BOOTPRINTS Volume 17, Issue 6 November 2013 in a car a few years later. I remember wondering what it would Annual Holiday be like hiking those tall remote mountains. Little did I know Party Saturday December then that I would soon embark on an amazing adventure 7, 2013, 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. climbing them. Where: The Pueblo, Fast forward to the summer of 2002 when I planned a Springfield College, East backpack trip with my son. He cancelled at the last minute leaving me hanging. So, I started to call a few hiking club Campus, 701 Wilbraham Rd. friends to see if they wanted to join me, or at least help me by in Springfield. Alternate spotting a car. Ann Mundy was almost ready to help me spot parking and SHUTTLES will my car when she mentioned she was going to the Adirondacks be available next door (to the and asked if I’d rather join her. The more she talked about the left) at 715 Wilbraham Rd. mountains, the more I became interested in her offer and Attendees: All club members are welcome with R.S.V.P. decided to join her. She picked me up the next morning and ONLY by November 30th, at no charge! Please, no walk- off we went for 4 days to the Adirondack - Heart Lake area. ins; be sure to RSVP! There's a $10 fee for non-member The first day she led me up Mt. Joe. What a view of the high guests. Please indicate the number of people who will be peaks! This short hike only made me want to climb the others. I was like a kid in a candy store… All those mountains looked attending (e.g., John Hiker and one non-member guest). inviting, begging me to climb them. Non-member guests can pay the $10 fee to the Greeters when you arrive. The following morning we started a bit late for Mt. Colden, via Food: The main entrees will be provided by a caterer. The Avalanche Pass and Colden Lake. I had no idea of the choices of entree include a vegetarian offering as well as difficulty, or of how long it would take but I was ready for the chicken, pork, beef, and fish. This year we have decided that attendees can bring either an appetizer or dessert. A prize will be offered for the best dessert or appetizer, as voted on by the club members attending. Please indicate what you will be bringing in your RSVP. Note that coolers with ice are needed. Slide Show: Like last year, the slide show highlighting PVHC events is being done by Lori Tisdell. Please submit PVHC event photographs to her no later than November 30th. Music: Will be provided again this year, for our dancing enjoyment, by DJ Mike Mahan, who rocked the house last year! Volunteers: Please also indicate if you will be available for set-up and or cleanup, and if you will be bringing an appetizer or desert. Contact: Brenda Doucette by e-mail at adventure. And an adventure it was: getting to the peak took [email protected], or Marie Bienvenue by e-mail at much longer than anticipated, with many challenges along the [email protected]. If you don't have e-mail capability, call way. We pushed on and were determined to complete the hike 413-783-5658 to RSVP! Various sign-up sheets will also no matter what. We arrived back to camp, by headlamp, be available at the Nov. 5th regular meeting. A friendly around 10pm, very hungry and exhausted – but I was hooked! reminder: The PVHC Holiday Party is an alcohol-free This first taste of Adirondack hiking made me want to hike event. other peaks before returning home and we did; I think we Join us in enjoying the dancing and our fellow hiking summited four or five total that first trip. Over the next several years I joined Ann on many hiking friends! We hope to see you all there! club trips and summited many more, with several repeat climbs leading groups to the summits. I hadn’t realized how many I Becoming a 46er has been more of an had done until Ann helped me record the summits and dates in early 2010. I had no idea that I had climbed 28 of the 46! With adventure than I ever could have dreamed! Ann’s love of the Adirondacks, that is quite contagious, I By Al Roman decided to become a 46-er, though I had no idea with who or how I would ever hike many of the trail-less and more remote y fist glimpses of the Adirondacks were in the 90’s, peaks. Mwhen I rode past them on Route 73, first in a bus, then See 46er continued on page 3 Page 2 NET (aka M & M) Series By the time Bootprints goes to press, we will have already By Jeanne Kaiser completed Sections 3 and 4 of the trail. I know I have to bring a particularly delicious variety of M&M’s with me for that one. th When planning the series, Lori and I realized that neither of us n Sunday, September 8 , Lori Tisdell and I kicked off had ever hiked those sections, and couldn’t even remember our series of hikes on the NET (formerly known as the O them being on the schedule. So we scouted them out. Now M & M Trail) on a picture perfect day. Our plan is to we know why they don’t make the schedule too often. Section continue from the Connecticut border, where we started our first 3 in particular is a bit short of scenery and long on obstacle hike, and work our way to the top of Mount Monadnock in New climbing, aggressive pricker bushes, and graffiti. Hopefully, Hampshire, where the trail ends. Many parts of this trail are the M&M’s will have placated our hikers. quite familiar to our club members because it traverses both Mt. We will be covering up to Section 9 of the trail between Tom and the Notch area, the site of many club hikes. But there now and the beginning of December, before taking a break are large parts of the trail to the north, which are on our schedule until the spring. Please join us for the scenery, the company, less frequently, and which Lori and I have yet to explore. the challenge and the excitement of each new variety of M&M. We are hoping that many club members will join us in exploring (or re-exploring) this Western Massachusetts trail. These hikes might prove especially helpful for those who feel AMC’s New England Hundred Highest ready to move from easy to moderate or moderate-plus hikes. By R. Morgan Most of them will be of medium length and include some challenging terrain, including steep climbs and lots of rocks. But MC ‘s Four Thousand Footer Club recognizes three elevation gain will be fairly reasonable and the hikes will usually Alist of peaks, the White Mountain Four Thousand be quite scenic. And if that’s not enough—there Footers, the New England Four Thousand Footers, will be M&M’s! And if that’s not enough and the New England Hundred Highest. To qualify One of my motivations for leading this series there will be M&M’s! for any of these clubs a hiker must climb on foot to is to have an excuse for trying the vast variety of the summit and descend from each peak on the list M&M candies now available. It’s no longer just plain and without the aid of quads, mountain bikes, ski lifts, or cog rails peanut—M&M’s now come in raspberry, almond, peanut butter, for all or any part of the ascent or descent, other than what coconut, pretzel, you name it. We plan to experience them all. could be driven to in a normal automobile. Ascents may be made at any time during a hiker’s lifetime and any combination of two or more peaks may be made on one continuous trip. Once the peaks on each list are completed, an application available at AMC ‘s Four Thousand Footer web site is submitted listing the peaks and dates climbed, as well as a short note on impressions, weather conditions, fellow hikers, etc. Once the application is processed and accepted you may attend the awards banquet in March and receive your certificate and patch, or have it sent to you if you will not be attending the banquet. For our inaugural hike, we started with the classics-plain and peanut. We had fourteen total hikers join us for Sections 1 and 2 of the trail. It was fitting to start there because that is the section of the trail that our club maintains. Speaking of maintenance, our hike was enormously benefitted by the fact that Chip, Harry, and Paul had been out working on the bog bridges several days before our hike. Because of their efforts, no one started the day by slipping off a bridge into that prehistoric looking bog. Sections 1 and 2 really create a perfect, moderate hike. After passing over the bog bridges, there were two climbs that After finishing the White Mountain (48) Four Thousand are more than steep enough to get the heart pumping, but which Footer list in the fall of 2006, I decided that I would try to are separated by long stretches of flat ridge walking.