View Full Version : summer trip
Trail Yeti
02-16-2004, 12:58
As it stands right now I am hiking half the MST (the mountains part), the Bartram Trail and the Foothills Trail and The Long Trail....are there any other trails worth doing in the east? Any comments would be appreciated.
gravityman
02-16-2004, 13:26
As it stands right now I am hiking half the MST (the mountains part), the Bartram Trail and the Foothills Trail and The Long Trail....are there any other trails worth doing in the east? Any comments would be appreciated.
Why limit yourself to the east? The Colorado Trail is simply amazing!
Gravity man
As it stands right now I am hiking half the MST (the mountains part), the Bartram Trail and the Foothills Trail and The Long Trail....are there any other trails worth doing in the east? Any comments would be appreciated.
Well, there's that thing we call the Appalachian Trail. :clap
Well, there's that thing we call the Appalachian Trail.
More seriously, some of us have spent a lifetime exploring the trails of Maine and New Hampshire and have yet to get to the end of them. They don't have convenient names and common blazes, but one could easily spend a couple of weeks in Baxter Park with a little planning.
A route I've thought about from time to time, but have never done would explore the truly wild sections of forever wild Baxter Park. I would start with the Freezeout Trail along the shores of Matagammon Lake, loop back on the Wadleigh Brook Trail, do a three mile dirt toad walk to South Branch Pond, do the South Branch Mountain Trail and the Center Ridge to North Traveler bushwhack, and then head south on the Pogy Notch Trail, to Russell Pond. Then loop into northwest Basin, over the Katahdin north Peaks to Chimney Pond, up the Dudley Trail to the Knife Edge and the summit of Katahdin, down the Abol Trail, and finally the new AT bypass to Abol Bridge.
One could easily spend a week or more and see parts of Baxter that only a rare few have experienced. Take all the fascinating side trails and one could consume much of a summer truly exploring the wild portions of Gov. Baxter's magnificent gift.
Weary
As it stands right now I am hiking half the MST (the mountains part), the Bartram Trail and the Foothills Trail and The Long Trail....are there any other trails worth doing in the east? Any comments would be appreciated.
Take a look at the new Cohos trail in New Hampshire
http://www.cohostrail.org/
As it stands right now I am hiking half the MST (the mountains part), the Bartram Trail and the Foothills Trail and The Long Trail....are there any other trails worth doing in the east? Any comments would be appreciated.
You might consider the Northville-Lake Placid trail in the Adirondacks.
What about Big Blue/Tuscarora?
Fingerlakes Trail?
Skiing? Try the Catamount Trail in Vermont.
And of course, there is peak bagging.
(So many trails, so little time)
Youngblood
02-17-2004, 09:57
As it stands right now I am hiking half the MST (the mountains part), the Bartram Trail and the Foothills Trail and The Long Trail....are there any other trails worth doing in the east? Any comments would be appreciated.
Trail Yeti,
How long of a hike are you looking for? You do realize that some of these trails in the southeast are connected and that you could hike several hundred miles without ever getting too far from home, like the Foothills-Chattooga-Bartram-Appalachian-Benton MacKaye-?Pinhoti.
Youngblood
Blue Jay
02-17-2004, 10:30
You might consider the Northville-Lake Placid trail in the Adirondacks.
Peaks, I thought you had not done that one yet. Anyway it is an absolutely beautiful trail through the heart of the Adirondacks. It only crosses 4 roads. I know it is hard to believe but in August I saw no one except in the three towns near it, for the entire 135 miles (10 days). I didn't even hear an airplane for 6 days. If you time it right you can swim in a pristine lake every day. It is truly a wilderness, there are no high peaks so no one goes there. The hiker ahead of me was a week ahead. It is also near two of the most wonderful trail towns in the world, Blue Mountain Lake and Long Lake. Both have old hotels where you, as a thru, are treated like a king because there are so few of you. All of you who bemoan the lack of a 100 mile wilderness need to do this one. I hearby declare myself an idiot for letting this secret out, and will hate myself in the morning.
The IAT/SIA is really attractive for me, but I don't think I'll get out there for at least another year, unless I'm on the AT this summer and feeling strong at Katahdin. The Bruce Trail (Niagra Falls to the end of the escarpment) would be fun as well and isn't too long (500 miles?) either. Of course, you could try to something pioneering like hiking the Long trail into Canada, finding your own route to the northern terminus of the Cohos, taking that south, and then the AT back to the LT trailhead.
Trail Yeti
02-17-2004, 10:53
Thanks for all the comments.
As for the East...why stay in the east? Because I am a poor college student that's why....cost's less to stay close to home.
I have looked at the Cohos trail...looks pretty interesting, but don't think I will have the time to do it and the long trail...btw radar, have fun on the pct! :banana
I did not know that the bartram, foothills, chatooga etc all interconnected, that makes things much more interesting and i will have to look into that.
I am also looking at the Ozark Highlands Trail...it sounds nice....
keep the comments coming!
mindlessmariachi
02-17-2004, 11:20
Hi Yeti!
one nice morning in '02, i set out for the day up a hill somewhere in mid-Maine, the sun was shining and all was great. I said to myself "i love thru-hiking." whne i get to K i'm going to keep going and do the whole IAT.
hours later when it was monsooning and i was still going up the same hill, i changed my mine.
But someday --- i do want to do that IAT!!!
mariachi