Wilderness Heals

Thank you for visiting the Wilderness Heals blog. Wilderness Heals is an all-women, three-day annual pledge hike that benefits the Elizabeth Stone House (ESH), a Boston-based emergency shelter, transitional housing program, and therapeutic community that provides services to women and children who are escaping violence and overcoming trauma. By encouraging hikers to set challenging physical, emotional, and financial goals, Wilderness Heals mirrors the experiences of hundreds of women who have sought help from the Stone House. Committing to hike is a way to grow personally while simultaneously standing in solidarity with women of the Stone House and women everywhere who are working to overcome the effects of violence in their lives.
Wilderness Heals 2011 will take place July 15-17, 2011. Registration materials may be downloaded here.
Go here to view the 2011 routes, and visit our Who's Who page to meet this year's team leaders and Recruitment Committee members.
Want to learn more? Visit our list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Still have questions? Contact Erika Whyte, Wilderness Heals event coordinator, at 781-726-0551 or ewhyte@elizabethstone.org.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

News Flash: Wilderness Heals Hikers Discover New Old Man of the Mountain on Jefferson

New Hampshire's most iconic landmark, the Old Man of the Mountain--a series of five granite cliff ledges that, when viewed from the correct angle, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face--collapsed on May 3, 2003. But during a recent training hike on the 5,712-foot Mount Jefferson, Wilderness Heals hikers discovered another Old Man of the Mountain--on the Caps Ridge Trail. Above: Victoria, Trish, Laura, Amy, Esther, Christine, and Beth set off for the summit of Mount Jefferson.

Laura, Esther, and Christine take a break on the Caps Ridge Trail.

Although round-trip mileage for Mount Jefferson is short at five miles, the trek up the Caps Ridge Trail is notoriously one of the most difficult hikes in the Whites. It's enormous boulders and multiple false summits, as well as the region's unpredictable weather patterns, make Jefferson far more challenging than its mileage suggests. Above: Hikers make their way through fog on the Caps Ridge Trail.

Hikers looked up to see the new Old Man of the Mountain looming in the fog.

Although the group did not summit Mount Jefferson, they enjoyed stunning views from numerous false summits. Above: Beth, Trish, Esther, Christine, Laura, Amy, and Victoria gaze into the Great Gulf Wilderness.

Clearly, this hike involved a lot of scrambling down muddy slabs and boulders.

Sadly, Christine's pants were a casualty of the hike. It's a good thing she had all of her required safety gear, including her long underwear!

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