And…Ecks Mountain is part of the third loop of Land of the Pioneer Trail #651. The loop itself is 3.5 miles long. George Tichenor, who is 88-years-old and an avid hiker, was our fearless leader and he took us to Vista View for a rare look at the peak of the Mountain. 

We started just off the FR #3 Road where the Four Springs Trail passes through on its way to the Land of the Pioneers Trail. There is a small tank at the beginning of the hike and then the trail rises up and is carved into the side of a hill that provides amazing views. We followed the Trail past a cinder pit until we reached the intersection of Four Springs Trail and the Land of the Pioneers Trail. We headed west toward Ecks Mountain. Once the Trail started to ascend, George led us up a different route and we circumvented the Mountain to the southwest. 

I followed behind Kay Alderton, another avid hiker, who is 82-years-old. She is a pretty amazing lady. She has climbed just about every mountain worth climbing -- including Kilimanjaro and Mount Rainer. When she climbed Mount Rainer, she was buried in an avalanche and had to dig herself out. She has jumped out of an airplane over 200 times. In fact, her first experience flying was sky diving. She told me about the time she flew somewhere for the first time and the passenger next to her mentioned that she seemed very relaxed. It dawned on her that she had never landed in a plane. She walked 500 miles in 36 days along the Camino De Santiago in Spain and has slept on top of the Eye of the Needle in the Superstition Mountains at least four times. All of this in the last 30 years which means she started when she was in her fifties. When her kids were young, she would run every night after her husband got home. Once they were grown up, her husband decided he would run with her. She was in much better shape and he couldn’t keep up. It turned out that it was the last time he ran with her because the police pulled him over — they thought he was chasing her. Alderton has led the TRACKS hikes here in the White Mountains for many years.

The hike to Ecks Mountain turned out to be about 7.5 miles. It was a beautiful hike with many spectacular views. The only place we really couldn’t see the surrounding area was up on the top. It was definitely a case of enjoying the journey instead of the destination but it’s always a fun and interesting time hiking with TRACKS.