New Hampshire into Maine.

[MisterSweetie]

Someone please help me with details. I have a trip to Maine upcoming, and I always promised myself my first footsteps in Maine would be on the AT. It won't be a thru like I had wanted but it'll have to suffice. I will have at most a day hike to do this. I will have a rental car and not much backpacking gear.

So what can I expect if I leave from Gorham, NH and hike to the border? It appears the US2 at Gorham to the border is 16.5 miles. Is there a closer access to the ME border than starting at Gorham? Anything I can hike to? The border sing would be enough. 16.5 miles would be right out (and that's just one way).

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that this is not necessarily a "normal" goal but it is what it is. I made it and now based on other not-necessarily-foreseen circumstances, I am still trying to achieve this goal.

[hikerboy57]

Someone please help me with details. I have a trip to Maine upcoming, and I always promised myself my first footsteps in Maine would be on the AT. It won't be a thru like I had wanted but it'll have to suffice. I will have at most a day hike to do this. I will have a rental car and not much backpacking gear.

So what can I expect if I leave from Gorham, NH and hike to the border? It appears the US2 at Gorham to the border is 16.5 miles. Is there a closer access to the ME border than starting at Gorham? Anything I can hike to? The border sing would be enough. 16.5 miles would be right out (and that's just one way).

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that this is not necessarily a "normal" goal but it is what it is. I made it and now based on other not-necessarily-foreseen circumstances, I am still trying to achieve this goal.you can see if you can get a shuttle from gorham up success pond road(or Berlin) that can leave you 2 miles away from the AT. I dont remember the trails off the top of my head, but there are about 4 or 5 trails from success pond rd to the AT near the NH/ME border.

[MisterSweetie]

you can see if you can get a shuttle from gorham up success pond road(or Berlin) that can leave you 2 miles away from the AT. I dont remember the trails off the top of my head, but there are about 4 or 5 trails from success pond rd to the AT near the NH/ME border.

Thanks. That's about what i was thinking at this point. Doing it from wherever I park seems to be more than I could handle. I will look into this, but do you have any shuttle recommendations? Does Gorham Hiker's Paradise or The Barn offer a shuttle?

[hikerboy57]

Thanks. That's about what i was thinking at this point. Doing it from wherever I park seems to be more than I could handle. I will look into this, but do you have any shuttle recommendations? Does Gorham Hiker's Paradise or The Barn offer a shuttle?You could check both places for a possible shuttle. I hired a guy that charged me $80 to bring me from gorham to Grafton Notch. I dont have his name and # with me right nowe, and $80 is a bit steep, but if you need , Ill find out again for you. I am going up there around august 14th. when are you planning to go?

[MisterSweetie]

You could check both places for a possible shuttle. I hired a guy that charged me $80 to bring me from gorham to Grafton Notch. I dont have his name and # with me right nowe, and $80 is a bit steep, but if you need , Ill find out again for you. I am going up there around august 14th. when are you planning to go?

It would be before the 10th or 11th. I would guess I'd be in the area on the 9th, possibly. Wish I could bump that til I knew someone else was going to be around there! Thanks for the help.

[hikerboy57]

It would be before the 10th or 11th. I would guess I'd be in the area on the 9th, possibly. Wish I could bump that til I knew someone else was going to be around there! Thanks for the help.
Its beautiful country, but its also challenging. You'll go through the infamous Mahoosuc Notch, notoriously the toughst mile of the AT. although it is time consuming, its actually a lot of fun. the following climb up Mahoosuc arm is a lot tougher, very steep the whole way to the top, with some scrambles along the way. its great!!

[Pedaling Fool]

Someone please help me with details. I have a trip to Maine upcoming, and I always promised myself my first footsteps in Maine would be on the AT. It won't be a thru like I had wanted but it'll have to suffice. I will have at most a day hike to do this. I will have a rental car and not much backpacking gear.

So what can I expect if I leave from Gorham, NH and hike to the border? It appears the US2 at Gorham to the border is 16.5 miles. Is there a closer access to the ME border than starting at Gorham? Anything I can hike to? The border sing would be enough. 16.5 miles would be right out (and that's just one way).

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that this is not necessarily a "normal" goal but it is what it is. I made it and now based on other not-necessarily-foreseen circumstances, I am still trying to achieve this goal.
I would just delay the Maine trip until you can do it "correctly". By that I mean a real hike without a tight schedule and without support of parking/vehicle.

[MisterSweetie]

I would just delay the Maine trip until you can do it "correctly". By that I mean a real hike without a tight schedule and without support of parking/vehicle.

Can't do that. Have obligations on 10th or 11th.

[Slo-go'en]

Well, if you want to walk from NH to Maine, you will have to start in Gorham (actually Shelburne). There is a side trail which access Gentian pond shelter in 2.5 miles from a logging road which you can drive on. The NH/Maine boarder is then 4.8 miles from Gentian.

The logging road is off the North Road a few miles west of where the AT leaves the North Road. Unfortunetly, the road is unmarked and you have to make at least one turn off it to a side logging road, so you have to know where your going to get there and its not easy to discribe in words. (since its been a few years, but I'd know it when I saw it again..)

The other option is the blue blaze up to Carlo Cove shelter off of Succes pond Rd (which is a dusty, bumpy dirt road suitable only for pickup trucks. Oh, you can drive a normal car up there, but at 5 mph). Unfortunetly, Carlo Cove shelter is in Maine, so you'll have to hike south to get to the Maine/NH line.

The trail between RT2 and Carlo Cove isn't too bad, with some nice views. Its after Carlo where things really start to get "interesting".

[hikerboy57]

view from gentian pond shelter looks out at the Carter Moriah range:http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=47127&catid=member&imageuser=28481

[Driver8]

Thanks for your help. I appreciate that this is not necessarily a "normal" goal but it is what it is. I made it and now based on other not-necessarily-foreseen circumstances, I am still trying to achieve this goal.

Respecting your goal as yours and therefore "correct" for you, Mr. S, I consulted my AMC White Mountain Guide Map. It shows a route to the NH-Maine AT border which meets your specs, and a few different options from there:

You want to take Success Pond Road east of Berlin - the road Slo go'en mentioned. Google Maps gives directions, if needed - don't know how reliable those are, but they're a start. You'll go east of Berlin about 4-4.5 miles from the edge of town until you reach the Success Trail, which starts at ~1600 feet & puts you on the AT in 2.4 miles at ~3175 feet. From there, it's ~1.4 miles to the Maine Border at ~3000', 1.8 miles (0.4 past border) to the Carlo Col campsite. You can either turn around there, take a left onto Carlo Col Trail and go 2.6 mi to Success Pond Rd (~1550'), or go over Mt. Carlo (3565') and Goose Eye Mtn (3870') via AT to Goose Eye Trail at that mountain's summit, 1.8 miles from the Carlo Col Trail, descending thence to Success Pond Road via Goose Eye Trail to Success Pond Road (3.1 mi, ~1650') at the same place where Carlo Col Trail meets it. It looks like Goose Eye Trail is fiercer than Carlo and Success trails, so descent could be quite an adventure.

[Old Hillwalker]

I just got a report that the Success Pond Road is completely closed now at both ends. I haven't been up there to check, but mayhaps someone who lives closer can check this.

[Bobby]

I was on success pond road 2 weeks ago. It was open at that time. Fair amount of traffic. Spoke to several locals - they said it was open to traffic because it was the only access to homes on the pond. It had been graded recently and was pretty good as far as ruts and such - I wouldn't hesitate to take a rental car up it. keep in mind that during the week there are a lot of logging trucks on the road - so I've been told.

Came down Carlo Col - walked for about two miles and then caught a ride into Berlin. Lots of clearly marked trail heads off of Success pond road up to the AT.

As a matter of fact there are lots of side trails up to the AT between Gorham and the Maine border.

[Driver8]

As a matter of fact there are lots of side trails up to the AT between Gorham and the Maine border.

The ones I mentioned are presumably the ones maintained by the AMC. The guidebook reports that there's a lot of logging activity in the lower elevation reaches of these trails, but that they're all nice and scenic as they climb the ridges. ...

[Mr. Clean]

The Success trail from the road mentioned is the one you want to take, if the road is open. Hike the 1/2 mile south just to see Mt. Success summit.

If the road is closed, the only other option is the Austin Brook trail which will take you to Gentian Pond, just south of Mt. Success. This trail leaves from a road off Rt. 2 (can't think of the name of it) where the AT heads north. You have to drive in a few miles.