On Sunday, November 3rd, we were honored to host Patricia Ellis Herr, and her daughters Alex and Sage in Rrye, NH. Patricia is the author of Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure, chronicling the completion of all of New Hampshire’s 48 4,000-foot peaks with her then 5-year-old daughter, Alex, starting in 2008. The Herrs shared photos, stories, and advice about their hiking experiences, favorite hikes, and lessons they’ve learned. Ten girls ranging from 10-12 from the local middle school attended the event and were inspired by the accomplishments of Alex and Sage.
This past spring, the Herrs completed the 500+ mile Camino El Santiago and raised over $10,000 for the Global Fund for Women and Girl Ventures. While on the trail, Sage celebrated her 8th birthday and hiked for the day with balloons attached to her backpack.
This year, the Herrs are repeating all of New Hampshire 4,000-footers, calling their adventures “Desserts on the 48,” enjoying a summit dessert starting with the same letter of the peak – like recently having Oreos on the Osceolas – because the girls were too young to remember all of the peaks the first time, and their next big fundraising hike for next year is the John Muir Trail, raising money for Feeding America.
We heard about humorous encounters with moose and grouse on the trail, as well as how hiking can improve your attitude, good pointers about safety, and high-pointing adventures across the country.
We are lucky to have beautiful mountains in New Hampshire, and it was great to have the Herrs speak about their experiences in these mountains. We hope that Alex and Sage can continue to inspire other young girls to hike, and that Trish, leading by example, can continue other women to jump outside and take their daughters, too!
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