by Lorraine Langan

It’s not new news that New Hampshire is a state blessed with beautiful hiking trails, mountain venues, and wildlife scenery.  Many of you have ventured out on the hiking trails to earn badges when you complete a goal. But some of you may not be aware of the New Hampshire Triple Crown of Hiking.  This is an advanced effort, and it takes time and determination to complete the requirements. Here they are:

1. The White Mountains 4000-Footer Grid. You must complete all 48 White Mountain 4000 footers in every month of the year.  A total of 576 peaks, 3300 miles of hiking, 1,000,000 feet of elevation.
2. The White Mountains Redlining Trail.  Hike all the trails listed in the Appalachian Mountain Club’s White Mountain Guide, 664 trails, and a combined length of1478 miles
3. The New Hampshire 500 Highest. The requirement is to climb the 500 tallest mountains in NH, many in the middle of nowhere.  Several do not have trails, which makes this part of the list more challenging.

Just reading this list makes my head spin. It requires focus, determination, physical strength and endurance to even begin to tackle this list.  This brings me to my topic for this article.

Meet Rick and Lisa Fregeolle.  I was fortunate to become better acquainted with this dynamic couple via email.  Lisa grew up in Tewksbury, MA and Rick grew up in Woburn. In 1980-81 they met while working together at Charrette Corporation in Woburn.  One of the things that they had in common was their love of nature. They began dating and one of the activities they enjoyed together was hiking local trails, such as the Harold Parker State Forest in Andover.  They were bitten by the bug!  They loved it so much that they decided to go a step further and began getting more serious about trekking in the forest. They also got serious about each other, and, in 1986, they were married. Deciding to begin climbing in the White Mountains, they completed the Mount Osceola peak around 2005, their first 4000-footer.

Encouraged by their success, they continued onward.  The challenges were many, with winter cold, wind, and snow depths limiting the number of days you can safely climb. Undeterred, the couple managed to complete the “The NH 500 Highest “in October of 2020. Several of these mountains don’t even have trails, which is difficult because you must self-navigate to reach their peaks!  About four years later, in February of 2024, this amazing pair was able to complete the “White Mountains 4000-Footer Grid”, a total of 576 peaks. Now they were truly determined and, in October of 2024, completed the “White Mountains Redlining Trail List” which is not an easy feat, completing 664 trails with a combined length of 1478 miles.

They officially finished the NH Triple Crown of Hiking! (see the photo above) Lisa and Rick are the first couple, and Lisa the second woman, to finish this challenge. This is quite an accomplishment. Looking forward, this energetic couple continues to search for new challenges, with a new goal of climbing 450 peaks in New England. Busy with 4 grandsons, they still find the time to participate in trail work with the Trailwrights group and have logged hundreds of hours. They also did some trail maintenance in Pelham NH.

In closing, Rick has some thoughts he would like to share. Here is his direct quote:

“We thought it might be helpful to put into perspective the quantity of people hiking the NH 4000 footers, etc. To date, over 14,000 people have completed the NH 4000-footer list, but after completing that list, there is a huge decline in people completing the larger lists.  For example, the NH Grid has less than 200 that have completed it, (Lisa and I are number 165). The NH 500 Highest list is less than 25 people that have completed it (Lisa and I are number 12 and 13).  The NH White Mountains Redlining Trail has less than 150 to have completed the list (we are 106).  But, when combining these three lists, known as the Triple Crown, only eight people have completed it, with Lisa being only the second woman to have done so.”

Lisa and Rick, thank you for sharing your amazing story.  You are an inspiration to us all!

All you hikers out there, keep looking ahead, start out small, and perhaps begin by getting out to the 22+ miles of the Pelham Trails.  You may find that you catch “the hiking bug” too.  I included the website below for the Pelham NH trials, offering miles of beautiful walking and hiking paths to get you started.  I know we all aren’t Triple Crown material, but you may find you have discovered a rewarding new hobby.

If you would like more information on The NH Triple Crown, Lisa and Rick’s journey, and an episode on NH Chronicle that features their story, see the references below.

Sectionhiker.com/first-couple-finishes

NHChronicle: https://dqmh.short.gy/triple-crown

www.Pelhamweb.com/forestry-committee/pages/trail-maps

Happy Hiking!