What's a good first hike in New Hampshire?

[FlyPaper]

I hike with a group that has done more than half the trail, but all between NJ and GA.

I understand that we can expect to complete fewer miles each day in NH and southern ME. Can anyone suggest a good place to do a week in or around NH that would include 5 people in late June?

If we go slow, that's not a problem, but at a minimum, we have to find a place to camp each night and find enough water each day. And I presume that would mean that each day would have some minimum distance we'd have to travel to reach an acceptable next campsite. We're flexible in terms of hammocks/tents.

We'd like to avoid booking the expensive hostels if possible.

Any tips or suggestions are welcome. And information on obstacles or challenges we'd face in NH that we would not have seen in 1000+ miles below NY, that would be helpful too.

One other things, we have a trip coming up late June. But we may wind up not going to NH then. Can anyone suggest the range of months that are good for hiking in NH.

[peakbagger]

My suggestion is start around the Vermont line in Hanover (off I91) and head northeast through western NH. Possibly end up on Moosilaukee for the last day and then descend down to the Notch and catch the shuttle to the Notch Hostel in Woodstock NH for the last night. This starts out as an easy hike and then gradually ramps up with the last day giving you hint of what is to come. There is hostel in Glencliff the night before you climb Moosilaukee. Once you go past the Kinsman Notch (RT 112), you are starting to get into the AMCs "Hut" system and in general it gets a lot tougher to find a camping spot. If you need to stretch a day you can extend the hike to Franconia Parkway (RT3). In later June water should be readily available.

Once you go east of the Franconai Parkway the trail is on the ridgeline and you pretty well have to camp at the AMC huts or a few AMC managed shelters/tentsites as the woods are dense spruce/fir unsuitable for tents and marginal for Hammocks.

Shuttles from Hanover to Woodstock are not cheap as there is no straight line and its mostly backcountry roads. Make sure you factor in time to do car shuttle as it will eat up half a day.

[Gambit McCrae]

If you are intent on completing every mile of the trail then I would suggest doing a section that logistically makes sense for down the road. Anything south of Moosilaukee is going to be pretty standard AT. From Moosilaukee up through southern ME to around Caratunk is the stretch people discuss as substantially more difficult.
I would say that the issues you will face in NH and ME are the extended rides to and from town, higher prices, more difficult terrain and logistics of just not being able to stop to camp whereever you please. More day to day and 2-3 day planning would be recomended

[rickb]

If I were you, I might start off by asking myself: “What would happen if we ended our nobo section hike on top of Mount Washington”?

[Slo-go'en]

A group of 5 is stating to become a crowd and that imposes problems of it's own. I always found 4 is a more manageable number to deal with.

The Hanover to Kinsman notch suggested by Peakbagger is probably the best option. You go over a couple of mountains with good views and is an interesting section of trail. Getting into the Whites proper gets to be a logistical nightmare, especially for groups. A solo hiker can sometimes take advantage of one of the somewhat ill-legit campsites that a group can't. Fall is always the best, but it can get really busy around here that time of year and over crowding is a problem. Actually, over crowding is a problem year round these days.

[peakbagger]

The other alternative if you are bringing up two cars is do some slacking. In the WMNF there are Forest Service drive in campgrounds sprinkled around the whites and most sites have room for multiple tents. There are also some free primitive sites hidden away. Worse case there is the 1/4 mile rule. (with very few exceptions in the WMNF you can hike 1/4 of mile from any road and camp overnight). Note south of the WMNF, drive up public camping options are decidedly sparse.

Its a heck of lot easier if you are out of condition to spend a week slackpacking sections of the trail. It takes some planning but you can do longer miles every day. The AMC has pay showers at Pinkham and I think Highland center. You also have some flexibility to mix things up in case of marginal weather. Unlike your experiences to date, there are areas in the whites where you could get into serious trouble if you try to hike the in bad weather. You can also mix it up and do a mix of overnights and slacks.

BTW in late June at this latitude you have very long days. Its light around 4:30 AM until 8:30 PM with twilight almost until 9 PM. A lot of folks who visit plan for 6 or 7 hours of hiking and end up sitting around camp instead of hiking. Its means you need to pace yourself but 12 hours plus of hiking a day is possible.

[Gambit McCrae]

I slacked 50 miles of the whites and 50 miles of southern ME. It was a real good choice due to the lack of camping logistics, restrictions etc I would not want to logistically find camp for 5 tents.

[peakbagger]

I missed the final line. Its usually summer camping season from mid May to the end of September. Black fly season usually runs from Mothers day to Fathers Day in NH. That overlap means yes you can camp but you may regret it as black flies dont suck, they bite pieces of meat out of you.

Of late the back-country campsites are filled up on weekends from early April until late October, the terrain is sloped and rocky at several of them and the only place to put a tent is a tent platform. AMC typically has a caretaker to manage the sites and there is a per person fee per night. They end up stacking campers in every spot and frequently have to send folks to overflow sites some distance away on weekends. In the last few years there is also a persistent bear problem and the caretakers end up having to try to manage that issue using a central bear box. If your tent needs to be staked down, bring some extra rope as you will need to rig it up on top of a large wooden platform and the caretaker will stuff multiple tents to cover every square inch.

Note one option is along much of the AT in the whites, one mile of side trail and a 1000 feet of elevation gets you down into the hardwoods where you can set up tents. There are exceptions and you may be dry camping but it beats trying to find a spot in the dense spruce/fir bands that the AT runs through in the whites.

[rickb]

Not trying to challenge the voices of experience who note that 5 tents present an added challenge, but I would like to ask a serious question.

How do thru hikers — who often travel in pods of that number — ever manage? Especially since they will can be counted on hiking longer days.

Also, wouldn’t all agree that with a bit a research and the luxury of a flexible schedule that a group of 5 would be well able to find camping in the Kinsman section?

To follow up on that stretch, wouldn’t all agree that with a well-timed (which is to say early arrival) stay at Liberty Springs, and a bit of research, that crossing the Franconia Ridge with a group of 5 (and no hut stays), is very doable?

If one is going to travel a long way to hike in NH (especially if some may never have a chance to return) I would hate to think they are being talked out of seeing some of its best.

[Gambit McCrae]

Not trying to challenge the voices of experience who note that 5 tents present an added challenge, but I would like to ask a serious question.

How do thru hikers — who often travel in pods of that number — ever manage? Especially since they will can be counted on hiking longer days.

Also, wouldn’t all agree that with a bit a research and the luxury of a flexible schedule that a group of 5 would be well able to find camping in the Kinsman section?

To follow up on that stretch, wouldn’t all agree that with a well-timed (which is to say early arrival) stay at Liberty Springs, and a bit of research, that crossing the Franconia Ridge with a group of 5 (and no hut stays), is very doable?

If one is going to travel a long way to hike in NH (especially if some may never have a chance to return) I would hate to think they are being talked out of seeing some of its best.

I don't think anyone is trying to talk them out of seeing the best. Just that it will be logistically difficult to find space on trail in one location for that many tents. I would say that thru hikers do a lot of illegal camping in the whites, and work for stays at huts, and longer days which would put them back out at road crossings to be able to slack most of the Whites. If someone were to explain that they typically have 5 in their group but due to logistics, they would be traveling together but sticking to groups of 2-3 per camping location I would say that's a pretty good idea, but 5 is really pushing it IMO.

The Kinsman's - I dont see an issue with that stretch. And I also agree that staying at liberty springs and then going over Franconia ridge and down to zealand area is manageable too. But if you get to liberty springs and its full....whats your plan B?

Anywhere else on trail: Sure plan for best case scenario. But through the whites I planned for worst case every time and just hoped for a better circumstance.

[FlyPaper]

Wow! Lot's of good information to process. The group size of 5 is really a maximum likely scenario. I'll be working on NH for a few years, and may not even start this year.

Thanks for all who have responded. I'm going to try to process all this and may come back with more specific questions.

One quick question...

In places where tents are not viable and hammocks are dicey, any chance that a bivey sack would do the trick? Would it work to just find a kind of flat place wide enough for a person? I'm not ignoring all the advice on slack packing, etc. Just trying to understand all available options. NH a long way from home, so when I'm there I want to take advantage of whatever options there are on the section of trail I'd be on.

[Slo-go'en]

Hammocks are of limited use in NH. You need to be down in the hardwood forest to find suitable trees to hang from. The forest transitions from hardwoods into dense spruce growth at about 3,000 feet. Guess what? Much of the trail is above 3,000 feet. There is also a lot of above tree line trail where camping is prohibited. Period.

A bivy sack is actually a good option, I often use one around here as it's easier to set up on a tent platform then my tent which needs to be staked out. But being local, I can time my overnight hikes to avoid rain. Once you see the terrain we have to deal with up here, you'll understand why the clubs went to the trouble and expense of building tent platforms.

The best thing to do is simply plan on using the designated AMC campsites and spring for a couple of hut stays. Lakes and Madison for sure, Carter notch, maybe.

[rdljr]

One thing to think about is going SOBO. If you start at Andover Me. north of Grafton Notch you can be in Gorham easy in a week. Have no real problems with a 5 person group and basicly go established camp site to established campsite. Get a nice mix of rough trail and smooth sailing trail. Bugs would be the only question, I'm guessing that would be the end of black fly season in that area.

[FlyPaper]

If I were you, I might start off by asking myself: “What would happen if we ended our nobo section hike on top of Mount Washington”?

Hmm. I'd have to ask someone else. Are you suggesting that would be a good place to end, or a bad place? Seems like we'd have to use a cable car to start or end a trip there.

[peakbagger]

Actually, the Mt Washington Autoroad has an early morning hiker shuttle to the summit of Mt Washington. Its a fairly long day to slackpack north from the summit to Pinkham notch but you can cut off a bit of miles by heading out the Great Gulf Trail to the parking lot on RT 16. Slackers usually take the shuttle twice and do both directions as slacks. South from the summit is a bit more reasonable but still long slackpack in late June and there are several bail out options. If you are up for slacking in that area, there is USFS group campground called Barnes Field just down the road from Dolly Copp Campground. The Barnes Field sites are just large grassy areas with a couple of outhouses and a water source for the campground Gorham is not that far away for supplies or to get supper. From that one site you could use up five days of slacks without that much driving. But realize Mt Washington is not called the rock pile for nothing. The AT north and South of the summit is above treeline and 1/2 the day will be hopping from rock to rock. Its an acquired skill as its hard to get a good pace going and most folks not used to it might get worn out the first day.

[rickb]

Hmm. I'd have to ask someone else. Are you suggesting that would be a good place to end, or a bad place? Seems like we'd have to use a cable car to start or end a trip there.

It’s a question I would ask — precisely because I don’t have a definitive answer for how things work these days, and the “risk” of unforeseen surprises that might be especially hard to deal with as a group of five.

It used to be that the tourist vans that drive to the top offered a 1-way ticket down. Not sure if the Cog railway offered/offers anything similar.

Just a thought.

I may be in the minority in thinking it is easy to avoid the Huts, but with the exception of the stretch over Mount Washington, where Lakes of the Clouds offers many logistical advantages (which can also be worked around, but with some creativity).

If one had confidence in getting a van off the top of Mount Washington (at the time of day that made sense) one could avoid the hut stay, and end a trip on a literal “high note”.

Not a conventional choice, but simply a though.

[rickb]

Picking up on Peakbagger (whose expertise I would defer to on all matters), a shuttle up Mount Washington to begin a Southbound backpacking trip strikes me as intriguing.

[FlyPaper]

Picking up on Peakbagger (whose expertise I would defer to on all matters), a shuttle up Mount Washington to begin a Southbound backpacking trip strikes me as intriguing.

That sounds good to me too.

[chknfngrs]

Pemigawassett Wilderness. Skip the Appalachian Trail.

[peakbagger]

Okay from memory- Backpack - Mt Washington Summit via shuttle southbound to Nauman Tentsite (next to Mitzpah Hut), Camp at Nauman . Next Day Nauman to legal stealth site near brook off Zeacliff trail (near Zealand Hut). Next day is tough, its either a short day to Guyot Shelter/tentsite (on of the best sunsets in the whites a short walkaway on West Bond). Or a much longer but doable day to Garfield shelter/tentsite or Garfield Pond legal stealth site. If you stay at Guyot then the next day is long one, to Liberty Springs campsite. If you stay at Garfield its shorter day. connecting up a 5th day is tough as the next road is Kinsman Notch and the hike from Franconia notch is two days.