I've been hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire since the summer of 1979 when I climbed Mt. Major (elevation: 1710') with my family. To me, it was a big accomplishment, because I was six. After that, we went on occasional trips to such lofty peaks as South Pack Monadnock.
My first "real" climb, and overnight camping trip was in 1987, when I was in the eighth grade. Our entire class went on a four day, three night trip to Mt. Cardigan. We camped on the side of the mountain, and spent our time there exploring the area. And don't forget to do your "stream flow", "leaf rubbings", and figure out how many picnic tables we could make from any given tree. (Don't even get me started about "Cave Man Days").
In high school, I joined up with the M.O.T.D. a small outing club based in Manchester, New Hampshire. I climbed my first "Four Thousand Footer", Mt. Moosilauke, during the summer of 1990. Since then, I have been working toward the goal of climbing all 48 of these. I've done around 36 at last count.
My hiking resources:
Other organizations:
Other links: