View Full Version : Most skippable part of NH/ME
Chainsaw 08
08-24-2008, 00:23
Okay, so here's my situation: I'll be entering the Whites this week, with 400 miles of AT left to cover, and with about 30 days left to me before I gotta head back home and get back to working for the man.
Given the pace I usually hike at (including zeros, I average about 12 mpd), given that I'm going into the Whites, I'm thinking that I'm really, really pushing it.
I'm not going to skip the whites, I'm not gonna skip the hundred-mile wilderness ... is there any portion ahead that is skippable, from the standpoint of 1) not missing the really great stuff and 2) what is doable as far as hitches/shuttles. Note that I don't have a cell phone with me.
Please don't tell me how I don't need to skip. I'm going to do my best not to; but if I absolutely HAVE to cut out 25-50 miles of the trail in this section, where & how should I do it?
fiddlehead
08-24-2008, 00:58
Vt. border to the bottom of Old Speck would be a choice but.......(what is that 10 miles?)
Pokey2006
08-24-2008, 02:12
After Mt. Washington, blue blaze straight into Gorham instead of going into Pinkham Notch, skipping the Wildcats and Carters. There's two days right there. Find a couple other places where you can take "shortcuts," and you might not have to skip an entire section. Some other time, come back and hike those pieces as fun weekend trips.
Matteroo
08-24-2008, 05:28
wildcats and carters are beautiful, but that would be a decent skip. Also, after you come past Spalding Mnt, and Sugarloaf, take Caribou Valley road down to the main road (maybe you can get a ride) - and then hitch back up to where you would have come off the crocker mountains.
I don't think there is much to be skipped, easily speaking, in Maine - as far as roads are concerned - the roads mostly go perpendicular to the trail. I'd suggest trying to skip the end of vermont once you're off the Greens or else hitching up from Hanover on 10 or I-91 to exits at 25C, 25A or 25 and hitching that East back to the trail - perhaps going from
personally, I'd skip that, and that crocker mountain section if you are trying to save time and want easy road skip spots. that first part of NH is pretty, but not terribly different than Eastern Vermont imho - though the anticipation as you see the whites approach is very enjoyable.
Ronnie Motrose
08-24-2008, 05:57
Doe's it all need to be DONE. Think about it and have a good hike.
Chenango
08-24-2008, 07:47
Hey Chainsaw. Sounds like it is going to be tight! Whatever happens, remember to hike your own hike! :) Enjoy your time on the AT. BTW, I hope you got your cold weather gear finally. Hanover is a nice place, but not as nice as what is ahead for you on the AT.
modiyooch
08-24-2008, 08:07
I know you said that you didn't want to skip the wilderness, but why not go as far as you can and come back next year, if you have to, and have plenty of time for the wilderness and the summit of Kathadin. Maine is a wonderful vacation spot.
Personally, I have done the summit out of sequence with the hike, but many hikers want to save it for the climax.
You have come this far, I suspect you will surely be back whether you finish this year or not.
Cookerhiker
08-24-2008, 08:52
I know you said that you didn't want to skip the wilderness, but why not go as far as you can and come back next year, if you have to, and have plenty of time for the wilderness and the summit of Kathadin. Maine is a wonderful vacation spot.
Personally, I have done the summit out of sequence with the hike, but many hikers want to save it for the climax.
You have come this far, I suspect you will surely be back whether you finish this year or not.
I agree with this. Certainly there are plenty of other options for skipping but wouldn't you rather finish your AT hike next year atop Katahdin as opposed to say South Arm Rd. or Rt. 2 or Caratunk? I know someone who summitted Katahdin last year, ran out of time, and finished this year at Grafton Notch. Not exaclty the pits but surely not as inspiring as Katahdin.
Take your time, hike your pace to Monson, come back for 10 days next year in late August/early September to hike the 100 mile wilderness and stand atop Katahdin next September.
Hanover to Glencliff would be a good place to skip. Not much to see there. The folks at the hostel in Glencliff could shuttle you.
I agree about keeping the Wildcats, Carters, and Moriah. You could take the gondola up Wildcat and save some time and energy. Then take the blue blaze into town after Moraiah. If the Weather forecast is crappy then just skip it
I would skip more than Crocker on that section. If you just skip Crocker on Caribou Valley Road then you will not make that much time since you have to get to the main road which is something like four miles away. Since you do not have a cell phone you could take the ski slope down Saddleback to their lodge and call Sue at the stratton motel to come get you. I dont think you really miss much by skipping Sugarloaf and Spaulding. You definately don't miss much by skipping Crocker. If you wanted to do Sugarloaf then proabably a better option than the road is coming down Sugarloaf ski slopes so you could call from their lodge.
I would cut out completely the stretch from ME 4 (Rangeley) to South Arm Road (Andover). Don't remember too much if any alpine area there. This would save a couple of days. You could get the folks in andover to shuttle you
I know that you do not want to skip the 100 Mile Wilderness, but if you take Elliotsville Road out of Monson you can skip a lot of BS and save a few miles (several fords, no views). A lot of this blue blaze actually used to be the old AT as well. Take this road out of town. After the cement bridge over Big Wilson you make a left (cant really figure why they decided that the trail shouldn't go over this bridge after it went over it for years). Pass over the railroad tracks. Once you see a big clearing with a big ol mountain in front (Barren Mtn) of you and a rusted out car on your right you go to the bottom of the hill and make a left. There will also be a big sign about the bridge when you get to the bottom. If you take a car out here then this is where you have to get dropped off and walk the rest of the way. Once you take the left you will have to immediately cross a small stream and there will be lots of huge mud puddles as well as one small ford. This road is a snowmobile trail and there is a sign trying to give directions at that ford. Don't pay attention to the sign. After that ford it is probably about a mile to where the AT crosses the road. That puts you in right at the ford of Long Pond Stream. If you get driven out there you can save a day.
After Mt. Washington, blue blaze straight into Gorham instead of going into Pinkham Notch, skipping the Wildcats and Carters. There's two days right there.
Agreed, easiest to skip and easiest to get back to.
Edit Actually I go from Pinkham to Gorham.
Pedaling Fool
08-24-2008, 11:08
After Mt. Washington, blue blaze straight into Gorham instead of going into Pinkham Notch, skipping the Wildcats and Carters. There's two days right there. Find a couple other places where you can take "shortcuts," and you might not have to skip an entire section. Some other time, come back and hike those pieces as fun weekend trips.
You can also blueblaze out of Gorham, the blueblaze trail is on your map.
Okay, so here's my situation: I'll be entering the Whites this week, with 400 miles of AT left to cover, and with about 30 days left to me before I gotta head back home and get back to working for the man.
Given the pace I usually hike at (including zeros, I average about 12 mpd), given that I'm going into the Whites, I'm thinking that I'm really, really pushing it.
I'm not going to skip the whites, I'm not gonna skip the hundred-mile wilderness ... is there any portion ahead that is skippable, from the standpoint of 1) not missing the really great stuff and 2) what is doable as far as hitches/shuttles. Note that I don't have a cell phone with me.
Please don't tell me how I don't need to skip. I'm going to do my best not to; but if I absolutely HAVE to cut out 25-50 miles of the trail in this section, where & how should I do it?
I would do Maine through the Bigelows and then jump ahead to Monson. You'll miss some of my favorite small mountains. But one has to do what they have to do. I faced the same dilemma in 1993, and bypassed Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as some peaks in Maine that I had done many times in the past.
Weary
Where exactly do you plan to start and what is the destination (ie going N or South)?
Okay, so here's my situation: I'll be entering the Whites this week, with 400 miles of AT left to cover, and with about 30 days left to me before I gotta head back home and get back to working for the man.
Given the pace I usually hike at (including zeros, I average about 12 mpd), given that I'm going into the Whites, I'm thinking that I'm really, really pushing it.
I'm not going to skip the whites, I'm not gonna skip the hundred-mile wilderness ... is there any portion ahead that is skippable, from the standpoint of 1) not missing the really great stuff and 2) what is doable as far as hitches/shuttles. Note that I don't have a cell phone with me.
Please don't tell me how I don't need to skip. I'm going to do my best not to; but if I absolutely HAVE to cut out 25-50 miles of the trail in this section, where & how should I do it?
I would do Maine through the Bigelows and then jump ahead to Monson. You'll miss some of my favorite small mountains. But one has to do what they have to do. I faced the same dilemma in 1993, and bypassed Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as some peaks in Maine that I had done many times in the past.
Weary
I second that, you still hit all the big mountains above treeline and skip some low flat stuff. Don't know how the roads work around there.
Jack Tarlin
08-24-2008, 17:46
1. Skip Hanover to Glencliff.
2. Skip Kinsman to Franconia Notch (get a shuttle from the nice folks at the
Glencliff Hostel).
3. It'd be a shame to miss Wildcat and the Carters, but going from Pinkham
Notch to Gorham would save you a couple of days.
4. Skip Caratunk to Monson.
Jim Adams
08-24-2008, 19:46
I agree with this. Certainly there are plenty of other options for skipping but wouldn't you rather finish your AT hike next year atop Katahdin as opposed to say South Arm Rd. or Rt. 2 or Caratunk? I know someone who summitted Katahdin last year, ran out of time, and finished this year at Grafton Notch. Not exaclty the pits but surely not as inspiring as Katahdin.
Take your time, hike your pace to Monson, come back for 10 days next year in late August/early September to hike the 100 mile wilderness and stand atop Katahdin next September.
IMO this is the best advice in this thread. What stronger reason do you need to return next year?:-?
geek
Your missing absolutely nothing if you skip the Kinsman to Franconia section.
Besides that, I agree with Jack, all the sections he stated are not that interesting.
You can also save a few miles by going into Andover from the first road crossing for it and being dropped off at the second.
Spaulding and Crocker are not that interesting either, don't even think about skipping Saddleback, it's amazing.
Kirby
Lone Wolf
08-24-2008, 19:52
skip the so-called 100 mile wilderness. it aint all that
Blissful
08-24-2008, 20:22
I would try to go as far as you can, then skip to Katahdin if you need to if time is running out. Since you are in the best condition of your life right now, it makes sense to get the hard stuff out of the way - the Whites to the Bigelows of Maine. Then skip to Katahdin if you still want to climb the big K this year. The 100 mile wilderness, etc can be done at a later date when you are not in as great of condition and can enjoy the pristine ponds, etc. Unlike skipping the Carters, or other parts of the Whites etc. which are tough to return to at a later date.
But definitely go back to finish it. None of this section I would skip forever, IMO. The scenery is amazing, but it is a tough, tough section.
Another hiker I know in 2007 went all the way to Grafton Notch, ME and then got off. She finished Maine to Katahdin then this year to be a 2,000 miler. So you might consider that as well. Anyway you do it, way to go!!!