, we're always trying to make the show better, but, uh, this week we have Warren Wheelock, who is out of Waterville Valley, uh, Athletic Association there.

[00:25:47] And, uh, he donated five and, um, just wanted to thank us for plugging the event and just that, uh, he's enjoying the pod. So thank you, Warren. Very, uh, appreciative. Thank you, Warren. I feel like Warren is a very, like, that's a very New Hampshire outdoorsy name. Like your name is Warren. Like if you've, you've done a lot of hiking, if you live in New Hampshire. It's a town too. And yes, sure. Yeah. It's like a, that's a lot of Warrens.

[00:26:15] Rugged name. I feel like. So it's a good name to name. That's true. If you're having a kid, you should name your kid Warren. He'll be, it's a unique name. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We crushing peaks in no time. Exactly. Um, speaking of crushing things, stop normally now is the time that we talk about what we're drinking. I am drinking water tonight because I'm trying to behave. Uh, but what are you, uh, what are you drinking?

[00:26:38] Um, I'm still, uh, going through my German odyssey here. Uh, so tonight I have a, it's an I Bauer, not Eddie Bauer, but an I Bauer. And it's a Schwarzbier. Uh, let me read here. Mmm. 4.5%. Yup. Good stuff. It tastes like German beer. Like every single beer out of this box that my folks got me is like the same exact beer. Really?

[00:27:08] With a different label. Oh, different label, but it's the same. Oh yeah. A hundred percent. It's a riot. Yeah. Yeah. It's not really like a B. Yeah. I'm not avoiding beer, but I just brought my water. But like Mrs. Mike just got a new four pack for me. I just, the timing didn't work out. So I just said, forget it. I'll drink water tonight. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Gotta hydrate. Anyway, I knew we should have gone left back there. Stomp. Don't worry. I know it's this way. I've got a feeling in my gut.

[00:27:37] Uh, are you sure you're not about to have a bowel emergency? Uh, totally. We got this. But I just blew out my hip. Fell down that gully with my 40 year old micro spikes. Suck it up, Stomp. It's 4 PM. We're at 3,500 feet. We got nine miles back to the parking lot. Your leg may be broken. We got no cell connection and we can't feel our fingers. But we're finishing all of my list tonight. By the way, I need some water. I'm empty.

[00:28:04] I would, if I could see what I'm doing, but my headlamp batteries are dead. You gotta be kidding me. What a chump. This is the last time I hike with you. Pshh. Ha. Whatever, mister. Do you know me? I have a podcast. Pshh. Whatever. Let's find out what Mike and Stomp have been hiking. Anyway, but I do, um, I did do a recent hike Stomp. I guess we can get into this.

[00:28:31] So I'm going to do a trip review here, but, um, part of my hike. So I, I met some friends at Zeeland hut on Friday night, had to work Friday. So I had to get there late, but I, I packed up my gear. I had my sleeping bag and all my, um, various stuff that I needed to stay warm. And then I also brought with me two, two beers. So I figured like, all right, I can drink a beer or two when I get there. And I also brought in a rotisserie chicken for dinner.

[00:29:01] A full rotisserie chicken. How'd you pack that? I just, it was very heavy. What'd you wrap it in? It was very heavy. I, I just, it was in like a plastic bag and then I put it in another bag. So all I can imagine is it ripping open and getting grease all over your pack. I was ahead of me outside. I had a double bag. So there's no way that could have happened, but yeah, two, two beers and a rotisserie chicken. What if Grey J swarm attacked you? I don't know.

[00:29:31] They stole your rotisserie. I would fight them to death to touch my rotisserie chicken. So anyway, but yeah, so we had, we was scheming a trip. So originally we were going to go on Saturday night. I was going with the Jakester and Nick and Peter and Steve and my friend James. And I brought my friend, the famous Tom who I've done, you know, the trip to Yosemite with. So it was a good crew.

[00:29:56] And we couldn't get a spot on Saturday night because the Boy Scouts were coming. So the Boy Scouts booked the whole cabin on Saturday night. So we went Friday night instead, me and Tom, we had to work. So we stayed a little, we got up there a little bit late and hiked into the dark, but the rest of that crew actually went in Friday morning and they went to Zealand. They hiked up to Zealand road, up to the hut, dropped their stuff. And then they did a climb up to Zealand, Z cliff.

[00:30:26] And then a couple of them went to actually to the summit of Zealand and they got some amazing like pictures, like of the sunset. And like the views are incredible. Nick on the, from the Pudge podcast was with us. Right. He got some amazing photos. That's cool. So where'd they go again? They went up Zealand. They went to the hut and then they went to Z cliff. Z cliff. Okay. And then which, which overlooks like white wall looks, it's the other side of white wall. Yeah.

[00:30:52] And the out into the like Willie Tom field and that, that view. Yeah. And then they went up to Nick needs, he's almost done with his winter 4,000 footer. So he had to get up to Zealand. So him and Jake, and I think nobody else went with them, but they had to break trail to get to Zealand. And really people think like, Oh, Z cliff and Zealand are like right next to each other. No, they're like mile and a half, two miles away. So it's a long hike. Uh, especially they had already hiked into the hut.

[00:31:18] So, uh, but, but coming back, they got a bunch of views of like the sun setting and everything. So it was good, good day for them. But how deep was the snow breaking to Zealand? They said, well, that area there up above gets a lot of wind blown snow. So even if you break the trail, it blows right in. And the last time I was there, when we did the Z bond traverse, it was a foot of snow easy through the whole way from Z cliff all the way over to, um, Giot in the, into the twin ways until you get the West bond.

[00:31:48] Basically you break and trail at some level of like a foot of snow or, or more. Hmm. So I don't know if it was that bad for those guys, but, but anyway, so me and Tom, we were late. I had, we both had to work. So we drove up, got on trail in the dark. Um, so we parked at the lot. So when you're doing the Zealand hut, you have to park on 302. There's a parking lot that is used by hikers that are going into Zealand and then also snowmobilers park there.

[00:32:15] And then there's a tunnel that goes under 302 on the far side of the parking lot, or you can just walk to the street. So we just walked the street and then cut into Zealand road and then hiking Zealand road, essentially like, I think it's about a half a mile to get to the trailhead where the sugar loaves are. Mm hmm. Then you continue upward. You get to the hill brook trailhead, which is about three miles in, I think.

[00:32:43] And then another half a mile up, you get to the Zealand trailhead parking lot. And that's when, and we basically just wore, um, we bare booted the whole way. So there was like already broken trail getting out there, a little bit of windblown snow. I think they got maybe an inch or two of snow. I was walking in some snow, but it was just easy to deal with bare booted. But then once we got to the Zealand trailhead, we switched over to snowshoes.

[00:33:11] And then that's an easy, like, I think I want to say like a two and a half, three mile hike to the hut from the. Like fairly flat. Fairly flat. You go over some bog bridges. Really the only climb that you have to deal with is at the very end. There's like a three to 400 foot climb that feels like you're going to climb Mount Everest at the end when you're carrying 25, 30 pounds worth of gear in your back. So. Yeah, right.

[00:33:41] Right. So, but that was it. And then I got there and I was, I didn't know what to expect. And luckily it was just our group. And then there was one other hiker that was there from the Adirondacks that was doing like his winter 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. Nice guy. I didn't even remember his name. I think it was Kyle. Maybe. I can't remember. But other than that was us. So we just, we had the bunkhouse to the left. So Zealand has the smallest bunk houses. I think they have the smallest capacity of people.

[00:34:11] So we, we set up on the left hand side bunk house. And then the stove was going, there was two caretakers. I forget her name. It begins with a B. And then the, I guess the head of the AMC or the VP of the AMC hot system was there as well. And they were just doing their thing and we all just kind of hung out.

[00:34:35] So when you go to the hut in the winter, it's, I think it's $40 if you're a member and then $70 if you're a non-member. And then essentially what happens, you get in there, they have your name. They just check it off and say like, okay, Mike's here, whatever, Tom's here. And then that's basically it for check-in. And then at that point, you know, you can sign the guest book. There's a table there. They have a stove going.

[00:35:03] So the, the, the outdoor temperature was probably like in the 15 degree range. And inside the hut is probably closer to like 40, 45. And then when you're sitting right next to that stove, it's pretty warm. It's pretty comfortable. So I set up with the, um, next to the stove and I got my rotisserie chicken and Jakester had one of the beers and I had one of the beers and yeah, it was a good, good dinner. And then, um, lights out is around nine 30 or so.

[00:35:31] So you can, you just have to be quiet. They shut the lights and they shut the stove off. Uh, we stayed up a little bit beyond that with our headlamps on just talking. And then we probably went to bed around 10 o'clock. Um, the bunks, the boy, the bunks are set up as you've got like three levels of bunks. I always take like the lower level. Cause I get up like once or twice at night to go to the bathroom. And, uh, yeah, it's a great environment. I mean, it was 25 degrees temperature inside there and I had a 20 degree bag.

[00:36:00] And then I brought my, I brought a 45 degree bag just as an extra. I was going to bring my zero degree bag, but I weighed them the 20, 20 degree in the, in the 45 together were lighter than my zero. And I figured I would just use that and that worked out perfect. I was warm as could be. Yeah. Yeah. That's not bad. I mean, it's, it's bearable if you have the right gear. Yeah. I always, it sounds like warm as could be. It sounds like every night in my house, we sleep with the windows open freezing to death every night. Yeah, exactly.

[00:36:28] And then I like, I take my, when you get there, like I immediately take my boots off. I've got these booties that are down booties that I walk around in. Um, the privy is across the way. So you have to leave the hut, walk outside to get to the privy. And, uh, I had to get up in the middle of the night one night, but honestly, like I got to bed at 10 o'clock and I was out. I woke up at like two to go to the bathroom and then came back and zonked back out again. We got up around seven 30. I didn't want to get up.

[00:36:55] Um, but I, I did a trick stomp. You'll be proud of me. I was still laying in my bed. My daughter's boyfriend gave me, um, these electric hand warmers. So I turned the electric hand warmers on when I was getting ready to get out of bed, put my boots on. I put the hand warmers inside the boots. Then I stuffed my down booties inside my boots. So it sort of created a pocket of warm warmth. And then I sat in my bed for like 15 minutes. I put my contact lenses in and shit.

[00:37:25] And then, um, when I went to put my boots on, my boots were nice and warm because of the, the, the heaters that were in them. Yeah. That's so, so that was a new trick. That was a new trick. But yeah, we got up, had breakfast and then we headed out to seven of us headed out to, um, lend a hand trail, which is the trail that connects from Zeeland hut to get to Mount Hill. But we had a side quest planned.

[00:37:51] Our goal for the day was to bushwhack out to South Hill, which is on the New Hampshire 100 highest as a bushwhack. Were you anxious? I was anxious and I was excited stomp, um, because I didn't really know what to expect. So our Peter was, this is Peter's grand scheme. And, um, James is a very accomplished, you know, very comfortable bushwhack off trail person that was with us. And Peter is very capable.

[00:38:19] Nick and, and, and Jake are very capable. You know, I'm no, I'm no amateur either. So we had a pretty experienced crew and, um, essentially James led in the beginning, sort of followed the height of land. We had a general idea of the direction we needed to head from where we got off a lend a hand, uh, trail. And we knew, we knew where to go off a lend a hand trail. And there's a little, there's a big boulder there that we were like, this is it. We got on, uh, there was no sign of anybody else going that way.

[00:38:48] So we had to bushwhack through, there was a few tight spots, but it was mostly open forest. I do think stomp it is. There is something to it. Like it's much more wide open in the winter for bushwhacking. I feel like it's maybe in some ways it's a little bit easier, but we, we made our way. Yeah. We made our way about a mile in and, um, there's like three different plateaus that the summit's on. And we thought that we hit the summit and then we realized we were like, no, there's,

[00:39:17] we got to go a little bit farther. We kept going downhill, but finally we found a section. We were like, all right, we're above where we were on that other summit. And cause we didn't see a canister. So we were like, it's gotta be somewhere else. So we kept going and we had that, we just hit this wall of, of trees that there was no way to get around. Right. You cliffed out on the other side. So we were like, so I think Peter was like, all right, we're going through it. And so we just busted through this, this scrub.

[00:39:46] And then we finally got to an open section and then we found the canister of, it's a zeal on it, but it's South Hill and we were like, it was like party time. We were psyched. There you go. That's nice. I saw your pictures and, uh, it looked like you guys were getting rained on by, uh, snow. Looked like it was like the bows of the bows were full of snow. Yeah. We would get into the car wash. It's always tough. Yeah. We would get into the car wash for sure, but it, it wasn't that bad, honestly.

[00:40:14] And then like we backtracked, it was interesting because we would have like, it, we, we, we handed off. So James hit, he hit a wall and he was like, all right, I'm not, I think it's this way. And then Peter was like, no, I think we got to go this way. So James would reconnect with Peter. And then I would, I think at one point I decided, I was like, no, we got to keep going more to the left. So we had all of these trails that we were backtracking through when we were going back.

[00:40:41] So we had to kind of reconstruct which ways we went because it wasn't obvious where, um, where the trails were. So, but we worked it out. Yeah. That's awesome. Um, how steep is it towards the very summit? Uh, not too bad. Summits always tend to pop. It was, it wasn't too bad. It was like a 50, 60 foot climb, but it was through, it was just busting through the thickest trees you could imagine. It's unbelievable. Yeah. It gets a little tedious.

[00:41:09] It was a little tedious, but it was great. And, um, we had a good time and nobody gave up and, uh, it was like really teamwork. And then hiked back out, went up Lendahan. We got to Mount Hill. And then, um, some of the guys were getting cold. Tom was a little bit behind. So me and James stuck with Tom. Tom was having a foot issue with his, um, snowshoe. So he was going really slow. I was like, we may not get out of here until seven o'clock at night. But then me and James kind of figured out, we're like, Hey Tom, why don't you switch over

[00:41:38] to micro spikes and maybe that'll help your foot? Cause he was getting irritated by his snowshoe. So he switched over to micro spikes cause the trail was basically broken out. And then from there he, um, he was cruising. He was back to normal. So a little bit nervous. He's got to take a look and figure out what's going on with his foot, but all's well that ends well. And those guys were, it's a tricky situation because they had to keep moving cause they were getting cold. Tom needed a little bit of time to get his foot sorted out.

[00:42:08] I was kind of going ahead and then coming back. James was waiting with him a little bit more than I was. But then once we got the micro spikes on him, he was, he was off to the races. So he just needed like, I think he had some issues with his boots or something too. So, well, I was going to say, was that his first time of the season in snowshoes? Yeah, it was the first time. Cause that can do it too. Yeah. He was like, it's always a tough curve when he first put those things on. Yeah. He's got some issue with his toe and like, he needs a wider boot.

[00:42:37] But what was happening is the snowshoes were too tight and they were irritating his foot. And it just, by the time we got to Mount Hill, it was just, it irritated it so badly. He was going uphill, but when he had to go downhill, then the toe was like pushing against the boot. And that's when it really irritated him. But he, once he got rid of the snowshoes, it felt better. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. That sucks. Yeah.

[00:43:03] But it was a fun day, good, good group and a really good learning experience. So I think I like bushwhacking now in the winter. So do you like the highest hundred? Is that your new list? Yeah. I was looking at the list and I'm like, I go through the first 70. I was like, oh, I have all these. And now I'm looking at these bottom 30. I'm like, oh. Oh my God. Yeah, exactly. Like the Mark Kankamangus I got to climb to. Oh, that's easy. Oh, it is. Easy piece. Yeah. If you know how to go, it's like from this side, the Waterville side. Yeah.

[00:43:32] Greeley Ponds and easy peas. Yeah. I don't know how to go, so you'll have to teach me the ways. Yeah, for sure. All right, Stomp. So now's the part of the show where we do Notable Listener Hike of the Week. Yeah. Tag Slasher on your adventure to be considered for Slasher's Hike of the Week. This week we have Jakester who tagged us for your trip there at South Hale. Yep. Let's see. LB Boyd. She posted beautiful pictures of Black Mountain. She went up via the Chippewa Trail.

[00:44:03] Okay. That's a great hike right now. Yeah, yeah. And then KK48 Peaks. I think that's a new name for us. Welcome aboard. Hiked Mount Cabot for 37 out of the 48. I do not know if that's just winter specifically or the list in general. And then Dave Shatt in the Woods, our boy Dave, didn't invite me to Plymouth Mountain and Plymouth West Peak. But that's okay. No problem.

[00:44:31] That is one of the coolest hikes, Mike. You've got to get out there and try this. You can approach it from two different ways. You can approach it from the Groton side, Hebron side, or from Plymouth. Okay. You could do a full car spot traverse, easy mileage, but just really cool views and a beautiful ridgeline between Plymouth. You've got to bushwhack to get to that West Peak, but generally there's a trail that dumps out onto a snowmobile trail. Okay.

[00:44:59] Very cool trip, especially in winter. It's beautiful up there. All right. Well, I'll put it on the list stop. The list is long. Yeah. So do we have a winner this week? Yeah. I'm going to give LB Boyd. LB puts in a lot of notable hikes. And I like Black Mountain and I like the Chippewa Trail. So good for them. Yeah. That's top five, man. It's a beauty. Congratulations. Congratulations. And it was much rejoicing.

[00:45:49] It's time for Slasher's Guest of the Week. Very cool. Very cool. All right. Stop. So now is the part of the show where we are going to break away and we're going to do a segment with our friend Alana.

[00:46:14] So Alana, she is a hiker and content creator. Her fiance, Sir Mapsalot, has been on the show and we've been to connect with her for a while. So it was great to catch up with her. Talks a lot of interesting topics. Talks about hiking. Talks about a little bit about like her work in therapy and dealing with trauma and sobriety and all kinds of cool stuff. So let's move into that and then we'll come back out. Excellent.

[00:46:45] Alana, welcome, welcome to Slasher Podcast. Are you nervous? Yeah, a little bit. You'll do fine. You'll do fine. So why don't we start off? So folks, we've been talking to Alana back and forth a little bit and we've got some connections with Sir Mapsalot, right? He's one of your partners in crime. Yep. Awesome. So why don't you start off by introducing yourself and giving a little bit of background? Okay. So my name is Alana. I'm originally from New Jersey.

[00:47:15] I moved up here about almost 10 years ago when I was 25. And I really just sort of loved being up here. I used to come up here skiing. And currently I work in an elementary school with special needs students. So that's what my prime focus is.

[00:47:37] And I'm also in school for psychology with a major in counseling, but also a minor in emergency management. So mainly that's what I do right now. Aside from training and hiking, really. I'm engaged to Sir Mapsalot. He's actually my fiance. That's exciting. Do you have a date or is it just a perpetual engagement? We don't have a date yet.

[00:48:05] We know where we want to get married, but it's just planning that. We're sort of just enjoying being engaged. So we'll see where that goes. It's been a long time since I've been engaged. 24 years married. But no, I remember that. I think we will. I'm trying to think back. I feel like we waited about a year and a half. But honestly, for me, like there was a lot of wedding planning talk. I would have preferred to just like get it over with.

[00:48:33] Yeah, we want to do something small but big for us. We don't want to have a big wedding. It's just not our thing. So, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I think that seems to be more of the common thought nowadays. I think back when I was getting married, it was like, oh, well, you got to go to the country club and get married and all that. It's like that gives me the I would hate that now. So, yeah.

[00:48:59] So moving up from New Jersey, I always sort of like my kids are down in North Carolina for school and everybody sort of gets lumped into like, oh, you're from the Northeast and you're all the same. But like there's a definite difference between being in Jersey and then moving up to even like Massachusetts and New Jersey is probably more similar, I think. But moving up to New Hampshire is a little bit different. Like how was the and obviously you knew about New Hampshire from coming and visiting, but it's different when you live here. What's your perspective on the differences?

[00:49:28] So I went from living in a town where when I graduated high school, I graduated with 600 kids. There's currently 600 people in the town I live in. So there's a huge difference just between pace of life, access to things. I feel like people in New Hampshire, it's more of a community. People want to know you. They want to help you.

[00:49:54] And I never felt like a Jersey girl, quote unquote. It just really wasn't me. I'm thankful that I grew up there because I was exposed to a lot of different people and cultures and just, you know, it's a melting pot. But it's just not the lifestyle that I like to live up here. It's just slow pace. The only thing that changes really is the seasons.

[00:50:20] You know, there's not all these buildings and things happening all the time. And I just really, really enjoy that aspect. I enjoy the community and the farms and of course the mountains. Yeah. Yeah. And for you, when you moved up to New Hampshire, was it, were you already connected to the mountains and hiking? Or was that something that you picked up by being in New Hampshire?

[00:50:46] So I had come up here the year before I moved up here and I hiked Mount Mansfield. And that was my first, my first real mountain. Because in New Jersey, you know, we have like the high point and the AT runs through it. So I had done those, but Mansfield was my first real, real hike. Unfortunately, I was drunk for it. So I don't remember much of it.

[00:51:12] So I had a taste there, but it wasn't until I was living here and I was living here for quite a while before I really got into the mountains and hiking. Yeah. How many years back do you think it goes that you've gotten connected to hiking in the mountains? Really? It started during COVID. Okay. And I can go into that story if you, if you want to about.

[00:51:42] Yeah. Yeah. Why don't, why don't we go into that? And then I'll probably backtrack and talk a little bit about like some of your recent hikes and trips. But yeah, if you want to get into your kind of origin story with hiking, that would be cool. Sure. Sure. So after, after COVID had, had sort of, it was still going on, but things were starting to open up again. And we were back in school. I was riding the school bus in the mornings for a bus route.

[00:52:11] And what had happened was the bus driver on the bus had a massive cardiac episode and the bus crashed. Wow. And I was on the bus with a few students. Unfortunately, the bus driver didn't, didn't make it. Um, so from that incident, what had happened was I, I started to really seek out stuff that I needed.

[00:52:38] So one of the, um, counselors that I debriefed with, he talked about how your nervous system is like an ocean and trauma is sort of like debris. And the more you moved, the less likely the debris would settle into your nervous system. So he suggested that I seek the outdoors. Um, and from there, I, I started hiking the New Hampshire 48 and it became an obsession. I was able to complete it in 13 months.

[00:53:08] So it was like an every weekend thing. I was just going out there and it significantly impacted the way I was able to handle the trauma from that. So that's really like how it happened. I sort of went through that and it was suggested that I started hiking and I just went like full in. Um, and it was really amazing what, what happened from that. Yeah. And it's interesting.

[00:53:37] You have these like jokes online. Like I need, I've joked with my kids. Like my, some of my kids have gone through periods where they've, um, you know, had some struggles and I'm always of one. I'm like, well, we get, let's get outside. Let's go for a walk. Let's go for a hike. Let's clear your head. And there's this little bit of pushback sometimes where it's like, well, you know, my problems aren't going to just be solved by, um, by going on a hike, dad. And of course, look for me, I'm like all about hiking. So I think it solves everything.

[00:54:03] But, um, but there is, there's something to it around, um, keeping moving, like you said, avoiding letting the, um, the debris in the ocean hit you. If you stay on the move a little bit, it's not necessarily like running away from your problems, but it's giving yourself a chance to focus on something else. That's not going to trigger you back into like negative thoughts. Right. Right.

[00:54:26] And, and because a lot of trauma is held in our bodies because we go into fight flight or freeze mode when we experience things like that. So really you have to focus on getting the trauma out of your body before you can focus on getting it out of your head. So like, like you said, just moving your body helps you just like release it, but also you're able to work through it at the same time in your own head.

[00:54:52] You're not easily distracted by like a phone or technology. You, you have to be present with yourself, especially when you're hiking. I mean, you know, it's, it's never easy no matter how many times you do it. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like a lot of like, even, even the before time when you're planning, you got to get your logistics, you got to get your backpack ready to go. You got to make sure you have all your gear. So yeah, it is a, um, it is a put your phone down, put, stop thinking about everything else and just, just get going.

[00:55:21] And, um, I don't necessarily like, even when my job, like there's always that, like, you know, that computer screen is just distracting you all the time. So it is even hard to just focus, but where I feel the most sort of locked in and relaxed is when I'm outside hiking. Yeah. Yeah. That's where I feel most connected. I think to just everything is out in the woods. Yeah. No, it, it makes sense, but, um, there's a balance there too.

[00:55:51] I think that like there are people that have some real serious issues. They still need professional help. It's not just as simple as walking in the woods, but it's a piece of the puzzle people. Right. Of course. Um, my kids are always like on top of me because I'm like, if, if you would just be happy, you wouldn't be sad and let's go out hiking and that'll make you happy. And they're like, dad, that's not that simple for them. I think it was, but, um, so you, so you got it, you locked in. Um, can you think through like with the 48? So you did it in 13 months. That's pretty quick. Yeah.

[00:56:21] Um, did you, what was your strategy? Did you, uh, assuming most people that do the 4,000 footer, like my experience is a lot of people are like, oh, I guess I'm doing it. And then they sort of meander through the first 10 or 12 and then people start locking in a plan and saying like, all right, I got 12. I'm close to 20. And then once you hit 20, it's like real. Yeah. Can you, you remember back on your planning and logistics and everything? Did you have like a mentor or somebody that you could go with that would show you the ropes? Right.

[00:56:48] In the beginning, I started hiking, uh, with my friend at the time, Alyssa. And, um, we sort of just were like, we want to do this. Let's do it. And we were both like the most unprepared people ever. Um, we started on Tecumseh and then the second one we did was Liberty. I mean, that jump is pretty big. Um, Liberty was definitely a struggle for me.

[00:57:12] Um, and then from there I had met Eric and he is, as you know, an avid hiker. So like it really just, we were doing it every weekend. Um, and we didn't have any sort of plans. It was just like, oh, let's do this one. Let's do this one. And then for my 30th birthday, 33rd birthday, I can't remember right now. Um, right. After you turn 30, it's like all those birthdays.

[00:57:44] Um, we did a Pemi loop and I think that's when it became really real that I could finish this almost within a year. Um, and then towards the end of it, we would just put the, the names of, um, the mountains in a hat and we would just pick which ones we were doing. Yeah. Yeah. And once you can do a Pemi loop, you were like, all right, there's really nothing that I can't, can't accomplish. Yeah. But like, let's just not skip over the whole, I met Eric.

[00:58:13] Like, how did you get, did you meet like through hiking or did you meet on like a dating app? And he was like, I like to hike. And then like, he was actually the one guy that was telling the truth about it. Um, actually we met hiking. So, um, we, we had been, we had somehow connected like the algorithm on Instagram and we had been following each other for really quite a while. Um, and then we physically ran into each other twice on a local mountain, um, Wright's mountain.

[00:58:42] And, um, from there a few months later, we just decided to go, uh, hike one time and then we just hit it off. And yeah. Just his history. So there's a lesson there, folks. I feel I, and again, I, I'm, I've been married 24 years. I've been with my wife for 30. I don't know much about this game anymore, but I do think like, I tell people that like, I feel like, like running in like five Ks, half marathons, all that stuff.

[00:59:12] And then hiking those sort of like pursuits to me seem like good areas where you can like meet somebody old school. So you're the evidence there. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely feel that, um, go out and do what you like to do. Yes. And you'll find the people you're supposed to find through that. Um, which that's, it worked for me. So. Yeah. That makes sense. Now, um, recent hikes, you've been out anywhere in the, in the winter conditions yet?

[00:59:41] Uh, we did Moose Lock probably in the beginning of, uh, December, which. Okay. Moose Lock's just a classic. We live right sort of at the bottom of it. Um, but other than that, I get, we, I, I haven't really been out yet. Um, it's been really hard cause I work full time and I go to school full time and I, I wake up at three and go to the gym.

[01:00:07] So like on the weekends, I'm like, I just need to like catch up, but we've talked about doing, um, like Butterfield and some of those like, um, like bushwhack type ones that not many people will, will be on. Um, I do, I am working on the 67. All the ones I have left are up in Maine. So we've talked about getting out there. Uh, do you do any, um, New Hampshire a hundred highest? I know Eric's out there bushwhacking.

[01:00:38] He is a bigger, uh, bushwhacker than I am. Uh, the first bushwhack I ever went on was, uh, Valsper over to Kerrigan. Um, and I still, I feel like have trauma from that one. Yeah. It wasn't, it wasn't your cup of tea. I have, I've gone bushwhacking a couple of times. Matter of fact, I later on in the, the, earlier in the show, I, I talk a little bit about like a recent bushwhacking. I actually liked it. So I'm like, do I like bushwhacking now? I don't know.

[01:01:09] I do. He always says winter bushwhacking so much better because you can, you can see more and you have to deal with less of the, um, you know, the shrubbery and whatnot. But yeah, I definitely like to do them and, and I would love to do them. I'm sort of not in a rush to get like any of the lists done. I'm, I'm taking my time cause I'm working on some other things that I don't really, I'll talk about like once I do them.

[01:01:38] Um, okay. But yeah. Awesome. And then do you travel outside New Hampshire to go hiking? Yeah, we, uh, definitely we've go to the Adirondacks. Um, one thing, uh, I'm working on a state high points. Well, Eric's working on them too. Um, actually it just came up in my memories that 10 years ago after I hiked Vance Field, that was like a goal of mine. And now I have 17, which is kind of cool to see that manifesting.

[01:02:07] Um, so yeah, we definitely travel. We've go to Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island. We, we want to go, you know, broaden, uh, it out a little bit more, but that's just, you know, finding time. You'll get there. You'll get there. Yeah. And somewhere along the way you, you started doing more content creation. So you've got, um, the website's under repair right now, but, um, a talk in the woods. So this is basically like a collection of trail reports and writings and photos and all the,

[01:02:36] all the trip reports between yourself and Eric and some other contributors, right? Yeah. Yeah. Eric does more of the, you know, the factual information, like information writing with the trail reports and things like that. I'm more on like the emotional end of things. So I've done a few, uh, a writeup I did was about finishing, you know, the 48. Uh, I also did a writeup when I finished, uh, we were, we work at a, well, we worked at a

[01:03:04] camp and they have, uh, something called the camp hiking wheel and it's 75 different peaks, um, around New Hampshire and it's broken up by presidential Piedmont and Franconia. Um, and I was the first person to ever complete the wheel. So I do a writeup about up about that, about it being an all boys camp and what it was like to be a woman and be the first person to finish the wheel and, and what that means.

[01:03:33] Um, so I do more of that, like emotional type of writing. Yeah. That's a cool idea. So was the, it was the wheel, like, is it, it's a mix between, um, like what we would think of a 4,000 footers, 52 with the views and then like some random. Yeah. As well. Yeah. So like the 48s on there, then like the Piedmont one is the town one. So there's like some little hidden different things there. Um, and then there's things like goose eyes on their, Mahoosic arms.

[01:04:01] So like then those really, really far ones. Yeah. Yeah. It's a really great, um, combination of hikes. Awesome. Wow. And then, um, as far as gear goes and any tips, do you, do you, what do you typically bring for a backpack? And then do you have any special favorite gear that you, you, you use a recent gear that you've picked up? Um, so I try to always just have the essentials, um, especially in winter.

[01:04:27] I know like there's so many conflicting views about like snowshoes, but I always try to have them just because you just never know what you're going to run into. Um, always have water, always have hot stuff. Even in summer, I have winter gear. I think sometimes people forget that it's still cold, um, up there. I mean, just this June we had, there were winter weather advisories for Franconia Ridge.

[01:04:56] So that's my advice is to just always, always have the essentials. That's the reason we carry them. And the whole point of having emergency gear is you don't know when you're going to need it. Um, yeah. Or somebody you run into on trails may need to borrow some of your stuff. So that's, that's sort of my, I, I used to try to be like a little bit lighter, but now I'm just kind of like, eh, just bring, bring everything and deal with it. Right.

[01:05:24] I mean, there's definitely like a time and place I think for like light and fast, like, you know, we definitely do our fair share of, of trail running, but if we're going to be out for any significant amount of time, always have, you know, water filters, gloves and, and just the essentials that you need. Uh, we also do, um, preventative search and rescue. So trailhead stewarding, um, and that, it's, it's amazing.

[01:05:52] Like, I, I feel like that's such a great way to give back to the community and, and you've really, you, you get to see how unprepared, um, people are and it's, it's kind of scary. Yeah. Yeah. What trailheads have you worked? Uh, mostly we do falling waters. Falling waters. Okay. So you get the, you get the real, um, mix of people. So what's your move with people in falling water? So when they come in, they're obviously unprepared, do you just tell them like, look, you know, you're going to go up the trail.

[01:06:21] It's going to be three quarters of a mile. It's going to be slick. You're going to get to the waterfall. Don't go above the waterfall. Turn around. Is that basically the spiel that you give people that aren't ready? Uh, it depends. It depends like, uh, cause you never want to like make people feel, um, like you're judging them because like the whole point is to educate. Cause we've all been new at it before. Um, there's definitely times that we've suggested only going to the waterfall and coming back down.

[01:06:50] Um, there are times where we're, we suggest completely different, um, routes or different places altogether. A lot of stuff that we were running into this year was, um, people coming to the trailhead thinking that they were at artist bluff. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's true. Um, and then sometimes there's that language barrier. So they don't understand that you're actually going to hike a whole different trail.

[01:07:17] Um, so trying to help them turn around and get them to the, the right, um, direction. Some people, you know, will take the advice. Some people won't, but you just do the best you can. Yeah. I typically do that loop up old bridal. By the way, the, the trail, the trail updates on old bridal are awesome. I can't wait to see what they do on falling waters, but I typically go old bridal and I'll come down falling waters. So I kind of get to see like the crowds coming up.

[01:07:46] And the last time I went, I had a guy that he was above the waterfall with his wife and son. And he was like, well, we want to get back to the parking lot, but we don't want to go back the same way we came. And I was like, well, it's going to be, you know, it's, it's going to be about six and a half miles or so. And you've got another 25, 2000 feet of climbing or whatever. And, um, they did decide to turn around, but it was like, I was looking, I was like, oh boy, they're there for a long trip down. It was like the wife was slow going.

[01:08:13] So you do get a lot of interesting situations there where you've got a balance, I guess, giving them advice and not like ordering them around. Right. And we generally tell people to go up falling waters just because a lot of rescues happen coming down it. And we try to make people realize like once you get above tree line, you're exposed for quite a while, you know? Um, but we also, you know, when we hike the ridge in winter, we go old bridal up because

[01:08:42] you can stop at the hut then, and then determine, do we want to go ahead or not? So I think it also depends on the season. Yeah, exactly. And your level of comfort. And, um, you know, I like doing old bridal first, just because I feel like the view looking out to Liberty and flume is nicer, but you're taking more of a risk, obviously coming down falling waters, but hopefully with the repairs that they do or the changes they do, it'll be less of an issue. So, yeah. And we sometimes will, you know, if people don't want to go up on the ridge, we'll say

[01:09:11] go up to old bridal because you get all those viewpoints on the way, which are just gorgeous. Yeah. Yeah. That's true too. Um, so just going, I want to go back to one thing you said in the beginning about your first hike on Mansfield. You said you've been a little banged up when you were hiking that trip. So, um, do you want to talk a little bit about like, I often hear people that will talk about the fact that like they, they found sobriety and, you know, sometimes people will

[01:09:37] say like, well, hiking helps me sort of maintain that or as a piece of that puzzle. And other people like, they found that, that sobriety beforehand, but can you talk a little bit about your own personal, um, sobriety and, and what you've gone through? Sure. Um, so I, you know, just really had a drinking problem. I think, you know, I went away to college and it sort of becomes, it's the norm there.

[01:10:02] Um, and then you leave college and you're 20 something years old and you're passed out on a Thursday night or, you know, whatever the circumstances, uh, are. Um, I got sober like two days before my 27th birthday and I didn't really have a come to Jesus moment. Like a lot of people will say that came sort of later on.

[01:10:28] Um, I just woke up one day and I was so sick of being sick. Um, and I just made a promise to myself and I sort of somehow miraculously was able to stick to it. Um, and it has been a really incredible journey. It is not easy by any means. Um, it does get easier as you stay sober, but there are still moments where, um, you know,

[01:10:57] it will trip you up in your head and you just have to like, sort of come, come back into yourself and remember why and that you just can't have a drink. Um, but it's really one of the best things that I've ever done. I think everything that I have now is because of a choice I made seven years ago to stop drinking. Um, and I think, I think hiking definitely helps.

[01:11:22] I think there's something to pushing yourself physically, um, and proving to yourself that you can do hard shit. I think like, it's so important that we continue to evolve in those ways. Um, but I was sober for quite a bit before I started hiking. So for me, it, it, it doesn't keep me sober, but it's definitely like a very strong part of me staying sober.

[01:11:48] Um, and you're right about the whole, like, uh, and again, I go back to like, you did a Pemi loop, like you can do anything, right. You know, it's like you, when you can complete something like that, um, presidential traverse, whatever, who's a traverse, um, even on an overnight, like I, I think that like that really, um, even I, I bet with a little bit of the trauma that we talked about before, like, I feel like, all right, if I can face that level of adversity, then I can get through whatever's bothering me.

[01:12:17] Um, and a day-to-day basis. Yeah. And I think, I think more people need to do that. And, um, I'm very open with like my students, not like about hiking, not about like the other stuff cause they're young, but, um, I, I want them to know that they can do hard stuff. And for me, like, I'm not, um, I want to, I wouldn't say like, I'm your like typical

[01:12:43] hiker, you know what I mean when it comes to like how I look physically, like, um, and, and I just think it's so important for people to know that your body is capable of doing incredible things, no matter what it looks like. Um, and that's like something I really strive to teach my students, um, is that they can, they can do this stuff and they can push through and, um, they don't even ask me anymore. Like, what'd you do on the weekends? They'll be like, what mountain did you hike? Yep.

[01:13:13] But now you got to get cracking though. You've been slacking lately. You've got to get, I appreciate hitting the gym, but you've got to get out on the trails. I do. But you're right too about like, you know, we, and we always like me and Stomp always had to catch ourselves. Cause like it's, it's always cool to bring in like the ultra hikers and the FT, the fastest known time people. But like, we also, a lot of times we just bring people in that like hiking, like, cause anybody can hike and you don't need to be like an all-star or whatever, um, either to hike or to come on here and talk about it. So, um, so this is all good.

[01:13:43] Did we miss anything? Anything else that you want to cover? Hold on. I wrote some stuff down. We tell, Oh, you, you, you were getting into eco therapy. Oh yeah. So, yeah. Yeah. I mean, and that sort of, uh, came about from my own lived experience and from watching an absurd amount of documentaries about ultra runners and people doing stuff like that who

[01:14:10] share, you know, a lot of those people have trauma or they're dealing with, um, addictions of some sort and just pushing yourself through and being outside and moving your body and, and, and how just important that is for your mental health and how that really can just change, um, everything really. Um, so that's what I'm in school for and doing research on.

[01:14:37] And there's not a lot of research about it yet because I feel like the psychology and the research has to start catching up to like where we are as a society. Um, we need some more modern day, um, therapies, I think. And I, I feel like, um, like, um, Jonathan Haight is somebody that I read some of his books and he talks about how, like, we basically rewired childhood and we've done like this huge experiment

[01:15:06] where we're raising kids on iPads and iPhones and devices. And like, really, no one's really looked at what the impact of that is. And, um, I do think that, you know, attention span and, um, enjoying like, uh, outdoor activities and things like that, I feel like there's probably some drop off there. Not that like we, we grew up perfectly either. We had our own issues in the different generations, but I think that there's like something to,

[01:15:35] I feel like school too, like they've packed everything into all these mandated learnings and maybe kids aren't running around in recess as much anymore. And I know there's like concerns about bullying and free range stuff doesn't happen as much, but there's something missing there. And I, I think that having this idea of like therapy through outdoors is probably something that's going to continue to expand, especially for young people. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:16:00] Um, I, I am fortunate enough where I work in a school where we have a forest in the back of our school. So like the kids, uh, they go outside and they do outdoor classrooms and stuff like that, which has been really, really awesome to see. Um, but yeah, I, I think that screen time is, is really detrimental and I see it like with adults at the gym. Um, everyone has earbuds in, they're watching a screen.

[01:16:29] They're like, and I'm like, just run with your own head, you know, like, like be able to just be in your head and like, be able to work through that because we're so disconnected from, from ourselves and it just ripples out, I think. Um, so yeah, I'm really excited to, to get into that field and, and use what I've learned in my own life and through research and studies to really try to make an impact on people.

[01:16:58] Awesome. Well, I think that this segment will make an impact on people. I think it's been really interesting talking with you and, um, I wish you and Sir Maps a lot, you know, whenever you do decide to actually get serious, you know, let us know, we'll, we'll look for some wedding photos, but, but, uh, thank you so much for, uh, for sitting down with us and, and talking a little bit. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Awesome. Thank you very much. We're back. All right.

[01:17:28] Well, Alana, that, that was fun, right? Excellent. Excellent. Thank you for coming on, Alana. Yeah. Yeah. She's great. She's informative. She's great. She's like a professional podcaster. She's got the voice for it. So, yeah. Yeah. Uh, just a interesting story all around. Yes, exactly. So, um, speaking of interesting stories, Stomp, so now you got together with the girls. So you have many, many children, uh, between Stomp and I, fun fact between Stomp and I, we have eight daughters between us.

[01:17:55] So a lot of kids, um, you got me beat a little bit here, Stomp, but yeah, that's a lot of kids between the two of us, but you were able to do a little, so you had them over and you had the podcast set up and then they were just itching to do a little segment with you. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, we had a late Christmas, which was super cool. And, um, after watching Wicked, we came upstairs here and, uh, I got to sit down and reflect on a bunch of hikes that I'd done individually with them all, uh, separate and then as groups.

[01:18:25] And, um, there's some funny takeaways. They offer some unusual tips for hiking with kids, which I think you'll get a chuckle from. So this is the original Giggly Squad, by the way. You may know that podcast. These, this group of gals right here is the original. Oh boy. Oh boy. It's good stuff. Tell them to stay professional. Oh yeah. Yeah. So here we go. So thanks for coming up.

[01:18:54] Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. We're big fans of the pod. Yeah, we are big fans. Yeah. We watch every day. We listen every day. Can we get code names too? Code names? Yes. Little stomp. Little stomp. Okay. Lucy's. Oh wait. Sorry. I just said your real name. Bleep that out. All right. We're anonymous. We're anonymous. We're anonymous. We're anonymous. You may have heard of us.

[01:19:20] So, um, I'm joined by four out of five of my daughters. They came up from Massachusetts and? Key in New Hampshire. And, and from you over, who are you? Make it up as you go. Make it up as you go. My name is Lucy. Hey Lucy. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. My name is Evelyn. Hi Evelyn. I'm Grace. And I'm Catherine. Hi Catherine.

[01:19:50] Thank you. We're all hanging out in the woodpecker studio and we're going to talk about some of the crazy hikes that we've done together. Um, I do remember a bunch, uh, but I wanted to start probably just talking about the crazy one with Lucy, Ev and Kat. Is this Washington? Yeah. Yeah. The crazy one there. So we had planned an overnight up at the, uh, Lake of the Clouds hut, uh, just below the summit of Mount Washington.

[01:20:17] And how old were you Evie at the time? Do you remember? I want to say I was maybe seven or eight at the time. Yeah. That sound right? I think so. You were, yeah, all of you were very young. I remember, I remember my exact age cause it was like traumatic. I was five and I was like, oh my God, being five is so hard cause you have to climb out. So that, that would make me six or seven, I think. Uh, yeah, yeah, I think so.

[01:20:47] Somewhere in the middle there. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So we had the great idea of, um, booking a night up at the hut, up at Lake of the Clouds. And we decided, this is with grandpa and myself, um, to go up Glen Boulder trail, um, which is not an easy trail for beginners, certainly. Um, especially when it's August, right? It was August and it was about 90 degrees. It was so damn hot. I remember how hot that was.

[01:21:16] Uh, so we went up, um, Glen Boulder, across the Alpine garden and then over to the hut. Um, so do you remember, do you have memories of that hike? Like from the start of it? I'd like to hear what Lucy has to say though, if it's traumatic. Well, I was fine. So I don't know like the signs of memory or whatever, but I feel like I may have made some stuff up, but I feel like I remember, I literally remember at the beginning this might, I don't know how many hikes I went on. I only remember it all as like one big hike, but I remember. I think that was it. Yeah. I think that was the only one.

[01:21:46] The one and only. I remember like at the beginning, I was like, oh my God, I don't remember like a green and it was just like, I was like, okay, like we're climbing a mountain. Like, okay. And then I remember it raining like really, really hard. Yeah. That comes later. That's later in the story, but I remember it raining really, really hard. And for some reason, I don't know if I made this up or not. And I don't even know if we needed to edit this out, but I remember having like crazy diarrhea.

[01:22:17] Like at the beginning. And it was like a warning. Don't edit that out. Wait, even at the start? Like before we even started? I feel like I remember like it started with that. And then I was like, great, it's raining now also. And there's poop in my diaper. I have the craziest pictures from that trip. It's the funniest thing ever. But yeah, Evie and Kat, you two were more or less hiking on your own up trail. Do you remember having a good time or was it challenging? Or?

[01:22:45] Um, I don't remember much about the first day, honestly, because all that really sticks in my mind is the second day. But I don't know if I actually have a memory of this or I've just heard it so many times that I feel like I remember. But people will talk like grandpa will talk about how when we were at the hut, there was like this woman who was like, like sitting by the lake trying to have like a zen moment and just like relaxing. And we apparently kept like coming over to her, kept like climbing right up near her and playing right next to her, screaming.

[01:23:15] And then she would move somewhere else and then we would go to where she was and then she would move somewhere else and then we would go to where she was. So. I do remember that. I remember grandpa getting stressed out about that. It's like you were kids, like who cares? Yeah. That's really funny. Any other memories on your run, Kat? I mean, I do remember that I liked hiking. It just lasted a long time, which I would get bored. Like moving my body just wasn't enough to keep me.

[01:23:42] Anyway, my clearest memory is that when we were, we were like this, we were so, I was about to say this close, but this is an audio medium. We were very close to getting to the cabin and it was like downpouring. It was so miserable. That was not when we were going to the cabin. Oh, you bitch. No, no, no, no. Edit that out. No. Where were we? That was, that's part of the story, but that comes overnight. That's when we were almost at the summit the next day. Yeah, Catherine. Well, here's.

[01:24:12] No. Maybe? My memory is we were getting to a cabin and it was still raining. We were climbing the mountain. Doesn't matter. We might've been, we might've been coming down. I don't know. I don't think we were coming down. We were going up. And I remember. We took the car down. It was really raining and I was like, at least there was a gift stop at the end and then the gift stop wasn't even good. The gift stop was not good at all. It was so cold. And I was like, well, I'm going to put my diaper. I don't know. It's not listening. That's. Well, here's what. Yeah. So I remember what happened.

[01:24:39] So we got to the hut and you were torturing all the hikers and people hanging out trying to have their Zen moment. Bugs were pretty bad. I remember that. It was wicked hot. But Lucy, you wouldn't eat any of the food that was on the menu. You ate like, I didn't even know what you had. Because there's probably no chicken nuggets or something at the time. Yeah, I was going to say, they didn't have a McDonald's up there. It wasn't. Surprise. It was like, stew, probably. Stew. Yeah. Yeah. So you didn't eat anything.

[01:25:08] I have one picture of you with your hand on your chin looking miserable inside the hut. And I think you two ate some of the food, Evie and Kat. But overnight, this is where you're thinking of the rain cap because overnight, unbeknownst to us, we looked at the forecast and there was no indication that rain was coming in. But overnight, Grandpa and I woke up to the sound of monsoon rain hitting the roof of the cabin.

[01:25:36] And it was heavy. It was unbelievable how heavy the rain was. Do you remember how they woke us up? Do you have memories of that? Was it like bagpipes or something? Like, I feel like it was like loud instruments. Probably not bagpipes. Yeah, it was somebody who woke us up with a violin. They were playing like a... Oh, okay. Not bagpipes. Like an Irish jig. Do you recall that? The Irish jig? You don't remember the Irish jig? Wow. Okay. Yeah, my memory is not good. No, that's okay. That's so wild.

[01:26:05] So yeah, they woke us up with playing fiddle, a violin. And that was pretty cool. But then from there, we had to figure out how to get to safety. So there was no way that all of us could go across, back down where we came in that rain. So Grandpa and I opted, okay, the only thing that makes sense is to go to the summit and then try to get a ride down. And yeah, so that was a tough moment. It was a really bad safety moment. But what else could we do?

[01:26:34] We had to go either up or across. And up made sense. Do you have memories of going up? Yeah. That's actually what I remember really clearly is going up the second day. And I remember I was humming the whole time. Like I was trying to sing to like entertain myself. And the song, I remember this for some reason. The song I was humming the whole time was Shakira's song. Like, whenever. Whenever. We're at 2-2 again. But yeah, I remember just being like cold and it was kind of slippery.

[01:27:04] And I think Lucy might have been crying or. Probably. Lucy was not happy. But then I remember getting to the top and I remember us changing into our pajamas at the top because our clothes were all wet. And then we took the car, like the van or whatever down from there. Thankfully, the state park had, the auto road actually had a van that was, had open seats for us to come back down. I think that's what rewrote my memory, getting into pajamas. Because I was like, well, we must have been at the cabin. Why would we do that on the mountain? Right.

[01:27:32] All I remember is like I was going upward still. And I was like, this sucks. And then I like slipped. Like one of my, I was so little. And so I slipped and my like entire left leg ended up in a puddle, like entirely. And immediately. In your PJs? No, no. We were still climbing up luckily. Okay. But it was like my entire left leg was immediately submerged in this puddle. And immediately you were like, dad, you were like, get out, get out.

[01:28:01] And you like grabbed me and like pulled me out of the puddle. And in retrospect, I can say like, oh, like that's dangerous. It's cold. You're going to get hypothermia or whatever it is. But as a child, I was like, there's a monster in there. Like something's going to eat my leg. Keeper of the gate. Exactly. That's really funny. Wow. Yeah. So anyway, it's like, I mean, you don't think of these things when you're hiking with kids. But that was probably the craziest hike that we've ever done. Do you remember any others?

[01:28:32] Because I have a list. Grace, you and I did Mount Wachusett. Do you remember that one? Yeah, that was my first one. Yeah, that was super cool. That's like 2,000 feet, I believe. There is a cool view. There's no like mountains around it. But I think it reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, actually, because it's like the plains. And we could barely see Austin way the hell out there. Yeah. Remember that? Yeah. You're defying gravity. Yeah. Just like Alba.

[01:29:02] Any other thoughts on that one? I mean, that's a decent hike for kids. Do you like hiking? Did you wish I was there? I do wish that Lucy was there. If I had to change anything about that mountain, I just wish Lucy was there for every hike. I wish Lucy lived there at the top. Yeah, who knows where you were at the time. Yeah, that's a good question. Well, I'm glad that I wasn't there. Yeah. And then we did, actually, Grace and I did an overnight.

[01:29:32] One of the weekends here, we lugged everything up on top of the northern ledges of Dickey. And we had a cool night. We set the tent up on the northern ledges and we had a fire. I think it had to be probably late fall, maybe October-ish because it was cold. Yeah. It was chilly. Yeah. But we had a nice time. Yeah. I remember my favorite part was in the morning, we got to collect all the berries, like the blueberries on the mountain. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah.

[01:30:03] Yeah, that was a nice time. Did you find that hike challenging? A little bit, yeah. But it was okay. Yeah, you did great, though. That's so cool. And then Kat, you, Mrs. Stomp, and I did Jackson, which you don't remember, apparently. I think, I know Lucy said this and then it turned out to be not true because she's only done one hike. But for me, it really is just one big memory. Like, none of them were quite, like, the most eventful one was when I thought my leg was going to get eaten off.

[01:30:31] So all the other ones seemed, yeah, all the other ones seemed very normal and they didn't really stick out. Well, here's, you might remember feeding the Grey Jays up on Mount Jackson. Wow, we have pictures of that. Oh, I remember that. Oh, yeah. When they land in your hand and you feed them. A hundred percent, yeah. Yeah. There's a big controversy about them now because they're all getting super plumped. I remember from the live show. Like, these Grey Jays are getting clumped. Daddy. Eating all the processed food. Piggies. Wow. Yeah. So that was cool.

[01:31:01] Trying to think of what else. Lucy, that was it though, huh? That was your beginning and end of hiking. I thought there might have been more, but you said there wasn't, so I guess not. Well, there was another big one with Ev. You and I have done several, actually. Do you remember which ones? I don't remember which mountains, honestly. Adams. We did Adams. Yeah, Adams. I think I've done like four or five of the 4,000 footers. I don't remember which ones, but I think you have the list, actually. Yeah.

[01:31:28] But I remember the one where we left here at like 3 a.m. or whatever, and we had the headlamps on. Oh, wait a minute. So we could be at the top for the sunrise. That was Mount Liberty. Mount Liberty. That was cool. Do you remember we got turned around, though? We actually got turned around. Oh, yeah. Because we weren't on a trail, I think. We were like bushwhacking or whatever, right? Yeah, so the idea was to, we parked at the basin. It was way before sunrise, and we were going to try to see sunrise.

[01:31:56] So we parked at the basin park a lot and took the old shortcut up. But instead of taking the shortcut, which actually I couldn't find the shortcut because of the darkness, so we just went into the woods randomly. With our headlamps on. It was wild because we actually did get turned around, and it turned around meaning you're sort of lost. So it took a good 20 minutes, 30 minutes to find the actual trail, and then we made it to the summit.

[01:32:25] That was cool. Yeah, that was cool. Yeah. It was cold, though. It was cold. Yeah. And I remember the one a few years ago. It was you, me, Mrs. Stomp, and then her stepdad and her nephew, right? Yeah. That came. Right. And I think we were attempting Washington. Yeah, Anthony. And we were attempting Washington again, but we didn't end up going. We turned around like three quarters of the way, maybe because it was so cold. Do you remember that? Oh, yeah. That was the same hut.

[01:32:55] That was the same hut that we went up with Lucy and Kat. Yeah. We stopped for ramen, and then Anthony was showing signs of early hypothermia, and so we were like, we're going to go down, actually. It was like November. It was really cold. It was unbelievably cold. That was a weird cold snap. So I think it was single digits that day. And I remember clearly, Anthony started hot, so he had all his heavy coats on. Yeah.

[01:33:22] And he was sweaty to begin with instead of starting cold and not building up all that condensation. So by the time we got to the hut, we would have a dungeon at the bottom of that Lake of the Clouds hut, and they call it the dungeon. So the huts close in the winter. But we went into the dungeon and started having, you know, we started a little propane thing just

[01:33:45] for hot liquids and food, and I think Anthony had to get swapped out his clothing because he was soaked. And he was. He was starting to mumble and just standing there shaking. And starting to take off his gloves and stuff and saying he was too hot. Yeah. Definitely early signs of hypothermia. So we got him warmed up, had some food. It was pretty fun, though. Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was different. Hypothermia. Okay. Then we went down from there. We didn't go all the way to the top. Yeah.

[01:34:15] If we had gone further, that would have been a disaster. Yeah. That could have been really dangerous. It would only be a little bit fun. It was a little bit fun. Slightly less. Slightly less fun. Yeah. But back to Mount Liberty. Yeah. So that was undercast. We were up there freezing, waiting for the sunrise. The sunrise came up, and we had maybe like 30 seconds worth of view. Oh, yeah. And then the clouds gave it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's funny. So that's it.

[01:34:45] That's what I can remember. We did Welch once, all of us. I think, Ev, you went up to the summit, but everybody else stayed at the overlook. That was a pretty good time. So what are your suggestions for families that want to go hiking with their kids the first time? Any suggestions? Amazing. Gosh. If you have a kid like Lucy, just don't bring them. Okay, you can start. Wait, what?

[01:35:12] If you have a kid like Lucy, maybe don't bring them. I don't agree with that. I think it builds character. Diarrhea on a mountain. Yeah. Don't hike with diarrhea. That's a good point. Let me tell you. Well, it wasn't my fault. But when I went back to school, I went back to elementary school, and I was like, guys, I just had some crazy experience. I was pooping on that mountain. And they were making fun of me. And I was like, why? Why? They were like, Lucy, a diarrhea on the mountain.

[01:35:42] Oh, yeah. Aw. Well, I thought I was among friends. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I never got over that. No. Yeah, so maybe start smaller. Something smaller. Yeah. Yeah. Everything I hear about Mount Washington from these stories makes it sound like a horrible place to be. So maybe don't go to Mount Washington. Yeah, start small. Something modest.

[01:36:11] Yeah, well, like Wachusett, right? Yeah. Yeah. That's a good option. Well, this is fun. Any other pointers or tips? Catherine has one. Yeah. Oh, do I? Yeah. Bring them snacks they like. Lots of good snacks. Bring them snacks. Okay, here are my facts that I think I've gathered from listening to everyone. One, make sure you go to a mountain with a McDonald's on top.

[01:36:42] Two, if you want to make sure it's fun, make sure. Four, someone who is with you gets hypervermia. And three, don't tell your friends if you get diarrhea on them. Those are solid, solid tips. Yeah, so the listenership is going to really appreciate these tips. No, the listenership is going to drop off after this. No one's going to finish this episode.

[01:37:10] But then, like, we all were at the live Reckless event. Oh, yeah, yeah. And there's, like, this adorable eight-year-old girl, Scarlet. Like, shout out to Scarlet. But she's literally hiked every mountain four times already. So easily. Like, she makes it look so easy. And we were all, like, couldn't even manage one. Shout out to her. Shout out to Scarlet. This girl is a force of nature. She really is. She's so little. We actually added that snippet to the beginning of the shows now.

[01:37:40] So you hear her say, let's get started. I don't know. She's got the cutest little voice. Moral of the story is be prepared, because you might have a Scarlet or you might have a Lucy. Oh, man. Just be prepared either way. So do you want to come up and try something small this summer? I will. Lucy's like, hell no. That's really funny. That's really funny. I didn't know it was a comedy podcast.

[01:38:09] That's funny. We'll do something. We can do it. Oh, you're down there now. Yeah, I live right by Manadnock. Yeah, that's a great, great mountain. It's pretty modest. But, man, the views are great. The trails are rugged as heck. Lucy, I can bring you to Artist Bluff. What's Artist Bluff? Oh, wait a minute. Beautiful view. Yeah, we did that for foliage too, right? And it also rained like crazy that day. But not until we got down towards the bottom. Yeah.

[01:38:39] Was it peak foliage? Yeah, I think so. Like Columbus Day weekend? I think so. I always say it's the United Nations up there. Yeah. Because it's crazy. It's really crowded. They were having a lot of problems this year with that place. There was just so many people. It was literally a conga line of people going up to that place. Oh, that's fun. Yeah. People getting rude. I want to join the conga line. I want to say there was a fist fight up there this year. What? What? Oh, yeah. Hell, yeah. And it's so dangerous because you have hundreds of people on that little perch up top.

[01:39:09] And somebody can certainly get jostled or bumped and pushed off the side. That's why tip four, you have to bring brass knuckles with you. Just in case. Hiking tip number four, brass knuckles. Yeah, you should write a street savvy hiking book. Right, right. Yeah. That's great. Well, I appreciate the time. Yeah. So this summer, we'll do a little hike maybe. Yeah. We'll have to do some floating.

[01:39:39] Any other plans for 2025? Read more. That's everyone say their resolution now. Okay. But it has to be about hiking. I'm going to read more. I'm going to read more on mountains. While you're hiking? While you're moving? Exactly. Grace? I'm not going to do anything, to be honest. I don't have any plans to hike. Well, we're going to go to a My Chemical Romance concert on Mount Washington.

[01:40:08] Oh, yeah. For sure. Yeah. Mine was to follow through on more of my hobbies instead of just starting something and then giving up on it really quickly and moving on to the next thing. So I guess one of those can be hiking. Yeah. And also, I've wanted to start doing singing lessons again. So I'll sing on Mount Washington. Oh, okay. Beautiful. Defying gravity. Yeah. Oh, can you give us the note? Oh, yeah, please. Yeah, let's hear it. Oh, okay.

[01:40:36] Oh, that was really good. So if you hear that from the summit this summer, you'll know who it is. That's really good. That's a little song. That was really, really nice. I guess it's best for last. My resolution will be... It has to be hiking. Sure. At least tangentially. You can give us a regular one and a hiking one.

[01:41:02] My resolution is to go on the mountain that you were talking about with the Kong line. And I'm going to beat everyone. If you come to that mountain, look out. I'm going to push you off. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. My real resolution, I think, is to poop less on the mountain. That's a really good one. We have a guy named Dave Schitts in the Woods.

[01:41:32] Have you heard about that? What? I heard about him at the live show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've had him a couple of times. These are funny. Why is he named that? Is that his family name? It's just true to life. It's an accurate trail name. Is that his Christian name? If you had a trail name, what would it be, Lucy? Oh, goodness. I know what Lucy's would be. You guys are just talking to me. I feel like this is my interview and you're all interviewing me. This is Lucy Podcast. You're being the most vulnerable, that's why.

[01:42:01] Wait, what's the question? What would your name be? If you had a trail name. I can't start. I can't start. Can I let you start? Oh, I, maybe, um, the only thing coming to my mind. What was it? Wonder butt. Cut that out. Cut that out. The only thing coming to my brain is Catherine Brassknuckles, but that's because you said that. Grace, what about you?

[01:42:35] We'll come back to you. Okay. I don't know one either. I used to call you Sherpa because you were so fast and just like zipping up the mountain. Grace, I feel like yours would be like, Grace, push him off. Yeah. Why? That was your resolution. Lucy, push him off. Lucy's really going with this push him off theme. No, I'm not Lucy, push him off. I'm Lucy, push him off.

[01:43:06] Push him off. I like it. Well, there you have it. Uh, the interview with, do I give them your last name or keep it anonymous? Oh my God. Our last name is Stomp. The Stomps. I'm Catherine Stomp. Our last name isn't Stomp, it's Machine. You're right. I'm so sorry. My name is Catherine Machine. I'm sorry. I forgot. Grace Machine. Grace Machine.

[01:43:35] Evelyn Machine. Lucy Machine. Well, thank you very much. I love you all and, uh, over and out. We're in it. Cool. All right. Funny stuff. Good kids, Stomp. You did a good job raising them. Yeah. I think they need their own podcast. I'm trying to push them that direction, but they'd be a tour de force if they had a podcast.

[01:44:05] Stale some of our listeners. Yeah, that's true too.

[01:44:49] All right, Stomp. So this is the part of the show where we do search and rescue news here. So we don't have much, but we have this, uh, one incident that happened before the holidays. And we've had like, it's been a couple of years where we've had like tough Novembers and December. So this was a close call, right? A hundred percent. Really close call. Really close. Like, um, lucky. So, um, this happened Thursday, December 19th.

[01:45:15] Uh, conservation officers made aware of a hiker in distress just below the summit of Little Haystack. So, uh, this was a solo hiker. He had called 911 and reported that his limbs were frozen, that he was hypothermic and could no longer move through several feet of snow. So scary situation. Um, wind was blowing pretty heavily over 30 miles an hour. Uh, coordinates. They were able to, I mean, lucky for him, they were able to pick up his coordinates off the 911 call,

[01:45:44] which placed him at around a thousand feet off trail and he was 4,300 feet of elevation. So he wasn't really like, it sounds to me like in this situation, he missed the, the trail to get, um, onto falling waters and head down into shining rock. And he must've just been making his own way. Right. Uh, some drainage. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that summit is really confusing at times if you don't really do your homework before you get up there. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:46:13] If you're not familiar with it, it can be tough. And even if you, I think even if you're familiar, I mean, there are like stanchions and a little bit of a guide that gets you a little bit below little, uh, little haystack, but still like you can take a wrong turn one way or the other and miss that, that trail connection. So, um. Right. Which is what happened. Yeah, exactly. So 8, 8, 15, uh, they got the call conservation offices and then Pemi Valley search and rescue responded to the trail.

[01:46:40] And by 10 o'clock, they had started up falling water. So almost two hours, but an hour and 45 minutes before, uh, they were able to get to him. Um, and then while most of New Hampshire had saw some sun during the day, the weather on Franconia notch was cloudy with intermittent snow squalls. So the, the clouds tend to stick up there and the, the weather conditions can be nice everywhere else, but not there.

[01:47:04] There was a call that was made to army national guard in hopes that an airlift could be performed if a favorable weather window presented itself. But unfortunately, when the army national guard arrived at Franconia notch around 1045, the cloud cover only allowed for them to get within a quarter mile of the hiker before they had to turn back because of visibility. They were able to get over to cannon mountain ski area to wait it out for a safer opportunity.

[01:47:29] Uh, but it took about an hour to cover the thousand feet of bushwhacking from falling waters to where the hiker was located from the, for the rescue team. So one o'clock, the first ground rescuers reached him. They said the vegetation was extremely thick and the terrain was steep. Thank God that this, this guy got a, uh, a cell connection up there. Uh, yeah. I mean, surprisingly the ridge has been pretty good lately. Yeah. Um, but I mean, look, it's 4,300. It's literally the summit. Yeah.

[01:47:58] He's basically just a little. Right at the summit. Exactly. Um. That's a hike. Yeah. So he was in extremely thick terrain. Um, at this point, by the time they got to him, it was one o'clock. He was extremely hypothermic. So they placed him in a bothy bag for shelter.

[01:48:14] So essentially the bothy bag, um, my understanding is this is a sort of like a tent, but like the idea is you sit up inside of it and then it's enclosed enough where I think that the body heat, if you put like two people in it, the body heat will warm up the bothy bag significantly very quickly. Right? Yeah. So this was a, uh, like an eight person bothy bag. Okay. And the best analogy is when you're a kid in kindergarten, you had the parachute. Yes. Remember that?

[01:48:44] The parachute? And you throw it up behind you, you sit on it and it seals the floor. It keeps the heat in. There is vent, there is condensation ventilation for ear to get out, but it allows people to, uh, prep, uh, a patient, get them ready, get them in a litter, warm them up, whatever. And keep the wind off of them. So it's really helpful. They make them in different sizes too, six, two, uh, but they're lifesavers. It's like an instant shelter. If you have the right amount of people.

[01:49:14] Yeah. Yeah. I'm only familiar with like the smaller ones, but it makes sense that they would have a bigger one. And so, but that's crazy because so you got to hike up and then you're carrying all kinds of gear. I mean, we've talked about this a million times, Stomp, like you guys are carrying like heavy packs. So you got to get through that vegetation. But basically, you know, he was given warm, dry clothing, warm fluids. Same thing we talk about all the time, like get warm fluids inside somebody. So you warm them up from the inside. Um, the hiker was able to stay sheltered and was stabilized with rescue as well.

[01:49:42] Others with a rescue litter were making a trail to them, but by three o'clock, the clouds had lifted enough where the army national guard was able to return to the area. Luckily for this hiker by 315, the guards had lowered a medic and hoisted the hiker into the helicopter. They probably had to move pretty quickly given they had probably flown around a bit beforehand and they were waiting a cannon. So I'm guessing they probably were like worried about fuel at that point.

[01:50:08] So, but they got it done 315, the guards lowered a medic and hoisted the hiker into the helicopter. As soon as the hiker was in the helicopter, cloud cover returned. So they had a little window. They were able to make their way to Littleton Regional Healthcare where they arrived. Um, and I'm telling you that's, that's hardcore. The second time that that happened was the two trail runners that went down Lafayette. Remember that? Remember that one? Yeah. Same exact situation.

[01:50:36] So, so we had a ceiling, you know, you have Eagle Notch where, you know, Eagle Crag, Eagle Cliff, and then head up to Greenleaf. Uh, the ceiling was like 3300. They couldn't get in there. And all of a sudden it rose up just enough for the Blackhawk to come in. They bolt with the patient. Boom. It comes down again. Yeah. And it's like these little windows. It's like, wow. Yeah. Yeah. But that's perfect. Like they're sitting at Cannon and then you get the call. They can get out very quickly.

[01:51:05] So, but it turned out that the hiker, 28 year old hiker from Portland, Maine, um, he had, he had, um, I guess his plan was he got out super early and did the sunrise on Lafayette. So he was doing my route. I like going up old bridal. Um, and, um, once he got near the summit of Little Haystack, he encountered these deep blowing snow situations and decided to come back down. Well, maybe, I guess maybe he went out and back. I don't know. But ultimately he's coming back down Little Haystack.

[01:51:35] He couldn't find the trail as he descended and ended up heading into the Drybrook drainage where he eventually called for help. So, um, yeah, it's just a tough situation. I can solo those conditions with low visibility. It's, it, it can be tough. Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah. It's just a mind blowing story. It's great.

[01:52:02] That can grab the GPS, having those rescuers get to him with the Bothy bag and then the, the, the weather opening up just so the helicopter, a lot of things went wrong, but a lot of things went right on that one. Hmm. Yep. So. And that's a good reminder too. If you are in a pickle, call 911 because it gives fish and game your coordinates. Right. Right. So. All right, stomp. And it's, it wouldn't be winter if we didn't have our first injured snowmobiler of the year.

[01:52:33] Yep. It had to happen. So this is December 23rd. Um, and of course you put, you pulled an article that it's a mass hole that got in, got in trouble. So a 40 year old, um, gentleman from Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts was operating a rented snowmobile. Um, oh no, it's a lady. She failed to negotiate a downhill left-hand turn. I feel like you talk about that. That does, that's a common occurrence is these turns downhill. Downhill. They don't, they don't break.

[01:53:05] It's, it's more an issue with the throttle. The throttle's on the right handle and it's a, it's called the thumb throttle for a reason. It's just the tip of your thumb and people get in the habit of pushing the right handle forward as they're turning left. They, they whiskey throttle it and they ended up in the woods. So we're, we're really like, uh, trying to educate people this time around. Um, I put the fear of God in people now. I'm like, listen, this is the most important thing.

[01:53:33] It's the tip of your thumb and that's it. And you're not pushing, you're, you're pulling. If you're turning left, you're pulling your left handlebar and vice versa. You're not pushing. Um, yeah, it's crazy. People get in trouble so easy. Yeah. Interesting. So they'll have to, uh, keep an eye on this. But yeah, so she was like, um, she had a 10 year old son with her that was a passenger. And yeah, it's fun to go out and rent these things and have fun. But like she just, uh, downhill left hand turn and, uh, looks like she crashed into a tree.

[01:54:03] And, uh, they had to call an ambulance that the son was not injured and was able to be driven by snowmobile. Uh, but the, the old, the mom suffered a serious head injury, but was stable. So no joke. Wow. Just take it slow. Yeah. Terrifying. Yeah. Anyway. Winter in the hamster stomp, but this was fun. This was a good show. We didn't, we, we got a lot of articles.

[01:54:31] Uh, people are sending us a bunch of stuff and we'll get to it next week. Yeah. Uh, we're just still playing catch up from like the holidays. Yeah. See all those events were sent to us throughout the last week and a half. And, uh, you know, we love plugging stuff. So it was, it was important to sort of clear the deck with that stuff and promote these safety events and whatnot. But, um, yeah. We'll get back to true crime and national parks and people getting abducted. Don't worry about it. We'll get back to it.

[01:54:58] So until next week, thank you for listening and thank you stomp for being you. Oh, back at you. Thanks. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed the show, you can subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you want to learn more about the topics covered in today's show, please check out the

[01:55:27] show notes and safety information at slasher podcast.com. That's S L A S R podcast.com. You can also follow the show on Facebook and Instagram. We hope you'll join us next week for another great show. Until then, on behalf of Mike and stop, get out there and crush some mega peace. Now covered in scratches, blisters, and bug bites.

[01:55:55] Chris staff wanted to complete his most challenging day hike ever. Fish and game officers say the hiker from Florida activated an emergency beacon yesterday morning. He was hiking along the Appalachian trail when the weather started to get worse. Officials say the snow was piled up to three feet in some spots, and there was a wind chill of minus one degree. And there's three words to describe this race. Do we all know who they are? Only one!

[01:56:24] Lieutenant James Neeland, New Hampshire Fish and Game. Lucinda, thanks for being with us today. Thanks for having me. What are some of the most common mistakes you see people make when they're heading out on the trails to hike here in New Hampshire? Seems to me the most common is being unprepared. I think if they just simply visited hikesafe.com and got a list of the 10 essential items and had those in their packs, they probably would have no need to ever call us at all. Thank you.