The Presifdential Range

[Just Plain Jim]

I'm considering hiking from Crawford Notch to Hwy 16 or Hwy 2. My hiking partner and I will be staying at the huts [first class]. we are both 75 [me with 2 knees replaced] and am a little apprehensive. We are both in good shape. He still runs and I hike 4-5 days a week. We'll be traveling by train from Birmingham to Boston. I haven't figured out how to Crawford Notch............. Just Plain Jim

[peakbagger]

There is bus service from Boston to Pinkham Notch and Lincoln NH (two different routes). http://concordcoachlines.com/assets/schedule/CCL-NH-Schedule.pdf You are lucky in Boston, the bus picks up at South Station where the Amtrak south line stops. The AMC has a stop at Pinkham Notch and runs one of their shuttles that line up with the bus schedule. Of the two, I am most familiar with the Pinkham bus which is very reliable. There is an AMC shuttle to Crawford Notch a couple times a day set up for hut to hut hikers. Plan in plenty of time for the bus trips, the bus from Boston stops at many towns along the way and the AMC has many stops.

Be prepared to make reservations early and take a deep breath when they tell you the bill. The cant miss huts are Lake of the Clouds (AKA Lake of the Crowds). , Madison Hut and Greenleaf with Zealand one step down. Carter, Lonesome Lake and Mitzpah are nice but not as special. On your Crawford to Pinkham trip you have Mitzpah, Lakes and Madison if you want to head on to RT 2 then you need to book Carter.

Your biggest challenge is day heading down from Madison to Pinkham, the Osgood Trail (AT) is one long steep downhill once you drop below treeline, take you Advil and use your poles. There is a bail point at the base where you would head out the great gulf trail to RT 16 where you can usually hitch.

The huts are set up for the average hiker to easily be able to hike between them as long as the weather isn't rotten. If its rotten that stretch above treeline can be dangerous and even well equipped folks may have a tough time. There isn't that much to do at the huts until supper time so take your time.

[Kerosene]

This is certainly rugged terrain...much more than anything I can imagine you encountering in Alabama. However, taken in small enough bites with enough time even inexperienced, out-of-shape day hikers can get between huts in a day. I was fortunate to cover this section on close-to-perfect weather in mid-September 2006 -- there were times when I couldn't imagine trying parts of that traverse on a high-wind/dense fog/wet kind of day.

Don't discount the NH-16 to US-2 section either. Those first 10 miles rival any other part of the Prezzies. I had asked my daughter to join me for that section, but in retrospect I'm glad she had other plans!

In the end, if you've done a lot of hiking and you're in reasonable shape, then I'd go for it, even at 75 with dual TKRs. You can always stop partway if the weather or your body doesn't cooperate. Enjoy!

[Slo-go'en]

Skipping the RT 16 to RT 2 section is probably a good idea. So much depends on the weather. You don't say when you plan this hike. I would go the last 2 weeks of August, as that gives you the best chance of avoiding afternoon thunderstorms. You don't want to be caught on the ridge when one of those pop up late in the afternoon, which is common in July and early August.

As for buses, there is only one bus north of Concord a day, which leaves South Station at 4:15 PM. It arrives at Pinkham at 8:45 in theory, but is typically an hour late. I've taken this bus many times to get home to Gorham. From Pinkham Notch, it would be easy to catch the morning AMC shuttle back around to Crawford notch. You can also take a bus to Lincoln, but getting over to Crawford might be more difficult, I'm not sure if the AMC shuttle swings through there or not. Usually they only stop at AMC facilities and trail heads.

[peakbagger]

AMC does have a shuttle that connects up with the Lincoln bus. I don't like the option as much as if the bus is delayed the hiker may end up missing the shuttle. The bus stops directly at Pinkham so no issue with a late bus.

[Slo-go'en]

AMC does have a shuttle that connects up with the Lincoln bus. I don't like the option as much as if the bus is delayed the hiker may end up missing the shuttle. The bus stops directly at Pinkham so no issue with a late bus.

Oh, there are two buses to Lincoln from Boston, an early morning and an evening. The morning bus leaves South Station at 8 AM and arrives Lincoln at 11:15. This might be the one the AMC shuttle meets and is probably on time since it's going against the flow of the morning rush hour traffic.

The evening bus leaves at 5:40 PM and arrives at Lincoln at 9:00 PM. However, this bus is likely an hour late due to the rush hour traffic leaving Boston. Therefore, this requires an overnight stay somewhere in town.

So, it all depends on when the train gets to Boston, which I think is early in the morning. It's possible the OP could be stuck in Boston for most of the day if the train arrives too late for the 8AM bus north, or has to wait for the Gorham bus at 4:15 PM. Which isn't a bad thing. I walk around town, do some sight seeing and have a wicked expensive Haddock dinner at Legal Seafood when I'm stuck waiting for the evening bus home.

[Thorfinn]

As an older hiker myself, I would suggest you leave early and try to arrive at the huts at a reasonable time. If you are later you will only have choices of the highest bunks, i.e. the third level. I think it was the hike from Madison Spring to Lakes of the Clouds that the most difficult and scary part was getting out of the top bunk. I wised up after a while and requested a lower bunk when I made my reservations. Whereas there is no guarantee, my requests were always honored. The Whites are special.

[One Half]

There is bus service from Boston to Pinkham Notch and Lincoln NH (two different routes). http://concordcoachlines.com/assets/schedule/CCL-NH-Schedule.pdf You are lucky in Boston, the bus picks up at South Station where the Amtrak south line stops. The AMC has a stop at Pinkham Notch and runs one of their shuttles that line up with the bus schedule. Of the two, I am most familiar with the Pinkham bus which is very reliable. There is an AMC shuttle to Crawford Notch a couple times a day set up for hut to hut hikers. Plan in plenty of time for the bus trips, the bus from Boston stops at many towns along the way and the AMC has many stops.

Be prepared to make reservations early and take a deep breath when they tell you the bill. The cant miss huts are Lake of the Clouds (AKA Lake of the Crowds). , Madison Hut and Greenleaf with Zealand one step down. Carter, Lonesome Lake and Mitzpah are nice but not as special. On your Crawford to Pinkham trip you have Mitzpah, Lakes and Madison if you want to head on to RT 2 then you need to book Carter.

Your biggest challenge is day heading down from Madison to Pinkham, the Osgood Trail (AT) is one long steep downhill once you drop below treeline, take you Advil and use your poles. There is a bail point at the base where you would head out the great gulf trail to RT 16 where you can usually hitch.

The huts are set up for the average hiker to easily be able to hike between them as long as the weather isn't rotten. If its rotten that stretch above treeline can be dangerous and even well equipped folks may have a tough time. There isn't that much to do at the huts until supper time so take your time.

I don't know how many waterbars it currently has but back in the early 90's when we helped maintain it, there were 96!

There is the Osgood cutoff (part of AT) which intersects the Osgood trail where the Osgood tent site path also branches off, it goes to the Madison Gulf Trail (AT) and then this joins Old Jackson Rd (AT) which takes you right to Pinkham Notch

[Just Plain Jim]

Thanks to all of you. This will give something to think about. I am considering hiking in August. I'll get back to YALL.