Shane Michael Mathews

NH48 4000 Footer Non-Winter Essay

First Peak and Second Peak - 2009-09-06

I started hiking with my girlfriend (now wife) and her family in 2009. Going up to North Twin were a large caravan of us; Chris, Ruth, Becca, Andy, Sarah, Olive, Julia, Evelyn, and me (along with others I can no longer remember).

Three hikers at the peak of a mountain with several mountains in the background, and clear blue skys. The hiker on the right is a middle aged man, with a short beard, and is dressed in a blue shirt with a blue baseball cap from one of the nearby huts. The hiker in the middle is a young woman wearing a gray star island t-shirt and long blue shorts. The hiker on the left is a young man wearing a gray 2K baseball cap with brown and orange striped shirt and long blue shorts, he's clean shaven and wearing glasses. They're smiling and looking very relaxed.

I forget whose idea it was, but Chris, Becca, and I decided to hit the south peak while we were so close. I don't remember thinking about peak-bagging, but it was an incredible feeling to drop our packs and hit an extra peak with just the three of us. With Becca's physical health soon to be in decline, we didn't realize this would be a singular event. It felt effortless and carefree to wind our way along the ridge, experience the sight together, and hurry back.

The Carters (and Wildcats, again) - 2021-08-07

I had already done the wildcats years before this hike and loved how fast you get to viewpoints and how many times you get to ascend and descend, but this day was different. Chris and I started in the dark, dropping off Bikes at the base of wildcat and then went up Imp trail. By pure numbers, the hike was more than I had done before by a wide margin, and then ended with a bike ride in the rain. It was an incredible day that told me what I was capable of.

Final Peak - 2024-07-14

Three hikers at the peak of a mountain with several mountains in the background, and large white clouds. The hiker on the right is an older man, with a short grey beard, and is dressed in a blue shirt with a blue baseball cap from one of the nearby huts. The hiker in the middle is a middle aged man wearing a gray 2K baseball cap with a blue shirt and tan shorts blue shorts, he's clean shaven and wearing glasses. The man on the left is an older man, clean shaven, with a white baseball cap and white shirt. They're smiling and looking very relaxed.

My final hike was Mt Isolation with my Father-In-Law Chris West and his best friend Andy Gallop. We went up Glen Boulder Trail and came back down Rocky Branch Trail. This is the first hike I planned myself, instead of Chris. It took us 11 hours, instead of the 8 I planned, and Rocky Branch Trail was much more difficult than we had anticipated, but it was a fantastic end to this journey.

Chris and the 48

A 9x9 collage of two hikers over several years. Often posing in front of trail markings, but the middle one is sharing margaritas and looking tired but happy.

Getting these 48 peaks has taken me almost 15 years, but most of the work has been in the last 3. I'm incredibly grateful to Chris for the gift of this hobby and all his help and love, who hiked each peak with me, planned most hikes for me, and celebrated each adventure with me (usually with a margarita or a beer). The journey has been more than I could have hoped for, and it continues with both the New England 67 and the Winter 48