hiking

Mt. Schilthorn: I Earned It!

Matt and I were in Switzerland a couple of weeks ago. Oddly enough, even though we were going to be staying in the Alps, I hadn’t planned on taking any big hikes. I’d thought we’d keep it small, but with the views of all the snowcapped mountains it was hard not to want to scale right up them. I’m a hiker and don’t really have a desire to rock climb on vertical edges that are over 10,000 feet in the air, but when you stare up at Mt. Eiger, the peak sure does tempt you.

So one day we took a cable car up Mt. Schilthorn (a peak most people have only heard of because James Bond: Her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed there), which is nearly 10,000 feet. On our way up we saw a couple people hiking. Mt. Schilthorn is not not Mt. Eiger. It’s more like Mt. Washington. I was disappointed that we hadn’t hiked it. “Oh, if we had hiked up here, then we really would have earned breakfast,” I said to Matt.

Mt. Schilthorn: I Earned It!Maggie Downie2017-09-12T19:31:50-04:00

Hiking in CT

How did I not know this existed? I’m sharing the link to hikes in CT for anyone else you enjoys hiking and easy access to where to go locally.

Hiking in CTMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:07-04:00

Mourning Mt. Madison

On the second day of a recent hike, we stuffed our packs and headed up the mountain once again. We wanted to reach the top of Mt. Madison (elevation 5,367 feet). The night before the weather predicted was ice and snow, so when we woke up and found the weather to be gray, chance of rain and winds of up to 65 mph, we were actually pleased.

Once we’d gotten above the treeline, where views were only popping up occasionally when the clouds and fog would disperse, roughly 40 mph winds were a constant. I was chilled to the bone whenever I stopped for a break. Moving was the better option.

After lunch we decided to go the last half mile up to the summit of Mt. Madison. I was excited and the wind was really blowing. My sister and I climbed over one rock, approximately 100-feet from the summit and the wind nearly knocked me off the my feet. Kate my sister and I grabbed onto a rock. In one step the wind had […]

Mourning Mt. MadisonMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:10-04:00

Maggie on the Mountain

Nearly every Labor Day weekend, I try and get up to NH to hike in the White Mountains. For years I went up Mt. Washington, which I still enjoy, but I got sick of hiking to the top and needing to cross a parking lot before reaching the summit.

So last year, instead of just a day hike, I started backpacking different peaks in the area. A friend from high school showed us the ropes to backpacking and he had us hooked immediately. This year Matt and my sister Kate and I went north of Mt. Washington to hike Mt. Adams and Mt. Madison. Hurricane Earl gave us a wet night at the campground prior to hiking, but we were all good sports about it. Especially my sister whose tent was flooded by 1am forcing her to sleep in the car.

Though rain had been predicted for the whole weekend in New Hampshire, we […]

Maggie on the MountainMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:10-04:00

My Mom Rocks

My mom rocks for a lot of reasons, but most recently when we were in Italy she had a great accomplishment. After walking down the stairs through the cliffs from Ravello to Minori and lounging on the beach for a couple hours she walked back up with us–that is 1,333 stairs she walked up, people. It was about one mile away–a mile of stairs away.

This was a great accomplishment for all of us, but the rest of us who climbed the stairs are hikers and we do Mt. Washington or a similar mountain nearly every year. We are a little more used to it. Not to mention my mom is twice our age (that’s a compliment, Mom!). In addition to the stairs, it was roughly 95 degrees and humid. Parts of the staircase were shaded, […]

My Mom RocksMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:11-04:00