Bob has been “playing” outdoors since childhood. As a kid he and friends would explore (bushwhack) in the wilderness-type areas around home. To determine how to get back home they would climb a tall tree to figure out which direction to head. He learned to camp, fish, hike, and ski, gaining an incredible love for the outdoors.

He and his father hiked and skied in the White Mountains as he grew up. This gave him a love of hiking in and around the White Mountains and thus fostered an appreciation of the outdoors. His hiking and skiing career spans 65 years!

Following his father’s death in 1996 Bob set out to hike New Hampshire’s 48 four thousand footers in his father’s memory. Finishing them all in 9 months, he then set his sights on the New England 67 finishing all of them a year later.

In 1997 Bob decided to try winter hiking and instantly fell in love with the winter landscapes and the challenge of it all. Winter being a short season and weather being an important factor it took him 4 winter seasons to finish the 48. He has since gone on to finish a second round of the 48 in winter and recently completed a round of the 48 over the age of 70.

In 1998 Bob adopted the Lend a Hand Trail, a 2.8-mile trail leading from AMC’s Zealand Hut to the summit of Mt. Hale. He maintained that trail for 6 years making many improvements especially in drainage. Lend a Hand is a wonderful trail that gives the hiker a taste of almost every kind of environment a hiker might encounter in the White Mountains.

In 2000 he co-founded the AMC NH Chapter Winter Hiking Series and became an instructor at the Chapter’s winter and spring workshops held at Cardigan. He is still instructing at those workshops 23 years later.

In 2015 Bob joined the Cardigan Highlanders and with the incredible knowledge and skills Craig Sanborn brought to the task of trail tending Bob soon learned the methods of class 2 trail construction. Having already had 6 years of trail tending experience with the Lend a Hand Trail the work came naturally. He has continued to be an active member of the croo and has now become not only a member of the Board of Directors but a Team Leader as well.

Bob enjoys trail work and finds it very rewarding to be “giving back” to the hiking community. According to him “once you maintain trails you will never look at a trail the same or take it for granted.” The trails need all the help they can get. If everyone hiking today would volunteer just one day a year to trail maintenance our trails would be pristine. Unfortunately, only a very small fraction of those hiking give back to the resource. Bob says, “you could help change that by signing up for a workday with the CHVTC learning what it takes to maintain a trail.” We will welcome you, train you and best of all show you a good time while doing good for the trail! Come join us!