Hardest Ascent
Just curious, what would you all consider the hardest ascent on the trail and why?
Katahdin has to be close, about 4,000 ft in 5.2 miles.
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.
Last edited by johnnybgood; 10-13-2012 at 09:55.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
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.Originally Posted by wnderer
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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.
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.
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.
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).
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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.
Everything is in Walking Distance
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
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.
You are correct. The day I hiked it was hot as Hades and I'm sure that made it seem worse.
Getting lost is a way to find yourself.
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.
The more miles, the merrier!
NH4K: 21/48; N.E.4K: 25/67; NEHH: 28/100; Northeast 4K: 27/115; AT: 124/2191
Hardest Ascent
They are all hard, but there is not a day that I do not dream of doing them all again.
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.
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.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Mt Madison and coming out of Carter Notch were pretty tough for me. Katahdin, Moosilauke, and The Priest weren't that bad.
Pain is a by-product of a good time.
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.
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