View Full Version : Is Maine dangerous or just hard?
Spot In The Sky
05-06-2010, 19:50
Or both? And whatever your answer, why do you feel so?
warraghiyagey
05-06-2010, 19:55
Not dangerous, maybe difficult depending on the person you are. . . . there is no blanket answer. . .
Spot In The Sky
05-06-2010, 20:04
Somebody told me there is some scaling of rocks which can potentially be fatal without the right climbing equipment, and i wasnt happy to hear that.
Lone Wolf
05-06-2010, 20:18
Or both? And whatever your answer, why do you feel so?
neither. it's just walkin' on land is all
modiyooch
05-06-2010, 20:32
precarious at times. some rock climbing. no equipment necessary. just take it slow and be careful. beautiful.
warraghiyagey
05-06-2010, 20:34
Somebody told me there is some scaling of rocks which can potentially be fatal without the right climbing equipment, and i wasnt happy to hear that.
Horribly bad info.. . . . .
Horribly bad info.. . . . .
Somebody told me I'd need crapons in the winter.. :)
warraghiyagey
05-06-2010, 20:49
Somebody told me I'd need crapons in the winter.. :)
Better info if you're around Whitecap or the Chairback/Barren range. . . . :sun
Better info if you're around Whitecap or the Chairback/Barren range. . . . :sun
Not crampons... crapons...
SweetAss03
05-06-2010, 20:55
Neither, enjoy the hike. It is a great place!
warraghiyagey
05-06-2010, 20:57
Neither, enjoy the hike. It is a great place!
Well said. . . . :sun:sun:sun
Somebody told me there is some scaling of rocks which can potentially be fatal without the right climbing equipment, and i wasnt happy to hear that.
Not that I can recall. It's slippery going into the notch where the NH/ME border is, and the closest thing to technical climbing I can remember is the final climb up Katahdin.
Tough? Yes.
Dangerous? Only if you're unprepared or careless.
Somebody told me I'd need crapons in the winter.. :)
Capons over the fire will work for me :D.
Or both? And whatever your answer, why do you feel so?
Somebody told me there is some scaling of rocks which can potentially be fatal without the right climbing equipment, and i wasnt happy to hear that.
There are sections in the Mahoosucs in southern Maine that are very steep and might require the use of your hands in a place or two, but nothing technical. Just hemmorhoid popping hard climbs in a few places. ;)
Maine is gorgeous, and the Bigelows in central Maine may well be the most beautiful stretch along the entire AT. (And as a southern boy, I'm very partial to Roan and Grayson Highlands - but admit Maine is an awesome experience!)
Nothing dangerous unless it's covered in ice.
Dangerous - not really. Hard - certainly can be if you're unprepared or go out too fast, same as anywhere else one can hike. Scenic - ABSOLUTELY! Degree of relative solitude possible - high. Degree of real wilderness possible - Very Good
My most favorite areas in ME for hikinga are: the entire AT, blue blaze in Gulf Hagas, and a well worth blue blaze loop in Grafton Notch.
garlic08
05-06-2010, 22:42
I seem to remember a few pieces of hardware and wood block steps in a few gnarly places. There was even a light household duty extension ladder up one rock in '08. It never once seemed dangerous to me. There were a few Class 3 moves, but with all the hardware it never got harder than that.
Of course, a storm could change all that. A city sidewalk could be deadly when covered in ice. A lot depends on your state of mind, too. If you freak out on a 10' climb down a boulder, it could be subjectively really hard. You hear about people who take six hours to get through Mahoosuc Notch, for instance.
fiddlehead
05-06-2010, 22:56
Dangerous in winter (or icy conditions and deep snow)
Difficult (but in a good way) the rest of the time.
Nothing technical. Just some gnarly terrain that makes for some memorable (and gorgeous) hiking.
Enjoy!
warraghiyagey
05-06-2010, 23:05
Nothing technical. Just some gnarly terrain that makes for some memorable (and gorgeous) hiking.
Enjoy!
:sun:sun:sun:sun
Maine was just plain wet last year........
Very dangerous, very hard.
Why? Blackflies and skeeters can tear you up like a pack of coyotes.
Raging rivers and streams can send you into the ocean
Steep rocky slopes can leave you hanging on like a mountain goat.
Days of endless rain in Maine will leave you in pain.
To put it bluntly, it can kick your butt if you ain't up for it.
Very dangerous, very hard.
Why? Blackflies and skeeters can tear you up like a pack of coyotes.
Raging rivers and streams can send you into the ocean
Steep rocky slopes can leave you hanging on like a mountain goat.
Days of endless rain in Maine will leave you in pain.
To put it bluntly, it can kick your butt if you ain't up for it.
Mudhead, is this you? :)
maine is boobie traped mud pits with hiddn obsticals.....wet rocks.......i broke my sholder in maine...so im gonna say both...bog bridges tht when u step on one end the other moves mkes u fall into the mud
modiyooch
05-07-2010, 07:31
Mahoosuc is an obstacle course. Depending upon whether or not you go over or through/under these obstacles, dictates how much climbing you do. I went over and at times, I had to lower my pack by a rope, and then step on said pack to get down.
SOBO on Old Speck with a full pack made me nervous. I made sure that my pack weight was towards the rocks. I would imaging that NOBO would require some rock scrambling. Busted my butt on Baldpate in the rain, and several other places as well. I thought coming off Saddleback NOBO was difficult. Whenever the step down is longer than your leg extensions, I call that climbing. Again in the rain. Kathadin absolutely terrified me. Nothing like belly scrambling on a ledge with 2000 foot panoramic drops. My mistake on Kathadin was looking at the view. This paralyzed me. The top had 4000 foot panoramic drops. I didn't even consider The Knife's Edge. The only way I got off that mountain was to look at only my feet on the way down. I think that my fear with Kathadin is that the mt is all by itself, and the views are not buffered with surrounding mts.
The waters did not bother me, and I saw some raging water.
peakbagger
05-07-2010, 07:32
Maine is mostly dangerous due to a hikers attitude. The wildcat and carter stretch in NH has just as challenging hiking requiring using your hands and higher levels of exposure than most of Maine, yet rarely is this stretch of trail mentioned. Unfortunately some folks hit Gorham NH and figure its "all dowhill from here" and tend to set unreasonable expectations on daily mileage based on what they were doing in Mass, VT and southern NH. Granted Maine does tend to have a fair share more interesting stream crossings but a tough stream crossing for one person is a great excuse for a swim for other folks.
Generally the folks who have a fixed goal to reach Katahdin and set an unreasonable pace have a tougher time in Maine than the folks who slow down a bit and enjoy the area will be the ones that tend to get hurt and therefore declare the trail dangerous.
I just look at all the different types of people who do it and figure if they can do it I can too. Simple as that.
modiyooch
05-07-2010, 07:55
Maine is mostly dangerous due to a hikers attitude. The wildcat and carter stretch in NH has just as challenging hiking requiring using your hands and higher levels of exposure than most of Maine, yet rarely is this stretch of trail mentioned.
If you had asked me if NH was dangerous, I would have said yes. Beautiful state, but I kissed the ground when I finished. I almost quit my goal after climbing Wildcat in torrentail rain. Many, many thanks to the good people at Carter's hut.
Mudhead, is this you? :)
Nope. Just another person that knows Maine suks. All the good hiking is in NH.
The rocks are slippery. The roots are slipperier. The mosquitos nasty. The noseeums nastier.
Even this coffee would taste better in NH. The water here suks. Good water in NH.
modiyooch
05-07-2010, 08:50
Nope. Just another person that knows Maine suks. All the good hiking is in NH.
The rocks are slippery. The roots are slipperier. The mosquitos nasty. The noseeums nastier.
Even this coffee would taste better in NH. The water here suks. Good water in NH.
You cannot run me out of Maine. Be nice,and share.
Ever wonder why Moose have such long legs ?
So they don't get stuck in the mud holes and swamps on the AT.
Wrangler88
05-07-2010, 11:21
I can honestly say I never once felt that I was in any danger when in Maine. There were a couple times when I thought I was going to get eaten alive by mosquitoes. There were a couple times when I felt like I was not in as good of shape as I thought I was. But never any danger.
There was a kid I met at a river crossing that had got swept down stream and lost his pack because he tried crossing a waist/chest deep fast running river without using the rope. But I mean, all in all he was fine. He just walked back to town. To be honest if you are ever in a bad situation you really aren't as far away from help as you think you are.
But it was fun to me. Kind of. Besides walking through mud and water the whole way.
You cannot run me out of Maine. Be nice,and share.
Visit anytime. But nice was last month.:)
Be aware that EEE made some serious inroads into the state last year.
You have leeches in the water down there?
modiyooch
05-07-2010, 20:22
.
You have leeches in the water down there? trout. When are you coming South?
Alaskanhkr23
05-07-2010, 20:51
My personal experience in Maine was Very touph in spots,But never dangerous in my opinion. Everyone here has given a correct answers,Just don't rush and be carefull.
Cookerhiker
05-07-2010, 21:10
I hiked all of Maine as my final section hike (http://www.trailjournals.com/cookerhiker2005), actually starting from Gorham. Maine was hard for me; despite having hiked hundreds of miles in the previous months, I went slower than planned. But Maine was/is also my favorite state. I got to see moose, hear and see loons, enjoy beautiful views from many peaks, splash in the ponds, sniff the fragrance of balsam firs, startle a spruce grouse, munch on blueberries, and meet some nice young thruhikers.
Dangerous? That's a bit much but there are places where you must be careful especially on wet rocks. I slipped several times descending the Bemis range and banged up my elbows, shoulders, and knees. I was blessed with good weather most of the time but if rocks are wet, then exercise care on The Notch, Baldpates, Bemis range, the descent into Caribou Valley Rd, the descent from Whitecap.
And use common sense care on the fords i.e. don't ford in whitewater.
Mahoosuc is an obstacle course. Depending upon whether or not you go over or through/under these obstacles, dictates how much climbing you do. I went over and at times, I had to lower my pack by a rope, and then step on said pack to get down.
SOBO on Old Speck with a full pack made me nervous. I made sure that my pack weight was towards the rocks. I would imaging that NOBO would require some rock scrambling. Busted my butt on Baldpate in the rain, and several other places as well. I thought coming off Saddleback NOBO was difficult. Whenever the step down is longer than your leg extensions, I call that climbing. Again in the rain. Kathadin absolutely terrified me. Nothing like belly scrambling on a ledge with 2000 foot panoramic drops. My mistake on Kathadin was looking at the view. This paralyzed me. The top had 4000 foot panoramic drops. I didn't even consider The Knife's Edge. The only way I got off that mountain was to look at only my feet on the way down. I think that my fear with Kathadin is that the mt is all by itself, and the views are not buffered with surrounding mts.
The waters did not bother me, and I saw some raging water.
My youngest son climbed Katahdin when he was five years and three months. His son is going half way to the summit (Chimney Pond) in July, three months shy of his sixth birthday. We will be negotiating with the rangers to see if they will allow the grandson to go to the top.
I'm still pondering the possibility of summitting -- probably for a final time. I had a birthday a couple of days ago. I'd tell you which one, but I don't want to provide ammunition for those who think my posts provide evidence that I'm old and decrepid.
Weary
Highway Man
05-08-2010, 18:36
Some trails in Maine are hard and treacherous. I got 90% of my body injuries (minors) in Maine due to falling to the ground on slick slates, being tripped by tree roots, and banging on the rocks on ascent or descent. Wadding through streams made me ponder quite a few times, but finally are OK. Climbing up to Mt. Katahdin in a cold, wet and windy October morning is the most intimidating experience during the entire thru hike. I then said to myself many times I wouln't come down in one whole piece, but gotta do it!
My advise is,
- Stay as much focused as possible when the trail is wet. Be always conservative and slow.
- Go together with partner(s) through the sections where there are stream crossings and rock scrambling. Because other folks can watch out for you and give you a hand when needed. I had a couple of times dangling my feet when descending from a rock and was afraid I could be injured from dropping.
- Get knee and elbow protections to alleviate the pain from banging on the roaks.
No doubt, Maine is one of the most beautiful states along AT. Take your time, be careful, and enjoy it.
Spot In The Sky
05-09-2010, 21:39
Well Im going SOBO alone with not too much experience...what can i do to make sure rivers dont sweep me away??? NOW IM SCARED!
modiyooch
05-09-2010, 22:08
Well Im going SOBO alone with not too much experience...what can i do to make sure rivers dont sweep me away??? NOW IM SCARED!Approach it like the rest of your hike. Not scared, prepared. Look at this thread in Straight Forward Forum. I believe some tips were posted. Speaking of how hard Maine is, how about those water crossings
maine was a swamp and it broke my sholder i loved the views and the moss it lookd awsome....but hurt and it still hurts..
Go slow, watch your step, and you'll be okay. Accidents stem from going too fast for conditions. Maine is different from most of the trail. It's wilder, rougher, prettier, and better maintained (for the most part), just fewer smooth places.
Keep in mind that two-thirds of the trail in Maine is only 30 years old at most. Much of the Maine trail was relocated in the 70s and 80s. It still hasn't been eroded down to southern smoothness.
Weary
Cookerhiker
05-10-2010, 13:18
On the ascent up Pleasant Pond Mt (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=115467)., I pulled a muscle around my left-side rib cage - not from a fall or downhill, but because the trail was so steep with tall rocks to step up. I felt it rip as I took a step up. Bothered me the rest of the hike.
But as I said previously, Maine is wonderful. Don't be afraid, just respect the trail.
Maine was my favorite state. It is very challenging, and will wear you out. I wouldn't call it dangerous. There's some spots where you need to focus on what you are doing, but no need to be apprehensive. You are gonna just love it! Enjoy!
Blissful
05-10-2010, 14:18
Southern Maine is tough stuff terrain-wise. But a beautiful state with lakes and rivers galore and great people.