View Full Version : Grafton Notch--Pinkham Notch 6d enough?
Planning a section hike 2nd week of July from Grafton Notch to Pinkham Notch. Hiker 59 yrs, good condition, basic pack weight 8.6 lb + 10 lb supplies= about 19 lb. Is 6 days a reasonable schedule or an invitation to knee trouble?
Walt
I think you'll be OK. It's going to be a little rigorous especially if you're not in hiking shape (different from general physical shape). It is the hardest section of the AT and generally beats most thru-hikers down. Just take your time and give yourself full days to walk, you'll need it. The miles come real slow. There are shelters every 5 or 7 miles so no need to worry about that. I would generally allot myself an extra day in this section added to the time you think it will take you. Reasoning being that if you hit some nasty weather (RAIN) you may want to think about shackin up at a shelter for a day. The notch is not a pretty place to be during rain and the same goes for the climb up mahoosuc arm. I took just under 4 days to hike this stretch but i was in great shape then. Now I'm fat.
As A-Train states, it's 52 miles of rugged hiking. It took me 5 days as I recall. 6 days sounds resonable.
Moon Monster
05-06-2004, 11:55
I took just under 4 days to hike this stretch but i was in great shape then. Now I'm fat.
Ha! I'm so glad I'm not the only '03 thru-hiker who is fat now.
But seriously, Walt, I agree with the consideration for weather. If you run into a prolonged rain event, you may find yourself going much slower than you anticipated on the rocky downhills. Also, in addition to the above, consider taking more breaks going downhill than your heart/lungs ask you for. Afterall, they get over the turture in mere minutes when you break, but sometimes the knees won't complain until the next day when you torture them. And then they REALLY complain. Don't forget to stretch, and have fun--it's a wonderful section.
Yeah, the LT is gonna hand me a beating for the first couple days. Figured its especially smart to start from mass. Did a 2 mile overnight last night and realized just how badly all this off-season homebrew drinking has really affected me.
A-Train, Moon Monster, Peaks,
This is the just the information I was seeking. Thanks for the help.
Walt
Footslogger
05-06-2004, 14:27
A couple memories of that area come to mind. First is Webser Cliffs. Now there was a nice little rock scramble. Sure didn't make very good time that day.
And then there was the last day. I did Washington to Pinkham that day and must have hiked 10 - 11 hours. Those final few miles down the ridge into Pinkham seemed like they were never gonna end. As I recall it was getting a might bit dark as I hiked into the Pinkham Notch parking lot.
'Slogger
Yeah, the LT is gonna hand me a beating for the first couple days. Figured its especially smart to start from mass. Did a 2 mile overnight last night and realized just how badly all this off-season homebrew drinking has really affected me.
When are you doing the LT?
Frosty- I'm starting the LT in mass during the first week of June.
Slogger-Yeah you're completely right about those last couple miles into Pinkham, they seemed to take forever. Webster Cliffs however isn't part of the section from Pinkham-Grafton, your talking bout in the whites, south of Pinkham.
Footslogger
05-06-2004, 15:18
Frosty- I'm starting the LT in mass during the first week of June.
Slogger-Yeah you're completely right about those last couple miles into Pinkham, they seemed to take forever. Webster Cliffs however isn't part of the section from Pinkham-Grafton, your talking bout in the whites, south of Pinkham.
Darn it A-Train ...you're right. What was I thinking. Grafton is right before Andover. I KNEW THAT ! Duh ...
Six days is fine for a young guy like you, whcobbs. I did it last summer when I was 59. Spec Pond (because of the Pond), Gentian, and Imp Shelters have nice views. The Mahoosucs are steep up and down Old Spec and then down off the ridge to Rt. 2. Mahoosuc Notch will take two hours to go the 1 mile through, but not because of steepness or any technical climbing. It is just a narrow notch into which at some point huge rocks, some the size of Volkswagons, fell into. You have to get up, over, around or under. Not difficult, but it just takes time. That said, Spec Pond to Carlo Col is not an unreasonable day's hike. South of the notch, once you are back up on the ridge again, there is not much up and down and you cover a beautiful part of the world. Mahoosucs (http://community.webshots.com/album/83898405vcyJzn)
Rt 2 to Rattle River Shelter and at least a mile beyond is almost level hiking. When you stand on Mt. Moriah, however, and look toward N. Carter, you might wonder where the trail goes. It goes straight up N. Carter! Do not do that stretch at the end of the day. It's fun in the morning, however. Hope for clear weather, because there are many rewarding views all along that stretch of the AT. I have no pics, because my camera failed after the rainbow appeared at Gentian.
Rambler--
Thanks for the encouragement. Your photo album has whetted my appetite for the trail. Any reticence is traceable to the fact that my last hike (PA Rocks, Port Clinton to Delaware Water Gap, August 2003, 4d) culminated in a torn knee cartilage--19 mile day in the Rocks not a good idea for me.
Walt
Rambler--In the actual event there was a lot of rain, as well as some glorious clear weather. I took six hiking days and so did the much faster SOBO thru-hikers down from Katahdin. It's pretty rough country, but I felt well prepared. The Hiker's Paradise in Gorham provided a shuttle ($45) to Grafton Notch.
Walt
Six days is fine for a young guy like you, whcobbs. I did it last summer when I was 59. Spec Pond (because of the Pond), Gentian, and Imp Shelters have nice views. The Mahoosucs are steep up and down Old Spec and then down off the ridge to Rt. 2. Mahoosuc Notch will take two hours to go the 1 mile through, but not because of steepness or any technical climbing. It is just a narrow notch into which at some point huge rocks, some the size of Volkswagons, fell into. You have to get up, over, around or under. Not difficult, but it just takes time. That said, Spec Pond to Carlo Col is not an unreasonable day's hike. South of the notch, once you are back up on the ridge again, there is not much up and down and you cover a beautiful part of the world. Mahoosucs (http://community.webshots.com/album/83898405vcyJzn)
Rt 2 to Rattle River Shelter and at least a mile beyond is almost level hiking. When you stand on Mt. Moriah, however, and look toward N. Carter, you might wonder where the trail goes. It goes straight up N. Carter! Do not do that stretch at the end of the day. It's fun in the morning, however. Hope for clear weather, because there are many rewarding views all along that stretch of the AT. I have no pics, because my camera failed after the rainbow appeared at Gentian.
jonesat11
07-27-2004, 07:55
I was waiting for someone to say that it is easier to hike sb than nb... thanks for the info...and I take it it is better to hike after the summer season: august-sept. Thinking of doing this later on next year. bob