That's the spirit!Originally Posted by VictoriaM
Plans
VictoriaM
Never forget, no plan has ever survived contact with the enemy (adapted to the AT LOL) Be safe and have a great hike.
Or make a plan, but expect to hack it as you go.
Having made the plan in the first place, you know what the choices are. If A doesn't work go to B; from there to C if necessary. Rinse and repeat.
to me work for stay is not necessarily being cheap or being able to leave when u like the next morning, it (work-for-stay) is just part of the thru-hiker experience. It is just another thing (e.g., staying in the Dungeon or sleeping on a table or in the floor) or way that u share your thru-hiking experience with your peers. ENJOY.
Hey, by the time u get to the Presidentals, u may have figured out a way to slack from US302 to US2 (oh, the logistics of this and actually u could put that $87 a nite hut fee to better use on the cog ride up & down on one of your slacking days)....
Oh the memories, slacking from NH16 to East B Hill Rd (Andover) and never used Bruce at Hikers Paradise & only paid for one ride & that was to the side trail off Success Pond Rd into the north end of the notch. Had new boots & didn't want to hike out of town with full pack & new boots (candy a*s, huh, LW?) so stayed in Gorham for 7 days (slacked on 5 of them). Might be a candy but i got that Ben & Jerry's every nite from the 24 hr Marathon station... and that is doing trail magic for yourself...
No enemy was ever defeated by engaging him without a plan. Relatively easy to change your plan in the middle of action, tougher to adapt to changes if you had no idea what to expect to begin with.
Plans keep you from buying seven days of food in Boiling Springs, or leaving Fontana with a couple of Lipton meals.
Frosty
Note that Carter Notch Hut is no longer self-service. So you are not past the huts until Imp shelter going northbound. But if you look after you cross NH 16 at pinkham Notch, you can find plenty of stealth campsites in the Wildcats & Carters.
Aaron
I agree it's a bit early to be planning, at least in much detail, your trip through the Whites. I get the enthusiasm, though. The planning is half the fun!
But don't forget that you WILL have opportunities to jump online and ask/research these same questions later on down the road.
I am glad you asked, though. I still have to do the Whites. And I am still curious, as Victoria might be, as to what people have to say about stealth camping sites in this section. I'm thinking of going minimal, cowboy camping even, in some parts (remember, I can pick and choose my weather).
So are there sections where stealth camping is just impossible, others where it works well, and others where it can be done, but only if taking a sidetrail down below tree line? If so, where, exactly?
Are stealth sites a viable option to avoiding the huts?
Stealth camping can be a b!tch in the Whites simply because flat ground is at such a premium... and flat ground on the ridge-tops (or near any AMC facility) is off-limits. Plus, the woods are often incredibly dense. Hammocks would be useful here. There are ridge-runners, and they know all the obvious spots. There are blue trails galore where the situation is much better. But invariably, the AT takes the high road and the ridgeline is well-patrolled.
Just because you want to doesn't mean that you will be able to. Those huts are pretty popular and fill up quick. I only got an actual bunk in Lonesome Lake. Work for stay is not that bad. I stayed at Camp Dodge where all they have is work for stay. They had a great cook and the dinner that they served was the best that I have eaten on the trail. And they made enough that it was essentially AYCE. Also they let me pack a lunch the next day and they made sure that I had gotten multiple candybars from their candy box. You could pay for Joe Dodge lodge and buy their dinner, but I got much better food that you couldn't buy.
There are untold thousands of good places to camp in the Whites. As has been previously posted, the only tought part as far as the A.T. is concerned is the stretch from Mizpah Hut to just after Mt. Madison, where the Trail is close, at, or above treeline. Even there, there are good alternatives reasonably close to the Trail (The Perch, Grey Knob, etc.) In short, there are plenty of perfectly legitimate places to camp, and plenty of stealth places as well. As long as one isn't stupid, like pitching right on the Trail, or at a place which is posted and signed as a prohibited spot, or obvioulsy breaking the law (camping above treeline, etc). you won't have a problem.
Getting thru the Whites is easier than you think. Most thru-hikers are in New Hampshire 12 or 13 days. There is perhaps one, at most two days out of this stretch where you have to give real consideration to where you'll spend the night. Otherwise, it's not a problem.
Plans
Wasn't suggesting not planning-merely that any initial plan is a very fragile idea extremely prone to change. I had a great time planning my hike and when I got off the plane in Atlanta said to myself "Jeez, now I gotta HIKE this mother." LOL
Victoria
Like others have said, only between Mitzpah and Osgood, just the other side of Madison, will you have a long extended and exposed section to hike. This makes Lake of the Crowds hut a good stopping point, being close to halfway through this stretch. I certainly wouldn't get uptight about this section, though, just remember to have your winter gear by Moosilaukee.
As far as camping regulations, the Forest service has some basic rules such as no camping within 200 feet of water or the trail, or a quarter mile from a hut or official campsite, and no camping where the trees are less than eight feet high. This leaves it pretty wide open, especially if you have a hammock.
Do be careful on this stretch if it's cold and wet, which it often is. Adjust your plans and get below treeline.
Greg P.
i was treated very well at the 6 huts i stopped at,i stayed at madison springs,lake of clouds,zealand falls and galehead huts,i stopped for
lunch at mizpah and lonesome lake,i spent 16 bucks in the whites
8 at liberty springs and 8 for lunch at mizpah and lonesome lake
i really enjoyed the whites last september hike.neo
I wouldn't give one thin dime to the AMC. Never have and never will.
OK.
Welcome to WB, shiningpathb4me!
Skids
Insanity: Asking about inseams over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)
No matter what you do, make sure you stop in for lunch at the huts. The food is great and the price for a bowl of soup can't be beat, 2 bucks for a bowl or as many as you want, I can't remember. Mizpah had free cold leftover pancakes that were fantastic when dunked in their soup. Madison Springs had the best been soup I think I've ever had, but then I could have been starving...no. it was some awesome stuff.
You may even gain weight thru here.
If you hammock there's plenty of places to hang. On the ridgeline above Liberty Springs before Little Haystack, in the valley between Lafayette and Galehead, from N Twin to Crawford you're mostly in the trees, from Crawford Notch to just before Mizpah there's lots of hammock spots. From just above Mizpah past Madison you'll be above treeline. In the Gulf Wilderness you'll be back in the trees. The ground thru the whites is covered mostly with large rocks but not large enough that you can't hang a hammock over them or between them.
[COLOR="Blue"]Hokey Pokey [/COLOR]
Angry much? I look at it this way... the shelters and campsites in the Whites aren't anywhere near as disgusting as the ones I dealt with in the Smokies. I don't care much for the huts, but four bucks for a tent platform is no more than a mild irritant. These days I'll go out of my way to avoid AMC facilities, but I understand some of the issues they're up against.
Huts or not?
At first thought the $87 is a lot to pay for a place to stay when you are doing a thru. You have to consider that what the Huts offer is basicly more for tourist types who don't want to carry everything they own on their back. You will have to pay more than that for a regular motel room in the area. I would not recommend paying the price and staying at a Hut while doing a thru.
Work for stay is another thing. That I would recommend doing, if nothing more just for the experience. A hiker, who had hiked thru the Whites, gave me some advise that I used and it worked well for me. He advised me to get to the Hut early, if you want to work for stay. Arrive around 2:30/3:00, ask to work for stay. If the say you can return a little later and ask the person incharge if you can do some work now, "because I like to get an early start."
They will normaly let you do something than and in the morning you can eat and get going ahead of the other thru-hikers. This will allow you to get a jump on the others to get a work for stay job. I did this at Lake of the Clouds and Madison Huts. Both places I worked little, ate well and had a bunk to sleep on. At Carter Notch Hut I asked to work for stay and the guy in charge let me and several others have a bunk and stay for free. He also had loads of food that he gave us to cook and take with us.
You must be conserned when hiking thru the Whites. Do a little planning, have the proper gear and watch the weather. I stopped at the Hikers Welcome in Glencliff and there was a lot of information on places to camp without having to pay a fee.
Grampie-N->2001
87$ for a night in the Huts isn't outrageous. I've stayed twice and had a great time both nights. Think about how much a Holiday Inn Express would cost if you stuck it on some exposed remote mountain ridge, and had them include an excellent 5 course dinner and a hearty breakfast..... I guarentee it would be more than 87$. The Hut Croos generally do a good job providing work for stay for thru hikers who are too lazy to camp below tree line and think they need some sort of discounts for taking a 6 month vacation.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.
Henry David Thoreau
Well you have your right to say what you want, but a thru-hike isn't a vacation. It's more like a job, and a hard one at that.
I think you are wrong to assume that any thru who works for stay at a hut is "too lazy to camp below treeline."
Have you ever experienced a thru-hike or are you one of the "tourist hikers" I referred to in my other post?
Grampie-N->2001
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