Two for the Summit : Mt. Washington

July 1st was the big hike.  If you've been following along the Two for the Summit features you know that Matt and I have been hiking a summit each month gearing up for our big physical challenge of 2011; Mt. Washington.  It was by far the hardest and most incredible thing I've ever done.  This is a picture heavy post but it's so worth it! 
Mt. Washington is the tallest in New England standing at 6,288 ft.  Getting to the top and back was quite the accomplishment.

The first 2.4 miles of the hike is relatively easy - and follows a rushing river

About 3 miles in we hit the Alpine Zone - now the weather changes - we couldn't see a thing!

Simply a really awesome photo of us! Certainly Christmas card material

Approaching the basin of Tuckerman's Ravine

The basin of Tuckerman's Ravine and the first clear view of it due to all the fog.  People ski these 55 degree slopes!

About halfway up the Ravine - I look so small! This really puts the mountain in perspective.

This shot is from Tuckerman's Junction.  We had about .8 miles to the top, in the hardest terrain of the day.

And we made it!  We're on top of all of New England!  It's a little weird because both cars and a train bring tourists to the top of Mt. Washington - but they all were impressed with the hikers and took our summit photos.

You can't hike Mt. Washington without encountering some kind of weather.
On the descent we hit a downpour for about 20 minutes - boy was that rain cold!

We were rewarded for enduring the downpour with a rainbow over the valley, I'll take it.

Matt putting the rain gear away for the rest of the trip down.

We took Lion's Head trail for the descent.  Note for the future: this was probably harder than Tuckerman's.

We got back to the hermit lake shelters at about 5:30 PM, we had 2.4 miles left to get back to the car, what an incredible day.

Have you hiked a mountain this summer? You should! Check out All Trails for a summit near you!  You'll be surprised at what you find in your own backyard. 

Thanks for taking the time to check our of photos of the hike!

Check out the other Summits we've hiked:
March: Hollywood Sign  Los Angeles, CA
April: Washusett Mountain - MA
May: Sleeping Giant - CT
June: Mt. Monadnock -NH
July: Mt. Washington - NH

Two for the Summit : June

I apologize to my followers for falling off the wagon so quickly!  Life was getting crazy, it is summer after all, and I needed to prioritize.  Unfortunately; my husband, day job, and Etsy shop came first.

But I'm back now and I'm going to set a smaller blog goal, two per week.  Likely Tuesdays and Fridays.  Of course, this is if I have good content.  Anyway, now that the housekeeping is done, on to the post.

If you've been a regular reader you know that my husband Matt and I set a goal this year of hiking a summit a month, we're preparing for Mount Washington which will be the next one!

March: Hiked to the top of the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, CA
April: Washusett Mountain - MA
May: Sleeping Giant - CT
June: Mount Monadnock -NH

Mt. Monadnock is one of the most climbed mountains in New England.  It's steep, climbing 1,800 feet in just over two miles.  I think it's fun though because of all the rocks you need to climb over.  We couldn't have gotten a nicer day either - I hope the weather is this forgiving for Mt. Washington.  We've also discovered that if we get in two summits in July, we could hit five states in five months - an equally exciting goal!

In other news, I did my first craft fair while I've been away from the blog world and hope to share that very soon! Maybe Friday!  And I've joined Twitter.  I'm still learning how to use it, but in the mean time I've enjoyed following some of my favorite celebrity chefs!  I also kept seeing people post Instagram photos.  They are so fun and help keep people updated with what I'm doing when I'm not blogging.  Yesterday I posted my first one - it's the photo above, how cool does that look?!

Thanks for reading - have you gotten outside this summer yet?