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I'm thinking of doing a section hike from Mt.Katahdin to Mt.Washington this summer. What kind of public transportation is available at Mt.W to get off the trail to home? Grayhound says there is a bus stop but no pickup in the area. Is there a shuttle to a town where I might find a way back to Indiana?
From Pinkham Notch, hitch north to Gorham and spend the night. There's a daily bus that will get you to Boston about noon. The bus stops at both the train station (South Station) and the airport (Logan).
https://concordcoachlines.com/stop/gorham-nh/
You do not even have to hitch to Gorham. Concord Coach leaves Gorham at 7:50 AM from The Irving Gas Station and then stops at Pinkham Notch at 8:07. Pinkham Notch has lodging in Joe Dodge Lodge that ranges from bunkroom to private rooms and a breakfast buffet. The only hostel left in Gorham is the Barn which is several blocks from the official bus stop. The Concord Coach bus runs down to Logan Airport in Boston for airflights and South Station if you want to take Amtrak or various buses south. A FYI is this route does not go near the Manchester NH airport and its a hassle to get there, just book a flight out of Logan. The same bus company has a route in Lincoln if you elect to keep going to Kinsman Notch.
I'd add that flights out of Logan are typically much cheaper (often 1/2 the price or better), more frequent, and have more non-stops to destinations than out of Manchester as well. Here's the Gorham, NH to Logan airport schedule https://concordcoachlines.com/stop/gorham-nh/Quote:
Originally Posted by peakbagger
Getting home from Pinkham is a piece of cake. Getting to Katahdin will be the challenge. And as soon as you figure out the dates, better reserve a campsite in Baxter before their all gone.
There is another Hostel just outside of Gorham. Rattle River is a great hostel - one of the best I have stayed at. They do a lot of shuttling including to and from Pinkham Notch. Check out their web site. I stayed there this summer and last and made use of shuttles to provision, get to the trail and eventually the bus stop to head down to Boston for a plane home.
Rattle River Website
One other caveat is bail options in Western Maine are quite expensive. If you end up running out of time a shuttle to the bus station in Gorham is quite expensive.Once you are to Gentian Pond in the Mahoosucs there are multiple options of taking side trails to get you to the bus stop in Gorham in less than 6 hours on a daily basis. That makes it a nice option to end in the whites as you can adjust your daily mileage when the going starts to get nastier near the end of the hike
Thank you all