Newsletter - July 2026

The White Mountains National Forest (WMNF) in upstate New Hampshire covers about 796,000 acres. Either way, that’s a lot of trees.

The Whites are best enjoyed on foot, with a wonderful network of trails offering a variety of routes—short and long, easy and challenging. There's truly something for everyone to enjoy.

Trish and I have shared many wonderful days exploring the trail together. Over the years, on our various vacations, we've been fortunate to reach 30 peaks over 4,000 feet, including Mount Washington at 6,288 feet—the tallest point in the Appalachian Mountain range. Most people, however, prefer to take the cog railway. Honestly, we cheated a little by climbing up and enjoyed the ride back down!

The Appalachian Trail, which passes through the beautiful Presidential Range, is a wonderfully marked hiking path in the Eastern U.S., stretching from Springer Mountain in Georgia all the way to Mount Katahdin in Maine. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy states that it is the world's longest trail dedicated solely to hiking, stretching about 2,200 miles. It's exciting to note that over 2 million people enjoy hiking parts of it each year. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) maintains many cozy campsites, shelters, and huts along the way, including Zealand Falls Hut, built in 1932 at an elevation of 2,640 feet, right beside Zealand Falls on Whitewall Brook. You'll even find the hut featured in Twin Secrets.

Pippa Evans and her friend Steph enjoy breakfast at Zealand Falls during a day hike along the Hale Brook, Twinway, Zealand, and Lend-a-Hand trails. This scenic loop takes you over Mt. Hale and through the Zealand River Valley, known for its beaver ponds. If you choose the right time and day, you might spot moose, black bears, or beavers. The hike is varied and interesting, featuring some of the best white birch woodlands in the Whites. It’s an excellent introduction to the White Mountains and one of the easier peaks to summit—just a 4.4-mile loop with a 2,300-foot elevation gain. The broad, flat summit is an open clearing where a fire tower once stood. At 4,054 feet, it ranks among the lower 4,000-footers, though the view is obscured by surrounding trees.

One of my favourite Ernest Hemingway quotes about sums it up,

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

After applying a large sticking plaster, I can confirm that book 2 in the Evans and Hales series, Chasing Shadows, is currently at the subediting and proofreading stage. No release date has been announced yet, but stay tuned. I can reveal that it takes place a year after Twin Secrets ends. James has a new job—no spoiler alert!

I’ll include the back-page marketing spiel in the next newsletter. But for now, there’s the cover.