PDA

View Full Version : Hardest Ascent



dmperkins74
10-13-2012, 09:12
Just curious, what would you all consider the hardest ascent on the trail and why?

swjohnsey
10-13-2012, 09:33
Katahdin has to be close, about 4,000 ft in 5.2 miles.

johnnybgood
10-13-2012, 09:47
Which direction ? Crawford Notch ascending to Mt. Washington is steep going Nobo. Tye River to the top of The Priest is about 4,000 ft. in 4 miles going Sobo.

wnderer
10-13-2012, 09:52
I vote for Mt Moosilauke, the Beaver Brook Trail SOBO. Especially if you have short legs. Some of those re-bar steps are missing and I couldn't do two steps at a time. I had to practically pull myself up with my arms.

Sampson
10-13-2012, 10:09
I vote for Mt Moosilauke, the Beaver Brook Trail SOBO. Especially if you have short legs. Some of those re-bar steps are missing and I couldn't do two steps at a time. I had to practically pull myself up with my arms.

Merrel just came out with the UL P-Form Max which is ideally suited for people with short legs. They work well enough for nights in town also.

http://www.shopgeox.com/resizer/Geox/Single/D2440M_000HM_C6009-492x286.png

rickb
10-13-2012, 10:09
Just curious, what would you all consider the hardest ascent on the trail and why?


Not sure.

The one at the end of alhard day with the sun beginning to set and the shelter just on the other side?

The one in the rain with owling wind and thunder getting closer?

The one in the middle of a series of PUDs (Pointless ups and downs) and no candy bars left in your pack because you are a light weight weenie?

And so forth.

Kataahdin is a long hard day, but little kids and old tourons seem to do just fine all the time. The uncertanties of a SOBO and emotions of a NOBO surely play into the perceived difficulty, I would think. My geuess is that most hikers have far, far harder times walking up much shorter mountains.

Passing thought: Any elevation gained when you are above treelene seems way easier than the same elevation gained in the thick of the woods. For me the exact ration for mental and physicall effort is 1 Foot NGATL = 3.1416 Feet NGITW . (NGUTL = Net Gain Above Tree Line and NGITW = Net Gain in the Woods)

Thiis equation is particulary useful when considering the cost/benefit of walking off the AT to stay at the Perch when you are traversing the Presidentials.

Turk6177
10-13-2012, 10:10
I have not done the whole trail, but the climb from the lodge at the base of Mt. Washington in NH to the top of Wildcat Mountain was torture for me. Granted I had a heavier pack than I carry now, but I have polled many thru hikers that I have met on the trail and they all remember that climb. I believe it gains 2000 feet in 1/4 mile. After doing that, the mountains in GA seemed relatively tame.

swjohnsey
10-13-2012, 10:29
I don't really mind the climbs, goin' up Katahdin and Wildcat didn't bother me much. Comin' down . . .

hikerboy57
10-13-2012, 10:36
I don't really mind the climbs, goin' up Katahdin and Wildcat didn't bother me much. Comin' down . . .

i agree id rather go up than down, and still the worst descent for me was mahoosuc arm in the rain.Kathadin though is a close second, as ive climbed katahdin now 3 times, without any hiking before the ascent. 2 day hikes, and august started sobo from K.it just seems like it takes forever to get up and down.

Slo-go'en
10-13-2012, 10:50
Yup, these days I'd rather go up than down. Your more likely to get hurt on the decent then the accent. Anyway, as others pointed out how hard an accent or decent seems depends on a lot of factors. Early in the day or late in the day? Sunny day or rainy day? and so on.

The climb out of Bly gap into NC and then the climb out of the NOC both seem to go on forever and many think thier hard, since these are the first serious climbs most encounter on the AT. But you ain't seen noth'en yet kid. Some of the climbs in Maine and NH make those two seem like a joke. The climb up to the top of Old Blue in Maine is another which comes to mind as a serious climb (and even worse decent going SOBO).

bamboo bob
10-13-2012, 11:04
Katahdin is long climb, use hands etc. Nasty in the rain. Jacobs ladder just before the smokies is a very steep walk up but also very short. NOBO down off of Mt. Moosilaukee is very steep. I camped half way down one year. It was raining and just too slippery. There is actually a nice campsite into the woods on the right about half way down. A definite trail there.

dmperkins74
10-13-2012, 11:49
Funny... I've done bits and pieces of the trail (just over 600 miles finally, www.gdbdp.com/at) from southern VA up to Mass. Most of the climbs you all mention are further north or south. Sounds like I've been hitting the easier stuff for sure, but to be honest, I curse and stumble up every climb. What prompted my question was coming down from St John's Ledges going North the other day and thinking "Thank God I don't have to go UP this!" And it's only 700 ft or so over .3 miles.

Lot of challenges ahead, but can't wait for the rewards :)

joshuasdad
10-13-2012, 11:56
The NOBO climb from Stecoah Gap after climbing Cheoah Bald from NOC looks like it would be a bear -- Nancy Hoch from The Hike Inn that it washes out more thru hikers than any other ascent. This is the section that Ed Garvey complained about in Appalachian Hiker. I did it SOBO, so just taking it slow was not too bad. Worst for me was a nameless, viewless peak in the Roller Coaster -- because I was out of shape, the weather was bad, knee hurt...

FYI, Tye River to Priest is only 3000 feet in 4.5 miles, on mostly a switchbacked dirt trail, with viewpoints to take rest breaks (which I did). The Big K looks like it would be much more of a challenge.

johnnybgood
10-13-2012, 12:25
FYI, Tye River to Priest is only 3000 feet in 4.5 miles, on mostly a switchbacked dirt trail, with viewpoints to take rest breaks (which I did). The Big K looks like it would be much more of a challenge.

You are correct. The day I hiked it was hot as Hades and I'm sure that made it seem worse.

Driver8
10-13-2012, 20:01
I believe it gains 2000 feet in 1/4 mile.

Literally impossible, as 1/4 mile is only 1320 feet. I've heard the gain is about 2K feet in two miles, which is plenty steep, and with some notoriously difficult shorter stretches.

Seldomseen
10-13-2012, 20:46
They are all hard, but there is not a day that I do not dream of doing them all again.

RichardD
10-13-2012, 23:54
So much depends upon how early in the hike, how early in the day, whether its mentally a high energy day or low energy day and of course the weather. I found Jacobs Ladder hard at the end of a day, it was hot, I was thirsty and out of water.
Moosilauke was easy for me yet in a different league from Jacobs Ladder.
The descent from Everett was the most dangerous for me, it was raining hard and I was tired.
The ascent of Smarts was hard at the end of the day.
Katahdin went by easily, at the end of 6 months of hiking, I was concerned if I could get up and down in daylight and I did not take a single break on the way up, I made it up and down just fine.
Parts of the ascents near Kinsman were very rugged but early in the day they were negotiated slowly and easily.
The climb out of Lehigh gap was certainly steep and hand over hand in places.
Climbs to Mt Washington and through the presidentials although slow seemed easy, we had fair weather.

Sarcasm the elf
10-14-2012, 00:05
Just curious, what would you all consider the hardest ascent on the trail and why?

He He He!!! My hiking buddy and I got our first taste of the A.T. (besides my boy scout days) hiking up northbound from West Cornwall road in Connecticut. We hiked it in the rain in April, while leaves covered the trail with no clue what we were getting ourselves into, the first quarter mile was steep, slippery uphill with a rock scrabble and a lemon squeezer. Even after completing three hundred miles of the A.T., plus a couple hundred miles of re-hiked trails, in our mind this was still the nastiest, most intimidating section we've done.

fredmugs
10-14-2012, 00:07
Mt Madison and coming out of Carter Notch were pretty tough for me. Katahdin, Moosilauke, and The Priest weren't that bad.

Dogwood
10-14-2012, 01:43
Typically, the hardest ascents are the first few no matter what trail and what direction WHEN you hit the Trail Head not in hiking shape.

I know I know that's not what you were asking.

trapper
10-14-2012, 07:33
i agree id rather go up than down, and still the worst descent for me was mahoosuc arm in the rain.Kathadin though is a close second, as ive climbed katahdin now 3 times, without any hiking before the ascent. 2 day hikes, and august started sobo from K.it just seems like it takes forever to get up and down.
i think this has alt to do with it. what shape you are in...after you are in every day all day hiking shape things are so much easier(imo) muscles recover almost instantly...not out of breath and you are in the zone. for me it just becomes walking(unless its hand over hand climbing)

nitewalker
10-14-2012, 07:50
177872 pics heading up the beaver brook trail[sobo] to the mooselaukie summit.

nitewalker
10-14-2012, 07:55
that turned into a cluster ####....

10-K
10-14-2012, 08:19
I've lost count of the hardest climbs!

But I'm sure it's somewhere on the Long Trail.

bamboo bob
10-14-2012, 08:49
I've lost count of the hardest climbs!

But I'm sure it's somewhere on the Long Trail. I agree. The Long Trail, day to day, is harder than the AT. Shorter but it definitely is a butt kicker. I'm glad I did it after the AT. If I had done it first I likely would have decided backpacking is too hard for sane people.

trapper
10-14-2012, 08:51
I've lost count of the hardest climbs!


But I'm sure it's somewhere on the Long Trail.
agreed on the long trail...did it this summer...northern Vermont was brutal

jakedatc
10-14-2012, 16:14
Disagree.. I did not find anything on the Long Trail to be physically that bad steepness wise. Compared to many of the hills in Whites the Greens are pretty tame. The poor condition of the trail in the northern section slows your pace on the downhills but even then my overall pace didn't change much. Direct

perhaps having the Whites as a "home field" has it's advantages and it skews my perspective. perhaps i just like going up hill :P

10-K
10-14-2012, 17:47
I was waiting on you to disagree Jake.. You're just a dang contrarian.. :)

jakedatc
10-14-2012, 18:35
I just didn't find it that bad.. i was even gimping the downhills on a hurt shin and still managed ok ;) hardest thing for me on the Long Trail was the downhill dirt road between 108 and Roundtop Shelter the day I met you and Andy.

just did Owl's head in NH yesterday.. 1500' in 1mi up a rock slide with loose rock, then ice/ running water, then snow. not on the AT... folks would probably cry it was too hard or scary ;)

swjohnsey
10-14-2012, 20:00
I just didn't find it that bad.. i was even gimping the downhills on a hurt shin and still managed ok ;) hardest thing for me on the Long Trail was the downhill dirt road between 108 and Roundtop Shelter the day I met you and Andy.

just did Owl's head in NH yesterday.. 1500' in 1mi up a rock slide with loose rock, then ice/ running water, then snow. not on the AT... folks would probably cry it was too hard or scary ;)


I'm assumin' your postin' from your nice warm house.

jakedatc
10-14-2012, 20:12
I'm assumin' your postin' from your nice warm house.

Yep, was going to do another 4000'er and then a 2x 2200' peaks with ladder/boulder cave trails today but it was pouring down rain when we woke up today and decided against it.

what's your point?

jakedatc
10-14-2012, 20:23
And 10K and I agree far more than we disagree so it's not a big deal.

Lone Wolf
10-14-2012, 20:26
i never thought anything was "hard' on the AT. mentally hard maybe

Carl Calson
10-14-2012, 21:01
agree with whoever said jacob's ladder. it's near the beginning so you don't have your trail legs quite yet. steep as a mother.

Odd Man Out
10-14-2012, 23:05
For a NOBO, how about approach trail to Springer, only because your pack it too heavy and body out of shape?

snifur
10-14-2012, 23:28
my hardest ascent only happened every time it rained and i was cold, tired and hungry. strange it never occurred when the sun was out, the air was sweet and birds were singing.

kayak karl
10-14-2012, 23:29
For a NOBO, how about approach trail to Springer, only because your pack it too heavy and body out of shape?
agree and then after that sassafras mt. kicked my butt. i have done many others mentioned and didn't find them hard. i think the farther you are in the your hike the easier they get. i also found ascent after lunch are harder then morning ascents.

Paddlefoot
10-15-2012, 13:38
No doubt!

My folks had dropped me off at the trailhead. It was in the day's before cell phones, and if I hadn't felt ashamed, I would have turned around and headed back down.

A 65 lb. pack loaded with a 3 cell D battery flashlight, enough food to provision a battalion, and a couple of heavy novels didn't help matters any.

The "toughest parts" like the 1. Whites, 2. Mahoosic (sp?) Notch, and 3. Katahdin were either so 1. beautiful, 2. fun with hiking buddies, or 3. so flush with endorphins (if there was a drug that replicated that feeling, I'd be hooked) that the physical challenges faded away.

A heat wave through New York was the worst thing I encountered.

Gambit
10-15-2012, 14:36
LOL why do you have to make it so difficult?
its a simple question:Hardest climb, end of story.

Mine would be climbing up to shuckstack(And on to Mollies) from Fontana Dam on a hot summer day last July with no water :) Wont forget that again haha

Not sure.

The one at the end of alhard day with the sun beginning to set and the shelter just on the other side?

The one in the rain with owling wind and thunder getting closer?

The one in the middle of a series of PUDs (Pointless ups and downs) and no candy bars left in your pack because you are a light weight weenie?

And so forth.

Kataahdin is a long hard day, but little kids and old tourons seem to do just fine all the time. The uncertanties of a SOBO and emotions of a NOBO surely play into the perceived difficulty, I would think. My geuess is that most hikers have far, far harder times walking up much shorter mountains.

Passing thought: Any elevation gained when you are above treelene seems way easier than the same elevation gained in the thick of the woods. For me the exact ration for mental and physicall effort is 1 Foot NGATL = 3.1416 Feet NGITW . (NGUTL = Net Gain Above Tree Line and NGITW = Net Gain in the Woods)

Thiis equation is particulary useful when considering the cost/benefit of walking off the AT to stay at the Perch when you are traversing the Presidentials.

Kerosene
10-15-2012, 15:42
agree and then after that sassafras mt. kicked my butt.Hikerhead renamed Sassafrass to Kickyerass Mtn., but I pretty much zoomed up without rest. On the other hand, I bonked going up Kelly Knob later that week in the middle of a long day when I was a bit depressed and probably under-hydrated and it had just started raining. The next day, I roared up from Dicks Creek Gap to the GA/NC border on a lovely spring day. I felt very strong as I sat up on the rock there eating lunch, but the ascent of Courthouse Bald literally brought me to my knees for some reason (the heat?). Normally I'm pretty solid on the uphills -- and getting slower on the downhills every year (knees and tri-focals that make it seem steeper than it really is!).

I still clearly recall the first major SOBO climb on the Long Trail in early August 1979 where my legs were cramping in the 100+ degree heat, just as I heard a thunderstorm approaching while still a few miles from the shelter. I had a similar experience climbing Mt. Greylock in July 1976 where my legs cramped up just as I was trying to hop around the underwater trail in 90-degree heat with a 45-pound pack.

Heat and humidity are bad; hydration and carbs are good; pack weight is bad; slippery rocks/roots/leaves are bad; albuterol and Vitamin I are good; cardio prep is good. Pick a pace and try to keep with it all the way to the top!

Prime Time
10-16-2012, 20:37
To me, it's not about how hard the climb is, it's about how ready or prepared you are to do it. Are you tired? Is it rainy, windy or cold? Plus, looking back on a climb can sometimes be a lot different from looking ahead to one. Was there a view from the top? What lies ahead? These and many more variables mean there are many, many answers to this question. Oh, and for the record, for me that all translated to going up Wildcat Mt. from Pinkham Notch. It was hot, I was just starting my hike, and some 20 somethings smoked me on the way up, and I had 15 more tough miles yet to cover that day.

Kerosene
10-17-2012, 10:21
for me that all translated to going up Wildcat Mt. from Pinkham Notch. It was hot, I was just starting my hike, and some 20 somethings smoked me on the way upFor me, it was probably the early morning NOBO ascent of S. Kinsman on the third day of my section hike. I just didn't expect something that tough. A few days later, the similar climb up The Twins went swimmingly. I just did the NOBO climb up Wildcat on an 80-degree afternoon last month, which was better than I had anticipated being the first 3 miles of my section hike. Fortunately, no supershape 20-something thru-hikers passed me. I was pretty beat when I reached Carter Notch 6 miles in, although I would have climbed Carter Dome if I had known there was a stealth site up there.

RED-DOG
10-17-2012, 13:57
The hardest climb for me was going up blue Mt from leigh gap, but no i think the approach trail is harder than any thing on the AT

Darwin13
10-17-2012, 14:15
This is interesting because it really comes down to personal mental and physical conditioning. For instance, when faced with a 'huge' mountain that looks like its 90 degrees up on the topo I am usually surprised at how easy it is. But then those PUDS come along and I am wondering when the torture will end. Then there are days when the downhills are worse than the ups and then there are days when its raining and your going down a puny hill like Bear Mountain in Connecticut and all of a sudden its like your descending everest via a water slide.

swamp dawg
10-17-2012, 14:27
I have always had a hard time with the climb up and down the Wildcat mountain section. For some reason, I have encountered bad weather when on this section which makes a difficult section even harder.

Tipi Walter
10-17-2012, 14:37
To me, it's not about how hard the climb is, it's about how ready or prepared you are to do it. Are you tired? Is it rainy, windy or cold?

This is true. Climbing a tough mountain with the giardia squirts ain't no fun---you have to unbuckle quick and squat over a pancake batter of turtleheads. Or maybe you drank some bad cow water and have to climb some nameless hill with stomach cramps and puking. And you always know a hill suks when you have a fever. Or a raging toothache.

Then again, the toughest hills by far are the ones covered in 2 feet of snow on the approach and 3 feet on the ridge. The brush on the trail, the "green tunnel", collapses under the snow and you have to belly crawl on your hands and knees for a couple miles with a 60 lb pack. Real crappy.

And then there's ginormous pack weight turning every hill into a nightmare, or at least a very strenuous slog. It's the price of freedom for a long uninterrupted trip.

Be thankful you're humping these hills on the AT and not in some forgotten wilderness area where the brush and briars and blowdowns turn a tough climb into a living hell. Backpacking an open cleared trail is nothing like backpacking a strewn mess of thorns and fallen trees.

Seatbelt
10-18-2012, 12:19
Be thankful you're humping these hills on the AT and not in some forgotten wilderness area where the brush and briars and blowdowns turn a tough climb into a living hell. Backpacking an open cleared trail is nothing like backpacking a strewn mess of thorns and fallen trees.

I agree with this, it reminds me of my coon-huntin nights--almost always a bush-whacking venture.

RED-DOG
10-18-2012, 14:24
I am surprised no one has mentioned the Mohousic notch or the arm yet it always gets talked about on these hard climb threads, Personally i didn't think they were that hard but i been through there three times, i always like talking to newbies when they go through there they always think its BRUTAL.

hikerboy57
10-18-2012, 14:27
early in the thread,i did mention coming down mahoosuc arm in the rain was downright scary.the notch isnt steep, just precarious. if you take your time, its fun.

Kerosene
10-19-2012, 07:18
I am surprised no one has mentioned the Mohousic notch or the arm yet it always gets talked about on these hard climb threads, Personally i didn't think they were that hard but i been through there three times, i always like talking to newbies when they go through there they always think its BRUTAL.I just did that section last month. My legs were shaking while traversing the Notch, but I eventually realized I was just nervous, not dehydrated or undernourished. I got through in 80 minutes, but it was a good thing it was dry and my trekking poles were packed away. After a 20-minute rest/refuel at the base of the Arm, I blasted to the top while periodically wondering if a trail could really go up over rock like that. I had a much harder climb of South Kinsman (NH) and Courthouse Bald (GA/NC). I typically don't mind climbing, so something else is typically going on with my body/mind when it starts to feel like a real struggle.

evansprater
10-19-2012, 08:57
I did tray mt in NC as the last mile of a 19.7 mile day two days ago. Hellish, but so worth it.

Gray Blazer
10-19-2012, 09:32
^^ Should read GA. Tray Mountain is the 7th highest peak in GA and is known as the grandstand for viewing the Nantahalas (which are in NC).

Odd Man Out
10-19-2012, 09:47
To me, it's not about how hard the climb is, it's about how ready or prepared you are to do it.

Yes - my wife and I were on a day hike (more of a walk) up to Sentinel Dome in Yosemite. My wife has mobility issues so anything rougher than a sidewalk can be a challenge, but is a trooper when given the chance to see something like Yosemite. Anyway, the trail was a bit more rugged than I had hoped. About half way through the walk we are standing right at the base of the steep southern face of the dome and she asks with some exasperation in her voice "how much further?". If I had pointed up to the top of the granite dome towering 300 feet overhead and said "we are going up there", she would have run back to the trail-head right then and there. So I said "I thinks it's just around the next bend". My deception worked and we made it to the end of the trail. On the way back to the car, I stopped at that same point and confessed to my lie. She admitted that if I had told her where we were really going at that point, she probably would not have made it.

trovar
10-21-2012, 02:45
Katahdin, for sure.

evansprater
10-21-2012, 05:51
Sorry. I meant Albert Mt!

Driver8
10-21-2012, 07:24
I typically don't mind climbing, so something else is typically going on with my body/mind when it starts to feel like a real struggle.

A lot of it depends on your energy and motivation on a given day. Yesterday I was very sluggish for a hike of the eastern Mt. Holyoke Range in Western Mass. Hadn't gotten the best night's rest and just wasn't feeling at top energy. Plus, the trail was good and wet and, of course, leafy at peak foliage, and rocky and vexing on the best of days, much of it. So I was pretty slow - did 3 miles in about two hours and just felt lethargic. Backtracked part of that and took a beeline to a road in order not to repeat rough trail, see some different stuff and save some legs for another part of the Holyoke Range I wanted to cover, east of the Summit House.

Completed phase 1 of the day's hiking, including a 1.5 mile road walk that felt more like 3 - was surprised when my car's odometer told me it was only 1.5 right after the hike - then, after a market stop, drove to Mt. H parking area. Was gonna read a book I'd brought along and, if the energy and drive came, do that hike east of H. Sat in the car for a bit updating on cell phone, and, just tired, decided "hell with it." Didn't get out of the car. Drove to do a bit more grocery shopping, checking out some stuff at the Whole Foods in Hadley/Amherst (am reading an interesting book about dietary strategy and wanted to scope out and price some recommended items, but that's another story) and grabbing a thing or two in the same shopping center, then headed home. Got a great nap, had a relaxed Sat evening, got a good night's rest and now am ready to take on the world. Go figure.

Last weekend, by contrast, I was loaded for bear, so to speak, and, on insufficient sleep (but more than I got this Friday night), I tore up Bear Mountain in CT. Bear is much easier trail, for the most part, than the Holyoke Range, rising quite a bit more but mostly a lot less rocky and much less grinding up-and-down, so that made a difference, but most of it was just better energy level and motivation - Bear's great views and the chance to blow through my best previous time on this frequently-hiked bit of trail had me hopping. I've had no difficulty getting motivated to ascent Mt. Washington, the first successful trip came after a very poor night of sleep, maybe two fitful hours, in a tent.

I'd hate to do Mahoosuc Notch and the Arm as sluggish as I was yesterday, but I bet that, were I doing it, the motivation for the challenge would kick that "sluggish" to the curb, even on minimal sleep.