One of the very first Winter hikes I did was to the summit of North Kinsman back in 2015. It was also the first time I had been above treeline in the Winter. I remember standing on the summit of North Kinsman and looking out towards Franconia Ridge in the distance and thinking, “I need to get out here and start hiking a lot more”. It was that line of thinking, that moment, that led me to undertake the NH48. There was sense of awe and beauty that I had not fully understood. A lack of awareness both mentally and physically of my capabilities. A vastness that was yet to be explored.
Fast forward to March 2023 and I found myself back on Kinsman Ridge. It was a repeat of my first trip but this time I had eight years of outdoor experience in my back pocket. I had a deeper respect for the wilderness. A deeper sense of my abilities both physically and mentally. As I was standing there on the summit of North Kinsman with a gentle gaze towards the south, I was struck with sense of peace. I realized I was holding on to a confidence that I had not yet discovered eight years prior. All that time I’d spent hiking and immersing myself in nature was now deeply felt, at once. These mountains, these trails and experiences open a path for self inquiry, a path towards discovering a deeper purpose. Much like my first time on Kinsman, it felt so incredibly rewarding to be standing high up in the White Mountains, except this time I was standing with nothing but gratitude.
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