View Full Version : New to Maine - looking for 5-6 day backpacking loop
flowerz31
08-09-2005, 17:11
Hi all, I'm hoping that you might be able to help me find a good backpacking loop in Maine (or maybe the Whites in NH) for next week. I plan to be out Sunday to Friday or Saturday, with +/- 10 miles a day. I'd love to do a loop, or at least not backtrack for more than one day. Is that possible in this area? Also, I have a dog, so Baxter State Park is out :( I love Mountains and water, so the more, the merrier.
Any suggestions will be VERY welcome! Thanks.
Hi all, I'm hoping that you might be able to help me find a good backpacking loop in Maine (or maybe the Whites in NH) for next week. I plan to be out Sunday to Friday or Saturday, with +/- 10 miles a day. I'd love to do a loop, or at least not backtrack for more than one day. Is that possible in this area? Also, I have a dog, so Baxter State Park is out :( I love Mountains and water, so the more, the merrier.
Any suggestions will be VERY welcome! Thanks.
Loop hikes are rare in Maine. None outside of Baxter come to mind at the moment, but I'll ponder the problem. New Hampshire has hundreds. Your best bet is to get an AMC White Mountain Guide.
A rugged loop that I have enjoyed uses the Dolly Copp Campground as a base camp. Climb the Imp, continue on to the AT and follow the AT over the Carters do the northern Presidentials after climbing Washington via Tuckerman Ravine, and descending Madison via the Daniel Webster back to Dolly Copp.
Unless you stay at the Madison Springs hut, campsites are scarce.
Weary
Mr. Clean
08-09-2005, 18:15
You could try a loop of sorts in the Mahoosucs. The trails all come back out onto Success Pond road, and hitches always seem easy, esp. on weekends. Love the Mahoosucs. Lots of possible loops in the Whites.
flowerz31
08-09-2005, 18:37
You could try a loop of sorts in the Mahoosucs. The trails all come back out onto Success Pond road, and hitches always seem easy, esp. on weekends. Love the Mahoosucs. Lots of possible loops in the Whites.
thanks for the suggestion...i'm definitely willing to 'make' a loop by doing a section on logging trails or hitching, if it seems possible. I'll take out my map and see what the Mahoosucs have to offer...
flowerz31
08-09-2005, 18:39
Loop hikes are rare in Maine. None outside of Baxter come to mind at the moment, but I'll ponder the problem. New Hampshire has hundreds. Your best bet is to get an AMC White Mountain Guide.
A rugged loop that I have enjoyed uses the Dolly Copp Campground as a base camp. Climb the Imp, continue on to the AT and follow the AT over the Carters do the northern Presidentials after climbing Washington via Tuckerman Ravine, and descending Madison via the Daniel Webster back to Dolly Copp.
Unless you stay at the Madison Springs hut, campsites are scarce.
Weary
The Whites will definitely be my backup, but since I'm new to Maine, I really want to explore and see more of my new home! If any other ideas come to you, let me know. Thanks much!!
TJ aka Teej
08-09-2005, 20:36
Welcome to WhiteBlaze, Flowerz! This information forum is an excellent resource for all kinds of hiking and backpacking questions. From daytrippers to multi-time thruhikers, from '06 dreamers to '83 trailblazers, from gear makers to maintainers, and from ultralight diy'ers to old timey framepackers, it's quite the community!
Two links about the Grafton Notch Loop Trail, a new 40+ mile trail: http://www.matc.org/glt1.htm and http://www.outdoors.org/trails/work/grafton/index.cfm
A link to the Maine Outdoors Adventure Club:
http://www.moac.org/
If you like long hikes, come to Dartmouth, NH this October for the ALDHA Gathering:
www.aldha.org (http://www.aldha.org)
A link to the ALDHA Thruhikers' Companion, which can be viewed for free online, and has information on shuttles and hostels in Maine. Since, as Weary says, loops are rare in Maine, many hikers use hostel shuttle services up here that drop them x days away and then they hike back. You can view/print out the Maine section:
http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm
And here is 'Views From The Top', a north east focused website mostly about peakbagging, which has a great Q&A and Trail Conditions forum:
http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/
Have fun! :D
flowerz31
08-10-2005, 09:46
Thanks for all the reading material...Just what I need for my day at work ;)
Do you know if the Grafton Notch Loop Trail is finished? The website says it would be completed this summer....
Also, what do you know about the Gulf Hagas area? I'm considering creating a loop starting at Gulf Hagas, going around to White Cap and then down on logging roads...but I'm afraid that the logging roads will be a maze of confusion once I'm there. Any knowledge out there about that area?
Welcome to WhiteBlaze, Flowerz! This information forum is an excellent resource for all kinds of hiking and backpacking questions. From daytrippers to multi-time thruhikers, from '06 dreamers to '83 trailblazers, from gear makers to maintainers, and from ultralight diy'ers to old timey framepackers, it's quite the community!
Two links about the Grafton Notch Loop Trail, a new 40+ mile trail: http://www.matc.org/glt1.htm and http://www.outdoors.org/trails/work/grafton/index.cfm
A link to the Maine Outdoors Adventure Club:
http://www.moac.org/
If you like long hikes, come to Dartmouth, NH this October for the ALDHA Gathering:
www.aldha.org (http://www.aldha.org/)
A link to the ALDHA Thruhikers' Companion, which can be viewed for free online, and has information on shuttles and hostels in Maine. Since, as Weary says, loops are rare in Maine, many hikers use hostel shuttle services up here that drop them x days away and then they hike back. You can view/print out the Maine section:
http://www.aldha.org/comp_pdf.htm
And here is 'Views From The Top', a north east focused website mostly about peakbagging, which has a great Q&A and Trail Conditions forum:
http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/
Have fun! :D
TJ aka Teej
08-10-2005, 18:54
Also, what do you know about the Gulf Hagas area? I'm considering creating a loop starting at Gulf Hagas, going around to White Cap and then down on logging roads...but I'm afraid that the logging roads will be a maze of confusion once I'm there. Any knowledge out there about that area?
That's Weary's bailliwick, he maintains a section on Whitecap. At the gatehouse on the KI road you can get some pretty good advice too, especially about the everchanging logging roads. If you ask that question on VFTT, I'll bet you'll get some recent and specific info.
tlbj6142
08-11-2005, 09:50
I plan to be out Sunday to Friday or Saturday, with +/- 10 miles a day. I'd love to do a loop, or at least not backtrack for more than one day. You just might be able to pull off a loop (making use of some of the forest roads and/or other non-AT trails (Mt. Abrahams trail??)) of some sort in Rangely and/or Stratton, ME (that would be the Bigelow, Crocker, Sugarloaf, etc. mountains).
Or see if one of the local hostel owners (Bob?) can take you and your dog "out" and you just hike back to your car.
Here is my trip report (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5754) from that area. Hitching was fairly easy, but with a dog it would be more difficult.
My wife and I belong to the "Half Fast Hiking Club" in Mount Vernon, Maine and just about every weekend we have a group hike. There are some excellent loop hikes in the Kennebec Highlands, Belgrade area. Another good loop hile is to leave your car at the AT trailhead at Little Bigelow. Hike to the summit, continuue on to Safford Brook trail back to the road to Round Barn, then back to your car. A more ambitious hike is Big Bigelow, leave your car at the Fire Wardens Trailhead, Firewardens to west peak, on to Horns Pond, and Horns Pond trail back to your car or for a longer hike take the AT back and you will have a short but pleasant road walk to your car. The Grafton Loop Trail is now open in western Maine. Little Jackson to Tumbledown and back to your car is an excellent hike in the Weld area. Bubble Rock in Acardia National Park offers an excellent loop hike as is The Sabathday Pond loop hike in the Rangely area. A popular loop in the Kingfield area is Both Crockers and Caribou Pond logging road back to your car. There are many great loop hikes in Maine, one book is 50 hikes in the Maine Mountaine by Cloe Chunn but there are many guides and maps that will show you loop hikes.
:welcome To Maine, we have thousands of miles of established and potential trails. No mobs like the Whites and great vistas to enjoy.
John Parsons
08-10-2007, 12:21
Hi all, I'm hoping that you might be able to help me find a good backpacking loop in Maine (or maybe the Whites in NH) for next week. I plan to be out Sunday to Friday or Saturday, with +/- 10 miles a day. I'd love to do a loop, or at least not backtrack for more than one day. Is that possible in this area? Also, I have a dog, so Baxter State Park is out :( I love Mountains and water, so the more, the merrier.
Any suggestions will be VERY welcome! Thanks.
My friends and I do a yearly fall 4day/night trip usually in the smokies this year we are considering Maine or NH. We are ignorant when it comes to New England loops and trails. Any advice on a trip?
John Parsons
08-10-2007, 16:39
Are these day hikes or will there be overnight camping options?
How about the new Mahoosic loop that opened on National Trails day in June?
How about the new Mahoosic loop that opened on National Trails day in June?
That loop has multiple campsite options, especially on the MATC side.
How about the new Mahoosic loop that opened on National Trails day in June?You must mean the Grafton Loop Trail.
That's Weary's bailliwick, he maintains a section on Whitecap. At the gatehouse on the KI road you can get some pretty good advice too, especially about the everchanging logging roads. If you ask that question on VFTT, I'll bet you'll get some recent and specific info.
It's fairly simple. Park at the Gulf Hagas Parking lot. Follow the AT to the Gulf Hagas side trail, which reconnects to the AT after about seven miles. Then Follow the AT to White Cap. Then reverse direction for a mile to the White Brook Side Trail. Follow the side trail to an abandoned logging road, which eventually becomes passable by most cars. Continue on the main route (there are several intersections) until you reach a bridge over White Brook. Total distance from the Ridge Line to the bridge is about 6 miles.
Reverse direction again, but this time only for a hundred yards or so. Take the road to the left that you passed getting to the bridge. That goes a couple of miles to Hay Brook and a small alternative Gulf Hagas Parking lot. Cross the brook and follow an informal trail back to the AT and the Pleasant River ford and your car. Take a minute or two at the Hay Brook campsite to follow the brook up stream to a nice water fall.
You can skip the river ford, by driving to the Hay Brook Parking Lot, but the road directions are a bit more complex. Ask at the Katahdin Iron Works Gate for those alternative directions. (Essentially, when you reach the sign to Gulf Hagas driving in from the KIW gate, ignore it and drive straight through. When you reach the afore mentioned "high bridge," turn left to Hay Brook)
On a different note, on a different trail, the following is a description of the Grafton Notch Loop as it will appear in Wilderness Matters, the newsletter of the Maine Chapter, AMC, which I will be taking to the printer in a few minutes:
"Saturday June 30th was the long awaited official opening of the entire the Grafton Loop Trail. The eastern half has been open since 2003, but now the western half is open as well!
There are eight designated campsites along this 38-mile loop through some spectacular terrain of the Mahoosuc Range. Eight of the trail miles are in tandem with the Appalachian Trail and include traversing the Baldpates, which are two of Maine’s great peaks that afford astounding views, and over Old Speck, a 4,000-footer.
The 30 miles of new trail on this loop allow access to some lesser-visited but very worthy peaks including Sunday River Whitecap, Puzzle Mountain, and Lightening Ledge. AMC was integral in the planning and establishment of this project, as were many Maine volunteers and organizations including the Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC) who all combined contributed thousands of volunteer hours to make the trail a reality.
The loop makes a great 3-4 day backpacking trip, or explore some of the peaks individually from the trail heads on Route 26. I recently completed this trail in a 3-day circuit; the woods were wild, the peaks picturesque, and the terrain tantalizing!
Check out the AMC web page for more information and a map at: *http:// www.outdoors.org/conservation/trails/work/grafton/index.cfm."
Weary
What is the condition of Success road from the north to the various trailheads, and are they easy to spot? How is it for bike riding? I would like to do a loop with a 3 mile bike ride between trailheads.
i admit I haven't been up there this year. I maintain a section of AT in the Mahoosucs and have used Success Pond Rd a ton. The rd is the superhighway dirt road of logging trucks. It is wide, well graded, well marked, and well traveled. Not unusual to see a 18 wheeler fully loaded bombing down it. Also not unusual to see cars literally flipped off to the side because the owner parked on the rd. All of the trail heads are marked with wooden white signs and there is parking at each trail head. The White Mtn Guide book gives accurate mileages along this rd - you might want to pick it up so you can have a good odea of when the trail heads come up.
Great hiking along here - the Notch, Goose Eye, Success. Enjoy
Thanks, Grimace. (It took me awhile to remember in which thread I had posed the question) I am planning on a loop hike up the Notch trail over to Goose Eye and maybe Carlo someday next week. This will be my second time back to that section since hiking through the Mahoosucs a few years back with my daughter. Near Success Mt. we met a thru-hiker. Just by coincidence he was standing near a section of the AT that he had been responsible for maintaining. He had attended Thomson?? college near Bangor, I think. In talking a bit about his hike, he told me he had hiked through so much rain that spring, that rain just did not bother him any more. What a great attitude. What a great section of Maine, too. I am really looking forward to getting back there. I might hike in via the Wright trail just to save some driving time. Depends when I get there. Which section are you responsible for? I'll give you a report. PS I do have the WM Guide Book and trail map.
I just hiked the wright trail today, above tree line, it was raining and quite windy, it was a fantastic hike though. SOme of the gusts we had were upwards of 60 MPH on the south notch portion of the wright trail. If you are lucky, you will have nice weather and great views from goose eye.
Kirby
It was gusting to 40 mph at sea level.Did you hike up or down the cut-off at the tentsite, or did you go up and then down thed Wright? The cut-off lokks as though it has a very steep section, probably bettter going up it. Any coments about the trail?
Hey Rambler,
Don't think I was the same maintainer you met. My wife and I maintain from Full Goose Shelter to the top of Goose Eye. We had it in pretty good shape but we've taken about a year off because we just had our first baby. We'll get out there is Sept to clear the drainages. Lots of good loops there - The Notch over Goose Eye to Carlo is a good one. You can also go the other way up to Old Speck and back down to the Success Pond Rd from there.
Though I have never done it. You can hike a loop off the other side of the Mtn as well. Wright Trail, N on AT, then out old, non marked fire road on far side of the Notch back to the dirt rd the Wright trail leaves from. I've never done this, but met some kids that were doing this loop in a day.
The Wright Trail is a nice little, obscure trail. Doesn't get a ton of traffic. Gradual uphill following a nice stream with AWESOME swimming holes near the trailhead. There is a great flume like gorge a mile or 2 in and nice tentsite at the cut off. From there. the South fork is the nicer hike IMO. It's steep and difficult but you get great views above treeline and a cool view into the cirque. The North Fork is your more standard switchback affair. Actually never gone up the S ForK, only down it. I'm guessing it as almost as difficult.
I appreciate the trail report if you do hike some of our section. Our biggest concern is people skirting some of cliff like section and hiking off trail. Can't tell you how many logs I've thrown in these rogue trails trying to dissuade lazy folks.
Enjoy your hike.
I actually have never hiked up the N fork - only down it.