[at-l] Hikes & hiking

[camojack at comcast.net]

Oh yeah; Mahoosuc Arm is an even faster elevation gain, just not as much of it.

Katahdin is (much) more elevation gain, but spread out over a lot more miles...

-"Camo"

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Arthur Gaudet" <rockdancer97 at comcast.net>
> HI, I think you're right about those two pieces of trail. 
> 
> Before I did the AT I had hiked/backpacked all over the Whites and it was well
> known that down the Osgood trail & up Wildcat were two trails that no one wanted
> to carry a backpack. Since I was a purist in '97 I had to suck it up & carry my
> pack over them, saying to myself "at least I'm in shape for it". The other
> legendary sections of (non-AT) trail were the 6-Husbands trail, Huntington
> Ravine trail and the aforementioned East Peak. For AMC trip leaders the general
> rule was to avoid these trails as well...
> 
> Some other AT pieces that are steep but not as long: Mahoosuc Arm, Dragon's
> Tooth, Beaver Brook trail (sobo heading up Mt. Moosilauke) and of course
> sections of the Abol trail on Katahdin. In general everywhere where rebar is
> needed for additional safety <g> --RD
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: camojack at comcast.net [mailto:camojack at comcast.net] 
> Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 8:07 AM
> To: rockdancer97 at comcast.net; 'AT-list'
> Subject: Re: [at-l] Hikes & hiking
> 
> "Today's hike was the East Peak of Mt. Osceola. It's a 4000-footer for those who
> are peakbaggers, and it's a tough mountain. Trip time was 5:00 for 5.5 miles
> roundtrip. Yep, just a little bit faster than 1 mph. That's because you hike in
> for about 1.5 miles gaining very little altitude and then you ascend 2000 ft in
> the next 1.25 miles! I believe that's steeper than any stretch on the AT (even
> the rough parts in Maine)."
> 
> Sounds about like the Wildcats out of Pinkham Notch...a mile (or so) of
> (basically) flat terrain, followed by an altitude gain of approximately 2,000'
> in the next 1.5 miles, give or take. I remember it well.
> 
> Or going South out of Pinkham Notch, after the Osgood tent site, there's a
> similar pitch; that might be about the same as the East Peak of Mt. Osceola,
> with a 2,000' gain in a mile or so. I remember doing that was rather strenuous,
> too.
> (And it kept on going for almost another 1,000' to the top of Mt. Madison)
> 
> I guess what you described might be a *little bit* more difficult.
> 
> Anyway, have a great hike! I'm jealous...
> 
> -"Camo"
> 
>  -------------- Original message ----------------------
> From: "Arthur Gaudet" <rockdancer97 at comcast.net>
> > Well, it's off to the AT once again. This time I'll start at Kincora 
> > and hike north, until about Harpers Ferry I think.
> > 
> > Today was my last "training hike", a half-hearted attempt to tell my 
> > self that I can do the 500+ miles. My three hikes in last 5 days were all in
> the Whites.
> > Today's hike was the East Peak of Mt. Osceola. It's a 4000-footer for 
> > those who are peakbaggers, and it's a tough mountain. Trip time was 
> > 5:00 for 5.5 miles roundtrip. Yep, just a little bit faster than 1 
> > mph. That's because you hike in for about 1.5 miles gaining very 
> > little altitude and then you ascend 2000 ft in the next 1.25 miles! I 
> > believe that's steeper than any stretch on the AT (even the rough 
> > parts in Maine). There are a couple of tricky chutes where the rocks 
> > have tumbled through leaving little to grab onto or step on securely. 
> > The uppermost chute was still filled with snow & ice. Yep, the Whites still
> have plenty this year, generally above 4000 ft.
> > 
> > My other two hikes were Mt. Whiteface & Mt. Crawford in Crawford Notch 
> > (in sight of the AT but not on it.)
> > 
> > So in the next couple of days I'll close up the place here and get 
> > myself down to TN. If it works out I'll be on the trail this time next 
> > week, heading to Damascus. I'll sign off the list on Saturday I think. 
> > Maybe I'll see some of you out there! --RockDancer
> > 
> > 
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