Great Circle of NH

Emerson wrote, "Get the soul out of bed, out of her deep habitual sleep, out into God's universe, to a perception of its beauty, and hearing of its call, and your vulgar man, your prosy, selfish sensualist awakes, a god, and is conscious of force to shake the world."

We workaholic Americans are downright starved for perspective on our pigeonholed lives and worlds. Perspective needs intentional time. Perspective also needs visceral interaction with the Immutable and the Eternal, too often overlooked as we live day to day. So with the kids out of town and the weather forecast favorable, it's a now-or-never moment for the pursuit of perspective. Me, I like to do it in the woods.

The Great Circle of New Hampshire, as it was apparently christened by the Dartmouth Outing Club, loops 33 miles over ten named peaks in the Pemigewasset Wilderness, part of White Mountain National Forest. They say it's the most secluded ridgetop loop in all of the Whites. I say it's an incredible walk (though definitely not for newbies). The trails, campsites, and huts in the area are run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, who keep them more pristine than any others you'll ever see--props to the AMC! By the way, their guidebook and maps are great, too. Here's my first experience of the Great Circle, one I hope to repeat, in full or in part, before too many more years get past me.

And in case you were wondering, the ten peaks are Mt. Flume (4328 ft), Mt. Liberty (4459), Little Haystack (4800), Mt. Lincoln (5089), Mt. Lafayette (5260), Mt. Garfield (4500), South Twin Mtn. (4902), Mt. Guyot (4580), Mt. Bond (4698), and Bondcliff (4265). All offer great views, and large parts of the loop lie above treeline, a rarity on the East Coast.

Major thanks to our sponsors: the grandparents, for babysitting; and Justin, for recommending the route and loaning me a map and guidebook.