Hiking and Backpacking

"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world."
- Paul Dudley White

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
- John Muir

Even the briefest examination of the sites listed below is bound to whet your appetite for hiking the trails of New England and perhaps induce you to go further afield to experience the glories of nature. The late summer and fall is one of the best times to "take a hike" in New England. Park your car and see the foliage as it was meant to be seen, climb one of the gentle mountains of New England and concur with Thoreau that "on the tops of mountains, as everywhere to hopeful souls, it is always morning".

Weather Underground
www.wunderground.com
Before you set out, check the weather.

GORP
gorp.com/gorp/activity/hiking.htm
Gorp's hiking site. A great site with up-to-date - regional guides (for all the states), trail finder (6,000 trails can be searched by trail length, keyword, season and city, state, park or forest location), national scenic trails (for example, 2170 mile Appalachian Trail, 1300 mile Florida National Scenic Trail), trail diaries and journals, hiking how-tos, gear ratings and reviews, books and maps, and much more. This site is a goldmine of information for hikers and backpackers.

GORP - Maine
gorp.com/gorp/activity/hiking/hik_me.htm
Maine hiking and backpacking guide - Acadia National Park, Baxter State Park, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and more.

GORP - New Hampshire
gorp.com/gorp/activity/hiking/hik_nh.htm
New Hampshire hiking and backpacking guide - White Mountains, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and more.

GORP - Massachusetts
gorp.com/gorp/activity/hiking/hik_mas.htm
Massachusetts hiking and backpacking guide - Cape Cod wildlife trails, the Berkshires, Mohawk Trail, Mt. Greylock State Reservation, and more.

Appalachian Trail Conference
www.appalachiantrail.org
Web site of the private, volunteer organization dedicated since 1925 to building, protecting, and managing the Appalachian Trail for the public. "From Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail wanders the ridges and valleys of the Appalachian range for more than 2,168 miles."

Mt. Monadnock
www.qcc.mass.edu/brink/qcc/monadtr.html
Hiking trails on Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire - map and descriptions. Mt. Monadnock is the most climbed mountain in the world. I understand that Mt. Fujiyama in Japan lost that distinction after a road was built to the summit.

Appalachian Mountain Club
www.outdoors.org
The official Web site - guide to the Northeast outdoors. The Club promotes the protection, enjoyment, and wise use of the mountains, rivers, and trails of the Northeast. The site is very useful for lodging, camping, and outdoor activities (paddling, hiking and backpacking, nature walks, and snow sports) information. The site provides bunk availability for two week periods at the AMC huts (including the eight high mountain huts along the Appalachian Trail) and description of the accommodations.

AMC: White Mountain Guide Online
www.outdoors.org/publications/books/wmg/wmgonline.cfm
AMC’s new (August 2007) online edition of the White Mountain Guide combines expert descriptions of over 500 trails and detailed maps in an online format that is easy to use and continually updated as conditions change, all for an annual subscription fee of $15 ($12 for AMC members).

National Park Service
www.nps.gov
Links to all the national parks. Select "hiking" and "all states" and you'll obtain a list of 234 parks; limit the search to Massachusetts and you'll obtain a list of five national parks. Climbers can get up-to-date conditions for mountains within national parks.

EMS
www.ems.com/index.jsp
The Web site of eastern Mountain Sports - information on the EMS climbing school, many links to internet resources on outdoor activities, and, of course, the online store where you can shop for all your outdoor needs.

The Trading Post, Kittery, Maine
www.kitterytradingpost.com
Shop online for all your hiking and camping supplies.

L.L. Bean, Freeport, Maine
www.llbean.com
Shop online for all your hiking and camping supplies.

Trail.com
trails.com
Mountain biking, hiking, climbing, paddling, skiing, and more. This is a commercial site (modest subscription fee) providing information and guide book titles for over 30,000 trails throughout the US and Canada. You can obtain topographic maps, trail overviews, regional maps, and detailed route descriptions.

Just for fun, read "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, Broadway Books. From a review: "If you're a veteran trailblazer, or an overstuffed potato with a light dusting of chives, Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods is for you. It's a 274-page account of the author's attempt to cover the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, by foot or by taxi cab, and the laughter it provides alone would make it worth buying."

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