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View Full Version : Recommendations Needed in NH-VT-MA-NY Sunday-Tuesday backpacking on 2019 Memorial Day



W8lkinUSA
10-13-2018, 19:33
Hello,

I've stumbled on this site many times while researching gear, but am still ignorant on backpacking trips. I am hoping for guidance and recommendations for overnight backpacking in the NH, VT, MA, or NY near campgrounds. I'd like to prevent last year's poor and impromptu attempt at Mt. Wolf from Lost River Valley Campground beginning with the unmarked trailhead for Gordon Pond Trail onto bushwhacking through bogs and averaging 2.5 ticks per person.

I will take a road trip from Texas, but I have 3 years of day-hiking experience whereupon every Sunday was spent in NH and VT mountains during the early 1990s. My buddy does not have hiking experience, but I can talk him through the technical parts and various useful navigation skills. We will camp in Acadia National Park before backpacking.

Requirements are numbered below:
a - Date: 2019 Memorial Day Weekend.
1 - State Options: ME, NH, VT, MA, or NY. [added ME to the list]
2 - Trail Difficulty: Moderate.
3 - Campground campsite and parking: Saturday through Tuesday (then trekking to the trailhead).
4 - Overnight backpacking: Sunday and/or Monday nights.
5 - Miles per day: 6-7 miles [A couple of extra miles might be okay. I'm still recovering from hip injury. I've begun 2-3 two-mile hikes/jogs per week].
6 - Campsite requirement: 1 hammock and 1 two-person tent.
7 - Water availability: Prefer to carry 1-Liter for reduced weight (spare empty bladders/bottles will be on hand) [we'll carry more if there's no option].
8 - Scenery: Beautiful. :-D

These are all the concerns that come to mind for now. I enjoy learning and welcome all constructive feedback. Thank you.

-w

Venchka
10-13-2018, 20:42
Scratching my head. I’m confused.
Texas is kinda big. Where is “central Texas”?
You’re going to Acadia NP? From central Texas? Acadia is nice, but there are a lot of nice places a lot closer to get experience doing 1-2 night backpacking trips.
Northwest Texas, New Mexico, Colorado immediately come to my mind.
Good luck.
Wayne

Venchka
10-13-2018, 20:44
Oops.
Central Texas too.
Wayne

W8lkinUSA
10-13-2018, 20:56
Scratching my head. I’m confused.
Texas is kinda big. Where is “central Texas”?
You’re going to Acadia NP? From central Texas? Acadia is nice, but there are a lot of nice places a lot closer to get experience doing 1-2 night backpacking trips.
Northwest Texas, New Mexico, Colorado immediately come to my mind.
Good luck.
Wayne

Central Texas is between Waco and Austin; they're roughly 2 hours apart.

My buddy lives in MA; so, it's an excuse to explore America via road-trip. Granted, a flight would be much cheaper. Also, we both LOVE seafood and Maine is where it's at.

I've considered road-tripping to the Pacific Northwest or even to Yellowstone/Canada, but I like New England. In time, I may take one-week road trips to the areas that you've mentioned.

W8lkinUSA
10-13-2018, 21:12
I had not considered Franconia Notch State Park last year since it would be far too busy, but I may have a change of heart this year.

We could probably deal with the Lafayette Place Campground crowd for Saturday night.

1 - I wonder if the loops for Mt. Lafayette or Cannon Mountain would be doable for us.
.> 1a - I am hopeful that I can tackle 11-13 miles per day with a ~25# pack since my hip recovery is better; my hip was problematic after 7 miles last year with a ~35# pack.
2 - Would this area be too crowded for Sunday and Monday nights of overnight dispersed camping?

Venchka
10-13-2018, 21:15
Fair enough. Have fun.
Wayne

W8lkinUSA
10-13-2018, 21:31
Fair enough. Have fun.
Wayne

Thanks, bro.

Slo-go'en
10-13-2018, 23:19
2 - Would this area be too crowded for Sunday and Monday nights of overnight dispersed camping?

Dispersed camping is not possible in that area due to terrain and restrictions. Please use designated sites only - those are the ones you have to pay to stay at. Loops involving Lafayette are difficult and camping options very limited. Memorial weekend in that area can be a zoo and insane if the weather is nice. As are most of the Whites, especially if there is a 4000 footer involved. I'd look elsewhere.

Why Memorial weekend? Is that the only time your friend can join you? If so, I would think travel time would be a factor in how far afield you stray from the friends place. Which would make something in Mass a better pick.

W8lkinUSA
10-14-2018, 01:04
Dispersed camping is not possible in that area due to terrain and restrictions. Please use designated sites only - those are the ones you have to pay to stay at. Loops involving Lafayette are difficult and camping options very limited. Memorial weekend in that area can be a zoo and insane if the weather is nice. As are most of the Whites, especially if there is a 4000 footer involved. I'd look elsewhere.

Why Memorial weekend? Is that the only time your friend can join you? If so, I would think travel time would be a factor in how far afield you stray from the friends place. Which would make something in Mass a better pick.
I'm not opposed to camping at other places. I just like going through NH resorts for their excellent basic chili, but we can certainly leave ME and pass through NH's White Mountains. :-D The drive will need to be within 8-9 hours of Blackwoods Campground in ME so that we have enough time for base camp.

You bring up a fine point about Memorial day weekend. Initially, that is the easiest time for me to take a two week vacation. Seeing as I'm finally being reassigned to a different client after 6 years, I should have more options next year. I'll need to check with my buddy on alternative dates. We may go during the peak of lobster season instead; I'd like to try my hand at grilling followed by steaming.

The main criteria would be to park my vehicle within a campground to protect my belongings. This is why walking distance to a trailhead is so important; shuttles might be an option, but I'm ignorant of this since I'm planning everything. Everything else would be more flexible. If my body is fully recovered, then 10+ mile-days might be possible with the latter sunset.

I don't mind paying for established campsites along the trail if it's a beautiful hike (on top of campground costs). Otherwise, I'd rather have dispersed camping, but I'm still flexible.

The reason for a beautiful hike is do that my buddy can have that experience.

Alternatively, I wonder if we can tackle a day-hike in half the time of backpacking. [Day-hikes without a heavy pack may open up the difficulty level]

[BTW, I've just subscribed to several whiteblaze topics to expand my research for next year's trip.]

illabelle
10-14-2018, 06:03
I'm a Southerner and not intimately familiar with the options in the Northeast, but I do have something to share.

Our first trip to the White Mountains of NH was during Memorial Day week in 2012. We intended to hike the AT from Mt Washington to Franconia Notch, but were unprepared and quickly overwhelmed by the ruggedness of the trail. We chose to abort and spent the rest of our time doing some low-elevation hikes elsewhere in the region. The weather was pleasant. I recall getting a little sunburnt hiking in short sleeves while up on Mt W. When we got low, we frequently found the trail covered in several inches of old snowpack pockmarked with postholes from earlier hikers. The ground in places is boggy and crossed by bog bridges (heavy planks strategically placed). Covered in snow, the footing was precarious. The ground wasn't frozen, it was soggy. My strongest memory from that part of the trip was crashing blindly through overgrown spruce/fir plunging through soft snow into wet cold mush. I'm sure it wasn't all like that.

Our next trip to the Whites was in July - much more pleasant!
Our trips to NY/MA/VT have been in September.
Our trips to ME have been in August.

Early-midsummer in the NE is major bug season. Spring is major mud season. Wherever you decide to go, plan for mud and bugs.

peakbagger
10-14-2018, 07:07
Memorial Day can be bit early better off delay. There still can be pockets of snow on the summits and shaded areas.

If you hike during the week plenty of options for campgrounds. There is lot to be said to visit the AMC huts preseason when they are open on caretaker basis. Still busy in weekends but a lot more laid back during the week.

A backpack in the Pemi area might fit your objective, many of the main trails are old logging railroad beds or old logging roads. Somewhat easier hiking so you can hike longer each day. The hassle is its wilderness area so you have to follow wilderness area rules or camping. Not so hard down low in the hardwoods but much more difficult once you get up higher in the softwoods so you need to stick to designated campsites. If you have two cars or use the AMC shuttles, a fairly classic hike is the Bonds with a overnight at Guyot Campsite. Its zoo on weekend, less so on the weekdays. There is fee and caretaker who will fit folks in. Sunset from the nearby West Bond is hard to beat in the area.

Of course if you are driving all the way up to Acadia and can shift you schedule later in the summer, why not drive the extra miles to Baxter State Park? Plenty of reserveable backcountry shelters and tentsites in the central and north end of the park. Make you choices right and you can reserve an entire pond or lake to yourself.

W8lkinUSA
10-15-2018, 01:40
Early-midsummer in the NE is major bug season. Spring is major mud season. Wherever you decide to go, plan for mud and bugs.

Aside from the extreme fog up Mt. Washington's Auto Road during the past Memorial Day trip, it was a pleasant trip.

You've brought up a fine point though. It has been so long since I've lived in NH that I forget post-summer hikes were typically the best. I've taken many wet hikes, but failed to remember that they were mostly during spring-time.

I'm neither a fan of mud nor bugs, but I'm a huge fan of mud bugs. My hometown in LA just calls them crawfish though. :-P

W8lkinUSA
10-15-2018, 02:09
Memorial Day can be bit early better off delay. There still can be pockets of snow on the summits and shaded areas.

If you hike during the week plenty of options for campgrounds. There is lot to be said to visit the AMC huts preseason when they are open on caretaker basis. Still busy in weekends but a lot more laid back during the week.

A backpack in the Pemi area might fit your objective, many of the main trails are old logging railroad beds or old logging roads. Somewhat easier hiking so you can hike longer each day. The hassle is its wilderness area so you have to follow wilderness area rules or camping. Not so hard down low in the hardwoods but much more difficult once you get up higher in the softwoods so you need to stick to designated campsites. If you have two cars or use the AMC shuttles, a fairly classic hike is the Bonds with a overnight at Guyot Campsite. Its zoo on weekend, less so on the weekdays. There is fee and caretaker who will fit folks in. Sunset from the nearby West Bond is hard to beat in the area.

Of course if you are driving all the way up to Acadia and can shift you schedule later in the summer, why not drive the extra miles to Baxter State Park? Plenty of reserveable backcountry shelters and tentsites in the central and north end of the park. Make you choices right and you can reserve an entire pond or lake to yourself.

For my buddy's first camping trip experience, Acadia National Park gave us convenient things to do. I'm now very fond of Coffee Hound's lobster roll, but driving through would suffice.

The ponds along Mt. Katahdin's eastern trails in Baxter State Park was actually one of my options for this past Memorial Day, but I was too slow to make camp reservations.

The benefit with early summer is that I can comfortably camp throughout my road trip. I suppose early October might also work in staying comfortable during my road trip camping; this may also mean better weather for Shenandoah National Park. Therein lies the difficulty with road trips going between the South and the North.

For next year, I'm now thinking that Acadia National Park is not a mandatory visit, just Coffee Hound for a lobster roll and steamer clams along the way. Instead, a camping trip to a lake or river for some canoeing and fishing might be nice. I would still like to take a nice day-hike or backpacking trip though.

Venchka
10-15-2018, 08:53
Hiking and backpacking practice areas in your neighborhood:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/pedernales-falls

There are more. Look around.
Wayne

Slo-go'en
10-15-2018, 09:55
Hiking and backpacking practice areas in your neighborhood:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/pedernales-falls

There are more. Look around.
Wayne
I believe he is more concerned about his friend who has no backpacking/camping experience who lives in Massachusetts.

Venchka
10-15-2018, 10:06
Hip injury recovery was mentioned by the OP.
Reading and re-reading I’m not sure what experience the OP has.
Hiking and scaling a huge granite dome are not a bad thing.
The reference to New England chilli still has me scratching my head. LOL!
Information is never a bad thing.
Wayne

W8lkinUSA
10-17-2018, 23:41
Hiking and backpacking practice areas in your neighborhood:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/enchanted-rock

https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/pedernales-falls

There are more. Look around.
Wayne

...

Hip injury recovery was mentioned by the OP.
Reading and re-reading I’m not sure what experience the OP has.
Hiking and scaling a huge granite dome are not a bad thing.
The reference to New England chilli still has me scratching my head. LOL!
Information is never a bad thing.
Wayne

Slo-go'en is correct. It has been decades since I've hiked the White Mountains. By hiking this area every weekend for three years, this became my training ground for hiking skills. Those day-hikes were organized by others. Therefore, I have much backpacking skills to learn.

I have some decent trails surrounding me to keep my legs moving for up to three hours. Eventually, I will need to go to Enchanted Rock or Lake Georgetown to truly test my gear and body. Pedernales Falls was nice, but very hot when I visited a few summers ago.

At the moment, I am researching trails/mountains/hills in New England that will entice my Massachusetts friend to become a hiker/backpacker/camper. While my buddy is new to hiking, my handicap is my recovering hip. I have been busy building a light gear list, but the hammock ensures that my body is well rested for extended treks. We hiked 9 miles last year, but I was already experiencing hip fatigue after 6 miles; my buddy did alright. The ~35# pack didn't help either.

I was introduced to the chili after a long day of cross country skiing in New Hampshire. It became my favorite American food. What's more surprising is that NH chili is so simple and basic. What's really crazy is that I haven't had Texas chili since I've moved here 10 years ago; barbecue has been priority. Waffle House does a decent job though. :-P

Deadeye
10-19-2018, 20:33
Check out the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail http://www.msgtc.org/
It's a beautiful trail, hike-able by Memorial Day (when much of New England is still knee deep in snow or mud), with interesting but not difficult terrain, enough views, plenty of wildlife, just a fun trail. There will be ticks - it's new England - but they were only bad in the areas maintained for wild blueberries. I treated my clothes with permethrin and stayed relatively tick-free. Shelters and campsites at intervals that would let you do the trip in 4 to 7 days. I did it in 4, but that meant some pretty long days. The trail is 48 miles long, plus a few miles of approach trails at either end. There are 5 shelters and one campsite, reasonably evenly spaced, so you can break it up. Bring cash for the General Store in Washington Center (no credit cards when I was there), which has a diner counter for a big breakfast, lunch, or pizza.

Deadeye
10-19-2018, 20:36
Now I see the Sunday-Tuesday limit... just do the northern half of the MSG Trail from Washington Center to Mt. Sunapee. That's the best part anyhow! More open ridge, and we didn't find ticks on that section.

Slo-go'en
10-20-2018, 01:16
Now I see the Sunday-Tuesday limit... just do the northern half of the MSG Trail from Washington Center to Mt. Sunapee. That's the best part anyhow! More open ridge, and we didn't find ticks on that section.

That's a good suggestion. Close to your friends house, easy hiking and some interesting things to see along the way. But Washington to Sunapee is only 16 miles and change. The only camping spot is 6 miles north of Washington. So that's a 6 mile and 10 mile day. Actually more like 12 to get to the parking lot. Monadnock to Washington is 33 miles, more suited for a 3-4 day trip. Two shelters and a tent platform site more or less evenly spaced. I liked that section, walking old woods road short cuts between little rural villages. Couple of good vistas along there.

W8lkinUSA
10-23-2018, 02:31
Now I see the Sunday-Tuesday limit... just do the northern half of the MSG Trail from Washington Center to Mt. Sunapee. That's the best part anyhow! More open ridge, and we didn't find ticks on that section.

This seems like a very nice option, especially with it being so close to MA. Pillsbury State Park might even be a great place to camp.

At the moment, Memorial day is the target. However, seeing as my new client may not have such stringent schedules, I may even consider an early Autumn trip next year.

chknfngrs
10-23-2018, 06:38
Kinda sounds like you need a basecamp and plan several day hikes from there. I’m not sure but it doesn’t sound like either you or your buddy are in shape? Decades since you’ve hiked the whites and your pal doesn’t camp? Maybe an overnight but you may be a wee jibble ambitious here. Just a thought from a random guy on the internet

W8lkinUSA
10-23-2018, 10:28
Kinda sounds like you need a basecamp and plan several day hikes from there. I’m not sure but it doesn’t sound like either you or your buddy are in shape? Decades since you’ve hiked the whites and your pal doesn’t camp? Maybe an overnight but you may be a wee jibble ambitious here. Just a thought from a random guy on the internet

Go big or go home. :)

My injury recovery is the biggest concern. I work harder with bigger goals. Scaling back at the deadline is never out of the question.

Before my injury five years ago, I was jogging nearly every day. At one point, I was even learning lap swimming for ninety minutes a day as well as learning weight training six hours a week. Having had unsatisfactory results with the medical profession, I've spent the last 3.5 years learning and practicing massage and yoga. I did well enough to endure last year's solo 7,000 mile road trip in 17 days as well as an excruciating 9 mile backpacking trip in the Whites. Only five nights were spent on a bed. The drive itself was relatively relaxing.

Let's not get into skill building and certification studies for work. I will probably die young from lack of sleep, but I'd rather stay busy living than stay busy dying.

We'll need a base camp to park my vehicle with road trip supplies from Texas. We don't plan on packing the miles due our physical conditions; so, we'll reevaluate our limits when the day arrives.

chknfngrs
10-23-2018, 10:59
OK man have fun

Deadeye
10-23-2018, 17:03
This seems like a very nice option, especially with it being so close to MA. Pillsbury State Park might even be a great place to camp.

At the moment, Memorial day is the target. However, seeing as my new client may not have such stringent schedules, I may even consider an early Autumn trip next year.

BTW, there are two shelters in that stretch: Max Israel and Steve Galpin. Washington to Max Israel is about 6 miles -you could add a couple by starting a little bit down Faxon Hill Road and going over Oak Hill. That would work up an appetite for lunch at the store. From Max I. to Steve G. is only 5 miles - you could relax, hit some side trails, or bring beer! Steve G. to Sunapee is 7.5 miles, plus roughly 2 miles out. Not a bad little trip if you're trying to test the old body. Great trip if the weather is right.

W8lkinUSA
10-24-2018, 02:35
OK man have fun
Thanks. I can hardly wait.

W8lkinUSA
10-24-2018, 02:44
BTW, there are two shelters in that stretch: Max Israel and Steve Galpin. Washington to Max Israel is about 6 miles -you could add a couple by starting a little bit down Faxon Hill Road and going over Oak Hill. That would work up an appetite for lunch at the store. From Max I. to Steve G. is only 5 miles - you could relax, hit some side trails, or bring beer! Steve G. to Sunapee is 7.5 miles, plus roughly 2 miles out. Not a bad little trip if you're trying to test the old body. Great trip if the weather is right.
Wow. This sounds perfect. I have other priorities at the moment, but will later subscribe to trail map apps to research everything that you've mentioned.

Things are changing at work which may allow me to travel later in the year for a different experience from last year's Memorial day.

Any ideas on when I should travel and still make it to Maine for seafood?