Does Northern NH get any easier?

[joshuasdad]

Hiked Pinkham Notch to Lake of the Clouds on Sunday, accidently missing summit of Mt. Washington. Summited Monday AM, but the Summit Stage would not sell me a 1 way down ticket as a single hiker, so I spent a wet day sliding down Tuckerman Ravine, which if possible, seemed steeper than the ascent of Mt. Madison from Osgood Tentsite.

Everything pretty much hurts. First real blisters, knees making crunching sound again, banged up knees and chin, sunburn, epic chafing, a few new bug bites, even my eyeballs hurt. But otherwise, a great hike!

Going to take a couple of days off, and hope that the heavy rain outside now does not turn what little soil there is on the Appalachian "Trail" in NH into impassible mud.

[rocketsocks]

Hiked Pinkham Notch to Lake of the Clouds on Sunday, accidently missing summit of Mt. Washington. Summited Monday AM, but the Summit Stage would not sell me a 1 way down ticket as a single hiker, so I spent a wet day sliding down Tuckerman Ravine, which if possible, seemed steeper than the ascent of Mt. Madison from Osgood Tentsite.

Everything pretty much hurts. First real blisters, knees making crunching sound again, banged up knees and chin, sunburn, epic chafing, a few new bug bites, even my eyeballs hurt. But otherwise, a great hike!

Going to take a couple of days off, and hope that the heavy rain outside now does not turn what little soil there is on the Appalachian "Trail" in NH into impassible mud.

I wanna know what happen to the chin? oh, and I never hiked in New England yet...sounds wonderful though, gettin beat in ta hell, can't wait. Have a great hike JD.

and what's with the eyeballs?

[illabelle]

JD, you have my sympathy. I've only done a short section in the Whites, from Mt Washington to Mizpah. Aborted, took a side trail down. We read in the guidebook that it was hard. How hard can it be? we thought.

I wish I could claim to have done the Whites, but now that I've seen for myself how very hard it can be, I know I can't try again until I get in better shape and carry less weight, or do the hut-to-hut thing.

Crunchy knees! Ouch!

[yellowsirocco]

No, the only easy part of NH is between Glencliff and Hanover. I look at where the OP is from and that pretty much sums it up, NH is a completely different ballgame than northern VA.

[jeffmeh]

Further corroboration that:
1) Hikers who cut their teeth in the Whites have fewer surprises in terms of terrain
2) Going down sucks

Still jealous, though.

[hikerboy57]

although yu could take the ski lift up wildcat

[joshuasdad]

Sore eyeballs from the sun I guess--can't complain too much about that since I had some great views. Chin hit a rock when arresting from fall down Tuckerman's (that place they ski the headwall in late spring). Usually I absorb falls pretty well, but I had to flip over and grab something because of the obscene downslope.

Illabelle, IMO, descending in the Whites may be the hardest part. You hiked the Whites. Unfortunately, you may have also partially answered my question. It may not get any easier.

[joshuasdad]

No, the only easy part of NH is between Glencliff and Hanover. I look at where the OP is from and that pretty much sums it up, NH is a completely different ballgame than northern VA.

I did not think any given mile of that section was more difficult than something south of NH (of which I only have a couple hundred miles to do). The problem was that each of miles 5 through 14 on that first day was a 1 mph mile. On the rest of the AT, you get a tough couple miles, then an easy section, rinse, repeat. What I was hoping to hear is that north of Glencliff, you get a few easy stretches.

[RED-DOG]

After successfully completing three Thru-Hikes I've got to say that NH and ME is the toughest two states on the AT, and with all the rain they been having that will make twice as hard, and no NH does not get any easier in fact it gets HARDER, so GOOD LUCK and HAPPY TRAILS.

[hikerboy57]

and dont think it ends when you get out of the whites. western maine is equally difficult.
gets easier right after katahdin

[rickb]

Sore eyeballs from the sun I guess--can't complain too much about that since I had some great views. Chin hit a rock when arresting from fall down Tuckerman's (that place they ski the headwall in late spring). Usually I absorb falls pretty well, but I had to flip over and grab something because of the obscene downslope.

Illabelle, IMO, descending in the Whites may be the hardest part. You hiked the Whites. Unfortunately, you may have also partially answered my question. It may not get any easier.

Sucks that they wouldn't sell you a ticket for a ride down. I know they won't promise to have space for people just descending, but I thought you could sort of count on purchasing a ticket down (on top of Mount Washington, not at the base) provided you asked early enough in the day.

I think it will get easier though. How many continuous miles did you walk without a single tree to shade you and cradle you in their loving embrace?

[Rasty]

The Tuckermans decent is so much fun.

[joshuasdad]

Sucks that they wouldn't sell you a ticket for a ride down. I know they won't promise to have space for people just descending, but I thought you could sort of count on purchasing a ticket down (on top of Mount Washington, not at the base) provided you asked early enough in the day.

I think it will get easier though. How many continuous miles did you walk without a single tree to shade you and cradle you in their loving embrace?

I asked at 930 am, and they would not guarantee me a ride down unless I bought two tickets, despite the fact a guided tour van half empty came up to the summit at 940. According to the ticket seller, they do not mix hikers and tourgroups. I asked that driver if I could ride down with that group,and she seemed to want to bring me down, but she checked with the first person I dealt with and was overruled.

At least 9 miles without a real tree...

[DavidNH]

My sympathies on your blisters and soreness. but I have to wonder what you were expecting. Didn't you do some research before heading to the whites?
it's not clear if you are thru hiking or just doing a long section or even a short section but just in case you are doing a long section going into Maine:

NO it's not going to get ANY easier anytime soon. The Whites are among the most challenging sections of the entire Appalachian Trail. To boot, you are hiking in what of the wettest summers in years (you probably already know that) so rocks are slippery and mud is everywhere. Going North from Pinkham you face the Carter Range. Going South There's the Presidentials, the Franconias, The Kinsmans.

Just how does on "accidentally" miss the summit of Mount Washington?

If you didn't get a ride on the stage coach.. my guess is that it was full with people not equipped for hiking and they figured some one with hiking gear could make his way down. If the van wasn't full it's hard to imagine they wouldn't sell you a ticket.

[bear bag hanger]

I've hiked to the top of Mt Washington twice now. Once in 2004 and a second time in 2006. Both times I was able to purchase a round trip ticket to the bottom, stay at a motel near by, and then ride back to the top in the morning. Both times had to wait a while for space on a van to go down, but otherwise didn't have any problems. The other tourist in the vans seem to enjoy the stories about my hike. Guess they have changed their policies?

[joshuasdad]

Van was not full (whole backseat was open), they just do not mix hikers and tourgroups. Missed misty summit by mistakenly following cairn for Westside trail. Eventually realized my mistake, but by then, had conceded that I would head to the hut or bail down the mountain and camp/shelter.

Doing short sections this week, and had intended to descend off of Washington Sunday night (missed the cog by about a hiking mile), was prepared to bail and camp, but as the thunderstorms did not come, I just kept hiking.


FYI, the Dungeon in Lake of the Clouds hut is full of ice, but I was prepared to pay for a bunk anyway.

[Pedaling Fool]

First off, going downhill requires greater strenght then going uphill, despite everyone talks about "climbs".

Until science gives us a pill and replaceable limbs and whatever else science will come up with to make our lives easier the only way to make the trails easier is either to drastically change the trails or for us to drastically change our bodies.

Hiking mountains is weightlifting and just as in weightlifting if you want to pick up heavier objects or pick up a given object for sustained periods of time you gotta breakdown the body and build it back up. That is the only way to make to soreness go away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD445AlUxsI

[Driver8]

To the OP, the Whites are super-hard relative to the rest of the A.T. corridor, with, I gather, the exception of much of Maine. There are easier hikes to be had in the Whites, but few easy ones that attain any elevation. You pay for your views.

As to descending Tuckerman, just be glad you didn't go down Lion Head. It's worse. I went up Tuck's and down Lion Head last summer, and the latter was, on the backside of a long, arduous day, much worse. Down is harder than up, for sure, but at least TRT is well graded and constructed. Your fall sounds scary. Glad you're OK. When's your next adventure up there?

[Driver8]

As I've put it, in my limited experience, the hardest 20 miles of CT through VT on the A.T. would probably correlate to an average 20 miles in New Hampshire.

[10-K]

I didn't call the AT in the Whites "hiking".....