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icebeard
07-09-2017, 12:59
Hi everyone!
Thinking about hiking the NH section from Hanover nobo to Franconia notch. Obviously appears to be the easier half of NH. Wondering if i could get some input on this being doable in 6 days for an experienced guy in better than average shape, and state of water sources in that area, etc... Thanks in advance all!

tdoczi
07-09-2017, 14:23
Hi everyone!
Thinking about hiking the NH section from Hanover nobo to Franconia notch. Obviously appears to be the easier half of NH. Wondering if i could get some input on this being doable in 6 days for an experienced guy in better than average shape, and state of water sources in that area, etc... Thanks in advance all!

6 days is, if anything, longer than needed.

hanover to the skiway (about 18 miles) is easily done in a day

the skiway to glencliff is about the same and only slightly harder.

for sake of argument lets call these 3 days total.

glencliff to the first shelter on kinsman ridge (forget the name) is easily done in a day

from there to franconia notch will be the toughest day of the hike, but as it's the last day it can be easily finished. ive done the whole thing from kinsman notch to franconia notch in one long day

so thats 5, and i really think 4 is doable aside from the possible question of where to stay on night #1 out of hanover.

Slo-go'en
07-09-2017, 15:44
so thats 5, and i really think 4 is doable aside from the possible question of where to stay on night #1 out of hanover.

I guess that would depends on when he arrives in Hanover. If it's sometime in the afternoon, the first shelter at Velvet Rocks would do. It's a pretty easy 2.5 miles from town. But carry in plenty of water. The water is a LONG walk away, hard to find and sometimes dry in the summer. The three water sources between Velvet rocks and Moose Mountain shelter are ones you really don't want to drink from. First is a pond, the next two are small streams next to roads. I never drink water from streams near a road.

icebeard
07-09-2017, 20:14
Thanks for all the info so far everyone, greatly appreciated!

peakbagger
07-09-2017, 20:37
The biggest hassle is finding a way to get back to your car.

Slo-go'en
07-09-2017, 21:46
The biggest hassle is finding a way to get back to your car.

Yep, no good way to get back. I think I'd try 118 to 25 to 25A to 10. It's the most direct route, but getting a ride on 118 might be a challenge. I've hitched 10 up from Hanover to Littleton a couple of times with reasonably short waits between rides.

Berserker
07-10-2017, 12:20
Let's see, your proposing 69 miles in 6 days for about a 11.5 mile per day average, and you state that you are in good shape...that seems reasonable for this section. I did about the same daily mileage through there when I was just in ok shape, and made it. There are really only 3 tough climbs in there, and the rest are no too bad...and by tough I mean they are those types of climbs you only see in NH (and maybe ME...haven't been there yet to compare). The climbs are Smarts Mt., Moosilauke and South Kinsman, so they are spread out over the 6 days. So yeah, I think you can do that without too much trouble. Just note that in my opinion South Kinsman is one of the toughest climbs I've ever done...others might disagree, but that one is hard.

tdoczi
07-10-2017, 13:34
I guess that would depends on when he arrives in Hanover. If it's sometime in the afternoon, the first shelter at Velvet Rocks would do. It's a pretty easy 2.5 miles from town. But carry in plenty of water. The water is a LONG walk away, hard to find and sometimes dry in the summer. The three water sources between Velvet rocks and Moose Mountain shelter are ones you really don't want to drink from. First is a pond, the next two are small streams next to roads. I never drink water from streams near a road.
what i more mean is that hanover to glencliff is 43.3 miles. thats right at the cusp of doable in 2 long days if divided more or less evenly, but theres not really a reasonable place to stop right in the middle. shelters are at roughly 17, and 23 miles from hanover.

i guess 23 and stopping at firewarden's would be the way to do it but i dont know if i'd really want to attempt that climb at the end of a 20+ day.

were there a place to camp somewhere between the skiway and the climb of smarts mountain thatd be where to stop. does such a place exist? dont know.

icebeard
07-10-2017, 17:13
Let's see, your proposing 69 miles in 6 days for about a 11.5 mile per day average, and you state that you are in good shape...that seems reasonable for this section. I did about the same daily mileage through there when I was just in ok shape, and made it. There are really only 3 tough climbs in there, and the rest are no too bad...and by tough I mean they are those types of climbs you only see in NH (and maybe ME...haven't been there yet to compare). The climbs are Smarts Mt., Moosilauke and South Kinsman, so they are spread out over the 6 days. So yeah, I think you can do that without too much trouble. Just note that in my opinion South Kinsman is one of the toughest climbs I've ever done...others might disagree, but that one is hard.

Thanks for the warning! Lol! I've done some of the Maine AT and some blue blazes in Baxter, so yeah, I've experienced some of those insane type climbs! They're definitely invigorating!

peakbagger
07-10-2017, 19:10
South Kinsman is definitely a fun climb, I think a lot of its reputation is psychological, many Nobos have unrealistic expectations of leaving Glencliff in the AM and heading for Eliza Brook Shelter at a minimum and really aiming for Kinsman Pond shelter. Many end up going far slower and getting behind then trying to make it up, that last climb up South Kinsman is a killer after a real long day full of PUDS

tdoczi
07-11-2017, 07:24
South Kinsman is definitely a fun climb, I think a lot of its reputation is psychological, many Nobos have unrealistic expectations of leaving Glencliff in the AM and heading for Eliza Brook Shelter at a minimum and really aiming for Kinsman Pond shelter. Many end up going far slower and getting behind then trying to make it up, that last climb up South Kinsman is a killer after a real long day full of PUDS
glencliff to kinsman pond would be a tough haul, but is that really something NOBOs often try for? most of the ones ive met hiking up there seem to stop at glencliff and then lincoln (if not just slackpack the whole way) and if youre stopping at the notch pushing on to kinsman pond would be kind of pointless to my mind.

south kinsman i thought was a lot of fun, but it is also a major obstacle that will slow you down quite a bit.