Why Climb?

We climb mountains for many reasons - for solitude, to get closer to nature, to escape the daily grind for a while, to achieve personal goals, to test our abilities, to see the world from a different perspective.

Peakbagging

As one of many reasons for heading for the hills, those of us who pursue a goal of climbing a specific group of peaks on a list are called peakbaggers.

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) maintains a list of 48 officially-recognized peaks that are 4000 feet or higher, ranging from 4003-ft Mt Tecumseh to 6288-ft Mt Washington.

There are other lists in the Northeast too, including the New England 4000-footers, the New England 100-highest, and the Adirondack 46ers. The western states, too, have similar lists, such as the Colorado 14ers and the California 100.

I completed the 48 White Mountain Four Thousand Footers in July 2003, and our dog Muffin finished them in January 2006. For 10 years, between 2006 and 2015. I worked at maintaining the Mt Clinton Trail through the AMC's Adopt-a-Trail program and the US Forest Service.

Our dog, Patches,a cockapoo who is now 10 years old, has climbed 47 4000-Footers and is looking forward to tackling the one remaining peak.