View Full Version : How long to hike Maine?
JoshAuerbach
06-01-2012, 13:20
About how long does it take to hike Maine? NH? Vermont? The reason I ask is because I would like to section hike for about a month next summer and would like to try to do either all of Maine or all of NH and Vermont together. Is that time frame reasonable and doable?
hikerboy57
06-01-2012, 13:26
im planning on doing maine sobo in august3-4 weeks
Cookerhiker
06-01-2012, 13:29
I hiked all of Maine - actually starting on Rt. 2 outside Gorham - in 30 days, one of which was a zero from mid-August to mid-September (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=113704). If I was in your position with one month to hike in the summer, that's exactly what I'd do. If I can do it, I'm sure you can.;)
JoshAuerbach
06-01-2012, 13:35
Thanks! Seems like a perfect time frame then. Would you suggest going north or south?
hikerboy57
06-01-2012, 13:44
Thanks! Seems like a perfect time frame then. Would you suggest going north or south? katahdin is always a great way to end any hike, but you'll be in a sea of NOBos in ME in august. not that theres anything wrong with that, but Im going SOBO.
Cookerhiker
06-01-2012, 14:19
Well he's going to encounter all those NOBOs no matter which direction he hikes.
I hiked it NOBO because I wanted to finish atop Katahdin. And since it was the same direction as NOBO thrus, I became friends with many of them even though I was a older, slower, section hiker.
But NOBO is harder - the south/westernmost 75 miles of Maine are the toughest. If you hike SOBO, you'd ascend Katahdin with a day pack. Then hiking to Abol Bridge is easy and the 100 Mile Wilderness is not as challenging as starting at Gorham and hiking NOBO.
hikerboy57
06-01-2012, 15:16
ive met a lot of NOBOs myself in ME and NH, but SOBO your're passing them, not running with the pack, whcich would be a hrad pace to maintain chasing guys with 1800+miles on their legs already.Gorhams also a bit easier to get home from rather than baxter.
ive met a lot of NOBOs myself in ME and NH, but SOBO your're passing them, not running with the pack, which would be a hrad pace to maintain chasing guys with 1800+miles on their legs already.Gorhams also a bit easier to get home from rather than baxter.
i think constantly passing people who are headed the over way is the much bigger annoyance. if youre moving in the same direction as all of the thrus you can maybe keep up with them, or find a spot between them. at any rate i think your going to see a lot more of them more often hiking against them than with them. i hiked PA last summer in early june, saw 3 thru hikers most of the time. when i got boilign springs there were dozens of them that ahd all bunched up. apparently i was sitting just behind them all week long. if i was going the opposite direction i would have had them passing me constantly.
hikerboy57
06-01-2012, 21:01
Good point.but i did the mahoosucs2 years ago and have met and enjoyed talking to many nobos,but by maine the herds been culled.i feel if i go nobo ill ultimately feel disappointed i hadnt started with those guys in ga.
planning on doing Maine in about 30 days SOBO started last week in August. Hoping to see a bunch of the NOBOs I met in GA this spring...
coach lou
06-24-2012, 22:13
What is realistic mileage per day, Nh line to The Kennebec?
Maine alone takes 3-4 weeks. Or you could do Vt and NH in same 3-4 weeks. Don't try to go from Mass border to Katahdin in a month.
coach lou
06-24-2012, 22:18
New Hampshire Line north to the Kennebec River. Realistic daily averages, considering all the high ridges in the southern 1/3-1/2.
Cookerhiker
06-25-2012, 06:54
The "NH line" is in the middle of the woods, so more realistically from Rt. 2, the distance is 147 miles. It took me 17 days to hike it. For me, it was a section hike that I started at Rt 2. The thruhikers I met, all of whom were young, hiked a faster pace.
FWIW, I accelerated the second half after Caratunk; I covered the 151 miles from Caratunk to Katahdin in 12 days. Quite a contrast. At least from my experience, you can see why the southern/westernmost part of Maine is so difficult.
fredmugs
06-25-2012, 11:33
I just came back from my final AT section which included 133 miles of Maine. The SOBOs I talked to were taking about 21 days to get to the border. I wouldn't try to go beyond 15 miles a day average. Also - this is a very dry year and the trail is a lot "easier" to hike since there are not the normal long stretches of mud that you have to navigate around. It's still the toughest hiking I've ever done.
hikerboy57
06-25-2012, 11:35
im leaving sobo august 4,hoping to hit gorham by the 30th.
Cookerhiker
06-25-2012, 12:49
I just came back from my final AT section which included 133 miles of Maine.... It's still the toughest hiking I've ever done.
I believe you.
......................
Never mind... brain fart. :)
I took two months to hike vt, nh, and maine. although i had been hikin for three months it was the perfect place to slow down. pretty sure i averaged about 9-10 mpd for the last 600 miles.
About how long does it take to hike Maine? NH? Vermont? The reason I ask is because I would like to section hike for about a month next summer and would like to try to do either all of Maine or all of NH and Vermont together. Is that time frame reasonable and doable?
I've been hiking Maine for 75 plus years. I'm getting too old to ever finish, I'm afraid.
coach lou
06-25-2012, 20:31
So tell me, what kind of mileage can I realisticly look for south of The Kennebec?
hikerboy57
06-25-2012, 20:38
So tell me, what kind of mileage can I realisticly look for south of The Kennebec?i was hoping you would tell me
:confused:
coach lou
06-25-2012, 20:50
i was hoping you would tell me
:confused:
Ahhh... thats what I'm tring to calculate............ " ah Steve, yea Lou. I'm runnin' alittle late this Monday morning."......"yea ah.... Wednesday....Hey could you call my wife, my batteries dead!"
hikerboy57
06-25-2012, 20:56
im thinking 3 days to stratton from caratunk.unless we get t-storms over the bigelows
Cookerhiker
06-25-2012, 21:10
im thinking 3 days to stratton from caratunk.unless we get t-storms over the bigelows
That's exactly what it took me (and I was about your age then) hiking north. However, I wasn't starting out cold; the hike began back at Gorham so I was finally trail-hardy.
Hiking south from Caratunk, your first big challenge will be ascending Avery Peak from Safford Notch. The NOBO descent (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=115462) was brutal for me.
hikerboy57
06-25-2012, 21:18
That's exactly what it took me (and I was about your age then) hiking north. However, I wasn't starting out cold; the hike began back at Gorham so I was finally trail-hardy.
Hiking south from Caratunk, your first big challenge will be ascending Avery Peak from Safford Notch. The NOBO descent (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=115462) was brutal for me.
ill be starting from katahdin, so ill have my legs by then. coach is looking to start at caratunk.
coach lou
06-25-2012, 21:23
That's exactly what it took me (and I was about your age then) hiking north. However, I wasn't starting out cold; the hike began back at Gorham so I was finally trail-hardy.
Hiking south from Caratunk, your first big challenge will be ascending Avery Peak from Safford Notch. The NOBO descent (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=115462) was brutal for me.
Sure, 3 days. Stratton to Rt. 4 looks like all of 3, any bad weather or glich and it's 4 for sure....after the Bigelows and up Crocker!
So tell me, what kind of mileage can I realisticly look for south of The Kennebec?
looks like your question hasn't really been answered, but I'd say 10-12 miles per day, at least that's what I did...