Hoping for no hail on Hale
- Leaders
- Bjorn Poonen (B coC), Rebecca Kestin (coB)
- Program
- Winter (outside IAP)
- Type
- Hiking
- Terrain level
- B
- Trip date
- Sunday, December 28th
- Difficulty rating
- L4 - Difficult
- Prerequisites
- Attended safety lectures in 2025, Physical condition for a hike of this length and elevation gain.
Route
Join us in hiking up to Mt. Hale, a 4000-footer known for its spectacular birch tree forest that grew after great forest fires a century ago! This is a 9.4 mile out-and-back with 2600 ft of elevation. We’ll ascend via an unofficial but popular winter route, the Firewarden’s Trail, which has moderate grades.
Logistics
There will be a mandatory pre-trip meeting on Friday 12/26 at 6pm on zoom. We'll depart Cambridge Sunday morning and stop for a quick breakfast near the trailhead. If you can drive your own car or are willing to drive a rental car, edit the lottery preferences on your MITOC profile to show this.
The Student Center is closed for the holiday, so it is impossible to rent or buy gear from MITOC this week. You are responsible for acquiring all required gear for the trip. (We have an extra pair of snowshoes available for one participant if we end up needing them.)
Costs
As for all MITOC winter hiking trips, there is a $5 trip fee. We will be sharing car costs based on the car cost calculator. Expected car cost per person is $30-50; if you are an MIT undergrad, this cost can be reimbursed.
Signup
- Algorithm
- first-come, first-serve
- Maximum participants
- 8
- Signups opened at
- Dec. 22, 2025, 9:36 p.m.
- Signups close at
- Dec. 25, 2025, 9 a.m.
- Notes
- Describe a winter hike you have enjoyed (elevation, distance, when you did it)
- What is the hardest hike you have completed in the last 6 months? If you have not done any hikes in the last 6 months, what is your weekly exercise routine?