An Epic in the "Live Free or Die" State in Nov?

Yeah that's right.. New Hampshire: where you can ride a motorcycle without a helmet and carry a gun without a permit - "Live Free or Die". I would love to go home for Thanksgiving this year and see my family in the Shire. If I do so I'd like to do some sort of ultra race while back there. After searching it doesn't look like there will be any. So I'm now looking to do an epic training, either biking or running mass miles.

Today I've been obsessed with running the Presidential Range in New Hampshire. It's only 25.5 miles, but there is 9,600 feet of gain and it would be 14 - 40 degrees. So that could be quite a challenge (my toes ache just thinking about it)! The average temperature in Nov at the top of Mt Washington (6,288 ft) is 14 degrees and it's got the "worst weather on earth", and the highest winds ever recorded on earth too - 231 mph.

I've read some great CAUTIONARY notices about this hike with 13 miles of it above tree line, meaning loads of exposure. Here is one from a guide book: "A large portion of this hike is extremely exposed to weather. The entire Mount Washington area is susceptible to lightning strikes and very strong winds. It can snow any month of the year, but any kind of weather above treeline can create the potential for hypothermia." I think I'll bring a bivy and more cloths than normal. =)

Anyone out there ever run this?
Or
Does anyone have any other ideas for epics in New England?

Hoh Valley - Bogachiel Traverse 74 Mile Run

Here are the photos from the run. This photo from the start of our epic adventure - 2am Sunday morning. Our journey would take us from the Hoh Valley Visitors Center in the Hoh rainforest out to Glacier Meadows and the overlook of Blue Glacier and Mt Olympus, then up the Bogachiel traverse out to 7 lakes, and finally down Snider Jackson Trail. We estmated the 74 miles with over 16,000+ feet of gain would take us around 16-19 hours.. well it didn't. If I had been able to find the final trail (just 10 miles from the car) in the dark we would have taken about 19 hours. But we had to hunker in the moss and share a single space blanket and wait for the daylight! With some light on the situation we found it and ran the remaining 10 miles the following day. You could say we were a bit frustrated. =(

Krissy taking in the view of Mt Tod from the High Divide Trail.

Mt Tod behind us as we look from the moraine out over the Blue Glacier of Mount Olympus.

Krissy on her way down from the moraine viewpoint.

A view from the trail down to Hoh Lake. There were Huckleberries all over this trail and we stopped to fill our bellies with them.

See...

K. Moehl running (she's good at it).

really good at it...

after two 4,000 + foot climbs it was nice to head down hill.

B-E-A-U-tiful trail!

Big fallen tree root. To show you how massive it was we took this photo of it next to my biceps. =)

This is where we slept for 8 hours until the sun came up. When it did we found the trail... long story. Basically we finished in 3 hours the next day because I could not find this damn trail. The guide book just said "find the Snider Jackson Trail after fording the river". Well it wasn't as easy as it sounded.