Hiking in the White Mountains
Posted by Beth Covino
on Mar 02, 2015
On March 2nd, Karen Goddard, avid hiker and CEO of Mother & Child, addressed the Rotary Club of Nashua regarding her experience hiking the mountains of New Hampshire. She has successfully hiked “the 4000 footers of NH.” Karen noted that many in our club are hikers, and may be more experienced hikers than she is. She asked: why hike 4000 footers? “There are lots of lists of hikes, but NH 4000 footers are those trails that are over 4000 feet in the White Mountains.” Keeping track of hikes is on the honor system. When you complete a hike, you send in your results with a small fee and receive a patch and letter in the mail from AMC. Additionally, hikers get invited to a fun, casual annual dinner. She loved hiking Mount Monroe, with a view of Mount Washington, a very rare view to see across without clouds.
Karen loves hiking to get out of everyday life and clear her mind. When hiking, there’s no time to think about what’s happening at the office. She sees life in a completely different perspective. You can’t quit, she said. You get in a mindset, ‘we’re doing this.”
She and Brian Coneeny, one of her hiking partners, have tried hiking Monroe many times before meeting with success. They climbed twice together before reaching the top. Snow and wind contribute to losing the trail and it becomes very dangerous, especially in the peaks where hikers are exposed to wind for 360 degrees around them.
Karen said that there are many lists of trails/mountains that hikers consider hiking. It’s called ‘red lining’ when hikers hike every trail in the AMC White Mountain Guide. (Meaning they mark off with a red pen as they accomplish each hike on the list.)
The most challenging hike she and Brian have taken was Owl’s Head (a 16-17 mile hike). They failed the first time because of dangerous, deep water crossings.
Maryse asked what a person should do to get ready for hiking, if it’s a new sport to them. Both Brian and Karen said start off slow on 2, 3 or 6 mile hikes that are easier, such as Takamasa at Waterville Valley. And don’t hike alone!