One month to hike [Archive] - WhiteBlaze

ahodlofski

12-11-2006, 02:38

UCONNMike

12-11-2006, 02:47

Hey..i'm in law school and have only August to hike this year...my partner and I were wondering...if we wanted to end up at the terminus point in maine...where a good starting place would be. Assume we would finish the last couple days of august and start on august 6th.

I would Start in Gorham, NH and do 12-18 miles a day and you can finish that up in less than a month. As a SOBO in 2005 we found first hand how difficult ME is, and even if you are in great shape, the terrain is tough. so I would say Gorham or start out at Mt. Washington, if you wanna experience teh Whites a little, but in that case you would need to hustle a bit more.

UCONNMike

12-11-2006, 02:57

It's 297 miles from Gorham, NH to Katahdin so if you have say 25 days to do it then you need to average 12 miles a day, and take into account you may have a zero day in a town or a near zero day into a town, and Katadin will also take all day to go up and come down.

UCONNMike

12-11-2006, 03:02

if you start at Pinkham Notch it's 4.2 to the top of Mt. Washinton (a 4,300 ft climb)and tehn from Mt. Washignton to Gorham is another 35 miles, which if you choose that route would prob take you longer than a month

Appalachian Tater

12-11-2006, 06:55

Consider not trying to bite off the biggest piece you can chew so you can really enjoy it. There are many places it would be nice to have a long lunch or even quit early and enjoy the rest of the day not hiking.

terrapin_too

12-11-2006, 09:51

Hey..i'm in law school and have only August to hike this year...my partner and I were wondering...if we wanted to end up at the terminus point in maine...where a good starting place would be. Assume we would finish the last couple days of august and start on august 6th.

I agree with the other posters -- Maine is the loveliest state on the trail, and also arguably the hardest and most remote. Daily verticals of 5000+ feet (combined up + down) are the norm. Consider your average miles-per-day, and the desired days off, and go from there. Good "trail towns" include Gorham, Andover, Rangeley, Stratton, Caratunk, Monson. By all means plan to spend a night at Pierce Pond shelter (just below Caratunk) -- one of the most beautiful shelter sites on the whole AT. If you're not in the best of shape already, I'd figure about 10-12 miles per day to start with. Have fun!

DawnTreader

12-11-2006, 12:24

Northern Terminus to Gorham in a month. This was the hike I did last July. It was Phenomenal!

ahodlofski

12-17-2006, 16:10

Based on your advice, my partner and I have decided to do 'chewable section'...and we're going to get some maps and makes some plans...plan out food and that stuff...OK..next question...transportation? Driving from Phila to southern start point in maine works easily..but getting back? Is there anything innovative you guys know of...or should we just arrange with someone to pick us up?

Also reccomendations on 'the book' to read on this section of the trail...i've got basic knowledge on hiking, have done a few three and four day local hikes..but nothing like what challenges maine sounds like it will present!!!

This is a dream of a lifetime..we're going to start in maine and move south over a few years until we hit the whole trail in pieces...