Bob,

As a veteran of the New England Hundred Highest List, these are my
favorite hikes in New England:

1. Katahdin via the Knife Edge

2. Presidential Range - the 22 mile "death march" includes all 8 peaks
but only the hardy can survive that. I split it up into two hikes: Up to
Madison, then Adams, Jefferson, and Washington and down the famous
Tuckerman Ravine. Then the Southern Presidentials can be done from
Ammonoosuc Ravine to Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower, and Jackson. Sun and
I climbed the steep Great Gulf headwall to Washington.

3. Franconia Ridge, WMNF - the best day hike is up the Falling Water
Trail to Lincoln and Lafayette.

4. Traverse of the Bonds in the Pemigewasset Wilderness - Bondcliff is
not for those with vertigo!

5. The wild Mahoosuc Range including Mahoosuc Notch and Carlo-Goose Eye.

6. Up the Precipice Ladder Trail and down the Beehive Ladder Trail in
Acadia National Park. Beech Cliff ladder trail is also awesome. The
trails from Dorr Mt. to Cadillac Mt. also deserve mention. Acadia is a
hiker's paradise.

7. North Brother, South Brother, Mt. Coe, and the bushwhack to Fort Mt.
in Baxter State Park.

8. Traverse of the Bigelow Range in Maine.

9. Mt. Mansfield in Vermont is a very interesting mountain to explore
with all the different rock formations. Honorable mention to Camel's
Hump.

10. Mt. Carrigain - this remote mountain in WMNF is spectacular.

Other great hikes are: Welch & Dickey; Chocura; Middle Sugarloaf, Mt.
Willard; Baldface Traverse; and Caribou in WMNF. OK in MA you have the
Mt. Tom Range, Holyoke Range, Mt. Sugarloaf and my favorite from Sages
Ravine to Mt. Race - Mt. Everett.

I've only been to the High Peaks in the Adirondacks once. I climbed
Giant Mt. and did the famous Algonquin loop and bagged Iriquois, Wright,
and Algonquin. Backpacker mag said those were the two best in the High
Peaks area so I did them. I don't think I'll ever have the time to bag
all the Dak's 46ers but next month Sun and I are going to the St. Regis
Canoe Area to do the famous "Route of the 7 carries" and I think I'll
try and bag Mt. Marcy. I'd like to the Gothics some day too.

Last year we spent a week down the southern Apps. In the Smokies we did
the Charlie Bunion Trail which was pretty good and then I hiked the cool
Alum Trail to Mt. Le Conte and also hiked the Chimneys which is also not
good for those with vertigo! I heard Gregory was cool when the azaleas
are blooming too but it was too early. In Shenandoah we bagged the
fabulous White Oak Canyon with its cool waterfalls and then I hiked the
real interesting Old Rag. We hiked up as far as we could on Seneca but I
didn't have time to do the North Fork or Mt. Rogers which I read were
two other premier mountains.

I couldn't believe the size of some of the trees I saw in the Smokies -
huge red spruce, tuliptrees, oak, and unfortunately big hemlock
skeletons.

But with all due respect to the southern Apps, I'll take the mountains
of northern New England any day of the week! I like being above timber
line!

I could also compile a list of the lousiest hikes - like some of the
bushwhacks on the hundred highest list - Vose Spur and Scar Ridge were
especially brutal as was the final one on the Quebec border - the
"Unknown Peak". All I used was a shitty map and compass - on the way
back I cut across a bit of Canada! I laugh when I hear of yuppie hikers
ggetting lost. I call them "IOWA's - Idiots Out Walking Around!

Mike

These are my favorite New England hiking books:

1. AMC's White Mountain Guide
2. 100 Classic Hikes of the Northeast by Jared Gange - Jared has also
written separate guides to NH & VT.
3. Wandering Through the White Mountains by Steven Smith - Steve has a
nice little bookstore in Lincoln, NH (the gateway to the Kancamagus).
His book has great lists of the best views, etc.
4. 50 Hikes in the White Mountains by Daniel Doan. Dan was from the old
school.

Here are a few more of my favorite hikes:

1. Mt. Kineo in ME for a great view of Moosehead Lake - you have to
paddle a mile across Moosehead to get there or you could pay someone to
taxi you over.
2. Eagle Cliff, Red Hill or Gunstock Mt. for excellent views of Lake
Winnipesauke.
3. Mt. Morgan & Percival for views of Squam Lake
4. Mt. Pisgah for the unforgettable views of Lake Willoughby in VT.

My favorite backpacks:

1. The hundred mile wilderness along the AT from Monson to Abol Bridge.
I got a shuttle ride from the legendary Mr. Shaw who owns Shaw's
boarding house in Monson that provides refuge for all the thru-hikers. I
did it in August of 2000 and met some really cool thru-hikers with their
crazy trail names when most are finishing up their 2,000 mile hike (I
was "Mike the Argonaut"). The pristine lakes like Nahmakanta and Rainbow
are incredible.

2. About a 30 mile hike from Nesowadnehunk to Roaring Brook in Baxter
State Park, ME. Lake Wassataquoik is great! We set up camp at Russell
Pond where you can canoe and do a lot of side hikes then on to the
mysterious and extremely remote to Davis Pond through the Northwest
Basin. Check out the weird "sheepbacks".

3. A 35 miler through the Presidential Dry River Wilderness in WMNF. br> Take the Dry River Trail to Lake of the Clouds and then on to Mt.
Washington via the Crawford Path where you can pig out at the restaurant
and gross out the tourists. Return via the fabulous Davis Path across
Mt. Isolation, Mt. Davis, Stairs Mt., and Mt. Resolution.

On my list is the Monroe Skyline in VT which I'll do one of these years.

As far as the hundred highest list, in retrospect if I had known what it
was going to be like in advance I probably would have only done the 65
4000 footers. The other 35 peaks in the hundred highest list is mostly
an exercise in map and compass work. The list mania has gone to the
absurd extreme. I met a couple who were doing all the 3000 footers! Now
I heard there's even a list for all the 2000 footers! Hey how low can
you go? I like to design my own hikes now and return to some of my
ffavorites.

Mike