Today I’m turning the spotlight on two amazing young women who are the future - and for that matter, the present - of White Mountain hiking.
Alexandra and Sage Herr, aka 'The Granite Gals', and their mom Trish, are rock stars of the New Hampshire hiking community. You might guess that it was because Trish was an avid hiker in her youth, but apparently that wasn’t the case. Instead, an overactive 5 year old Alex drove Trish into the woods, looking for an outlet that would bring some quiet and peace while dissipating some of Alex’s energy.
By August 2009, at the ripe old age of 6, Alex had hiked all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000 footers, and her little sister, Sage, was gearing up to start her own 4000 footer list.
Trish, Alex and Sage subsequently embarked on several thru-hiking trips, both domestic and international, over school vacations, in many cases using them as fundraisers for non-profits close to their hearts, such as GirlVentures and FeedingAmerica. Their advocacy continues even while they’ve been more singularly focused on completing their Grid lately - almost every trip report they each write for their respective blogs starts with a mention and link to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group that both are passionate about supporting.
This dynamic mother/daughter trio are also the creators of the Terrifying 25 list, found in the so-called 'bucket' of many a White Mountain hiker, and Alex recently created another great list for aspiring young adventurers, the 13 Before 13.
The Granite Gals shared all kinds of good stuff in this interview, enjoy!: