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Smokey906
08-18-2017, 05:31
Hi everyone. I am new to the White Blaze. As a young teenager I used to backpack the Appalachian Trail in Cheshire Ma. where my grandmother ran a bed & breakfast. Hikers would stop there and thats how got interested in backpacking. So now 40 something years later I am recently retired and I thought I would start hiking again. So I am planing a hike through the White Mountains. I plan on starting in Lincoln, N.H. and ending in Gorham. I am a beginner hiker and I was wondering how long it would take me to hike the approximate 70 miles to Gorham. I am in pretty good shape and run regularly. My other question is I think there is a parking lot in Lincoln where I can park my vehicle. Would I be able to leave my vehicle there about a week until I finished the trail? Any information would be helpful. Thank you.

somers515
08-18-2017, 06:43
Hi everyone. I am new to the White Blaze. As a young teenager I used to backpack the Appalachian Trail in Cheshire Ma. where my grandmother ran a bed & breakfast. Hikers would stop there and thats how got interested in backpacking. So now 40 something years later I am recently retired and I thought I would start hiking again. So I am planing a hike through the White Mountains. I plan on starting in Lincoln, N.H. and ending in Gorham. I am a beginner hiker and I was wondering how long it would take me to hike the approximate 70 miles to Gorham. I am in pretty good shape and run regularly. My other question is I think there is a parking lot in Lincoln where I can park my vehicle. Would I be able to leave my vehicle there about a week until I finished the trail? Any information would be helpful. Thank you.
I'm sure others will chime in but can I ask you first can you give us a frame of reference? Where do you day hike? How long does it take you to do that day hike? Standard answer is in the NH White Mountains it will take you much longer than it does elsewhere. For me it was roughly 1 mile per hour.

rafe
08-18-2017, 08:46
For me it's always been close to 1 mph in the White Mountains. Thru hikers, of course, can go faster, maybe up to 1.5 mph. 15-18% inclines are not uncommon. Trails are generally rocky and or heavily covered in roots. Steep enough in places such that trekking poles will need to be stashed.

Smokey906
08-18-2017, 09:18
Right now my hiking is just walking in woods with my beagle. A leisure walk usually takes me 20 minutes a mile. In the fall I hike some steeper hills. But your info gives me a more realistic idea. I was thinking I could do 15 a day which I could possibly make the hike in 5 or 6 days.

tdoczi
08-18-2017, 13:22
Right now my hiking is just walking in woods with my beagle. A leisure walk usually takes me 20 minutes a mile. In the fall I hike some steeper hills. But your info gives me a more realistic idea. I was thinking I could do 15 a day which I could possibly make the hike in 5 or 6 days.
5 is doable but may be difficult, 6 seems about right, maybe 7.

Another Kevin
08-18-2017, 14:38
The guidebook rule of thumb for beginners- which you are unless you've done mountain hiking- is 30 minutes to the mile plus 60 minutes per thousand feet of elevation gain. A lot of New Hampshire trails gain a thousand feet in a mile.

Smokey906
08-18-2017, 17:05
Ok, thank you all. This gives me something to go by. Very helpful.

MuddyWaters
08-18-2017, 19:30
If you could frame it with the shape you are in, and miles you hike with x lb pack, it would help.

Not knowing anything else....8-10 days. I doubt you will do 15. Most thru hikers dont do 15, more like 12. A thru hiker hiking 15-16 mpd, does about 12 in whites.
Part by choice, part by difficulty, part by limited campsites/huts.