Originally Posted by
Another Kevin
OK, I may have misremembered slightly, but I see on a topo that Abol Bridge is about 585 feet elevation, and Baxter Peak is 5266. So net elevation gain of 4680 or so, and add a few 50 foot PUDs here and there. It might be a little shy of 5000 feet, but not by more than a piddling amount. KSC is at 1070 or so, so Lone Wolf's figure is right on, and the Hunt Trail is pretty much straight climb.
I don't think that there's any disputing that the Hunt Trail is one of the more technical sections of the A-T. There's a comparable amount of ascent coming up onto the Presidentials, but it is considerably more gradual and has places to rest: Crawford Notch is about 1250, but after Webster and Jackson are passed comes Mizpah Spring at about 3800, and then again after Pierce and Eisenhower (and the A-T avoids the latter) there is Lakes of the Clouds at about 5010 before the final push to Mount Washington, so a weaker climber has places where it's possible to pull in and rest for a night.
The other spot that's infamous for sustained elevation gain is coming up out of NOC. The Wesser bridge is about 1800 feet elevation, and the trail ascends pretty steadily up to Cheoah Bald (how is that pronounced, anyway?) at 5050. But none of that is technical. It's just miles and miles of uphill, and you can pull off and pitch a tent just about anywhere.
Katahdin may be the most strenuous climb on the trail, but more important to the argument, it's by far the most strenuous that has no lawful place to pull over and spend a night. If The Birches, KSC, and Daicey Pond cannot accommodate, a hiker has to get in and out from Abol in a single day. There are many, even among the thru-hikers, who simply cannot manage that feat safely. Thirty miles and nearly ten thousand feet of elevation change - that must be accomplished in a single day to be lawful - is an overwhelming amount even for some fit and experienced hikers.
I suspect that the limit that has BSP bursting at the seams is indeed that The Birches and KSC cannot accommodate the number of A-T users who arrive nowadays. Given that expansion of these facilities, or construction of new ones, is a non-starter. Day users and those with campground reservations can be spread out better, because Chimney Pond, Roaring Brook, Davis Pond, and other sites are available to them. For this reason, the suggestion that someone else made that a shuttle service for a "mini flip flop" be instituted to allow hikers to ascend from Katahdin Stream and then walk out - or perhaps the section between Abol Bridge and Katahdin Stream could be made optional. That would convert thru-hikers into day users, and moreover, day users who would not be using a parking space. It leaves the same amount of traffic on the Hunt Trail, but it is conceivable that at least today's level of traffic could be handled if BSP didn't have to find places to put everyone up.
Of course, I could be wrong, and the real problem might be overcrowding at the Katahdin summit. I hope it isn't that one, because that one is fixable only by denying people the opportunity to climb. (That has a cascade effect. Those denied will likely try again, increasing the pressure to where some may spend a lifetime without getting permission. This is already the case for popular wilderness trips elsewhere. Someone entering the lottery for a Grand Canyon rafting trip, for instance, has only about a 10% chance of getting a launch opportunity in any given year.
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My point is it seemed to me that D8 was implying that BSP approved a group larger than 12 when Scott states that he registered within the limit of 12. I am making no claim on group size. I am simply stating both cannot be true.
