ferrisjrf
05-26-2009, 01:50 PM
I’d been on only a few miles worth of the Mahoosuc Trail before a few days ago. Now that I’ve been across the whole thing, I will make a statement that some may find egregious: A Mahoosuc traverse is the nearest thing to a Great Range traverse in the White Mountains.
Steve and I started in Gorham, NH late in the night on 5/20. Walked a couple miles up to Hayes Mountain, and camped there. From there we spent two days walking the approximate 30 miles north, across the Maine border and towards Grafton Notch State Park. The trail is rough, rocky, muddy, steep…and fun. There are lots of short spurts above tree line, but nothing sustained. The biggest difference between this hike and the Great Range would probably be the slightly lower average elevation. This is good though, as it makes it a lot easier to find water if you’re doing it as a backpack, as we were.
After sleeping at Carlo Col campsite 5/21, and Speck Pond campsite 5/22…by the morning of 5/23, we’d come within a couple hundred vertical feet of Old Speck. This is where we were going to end our “traverse” and begin the second part of the backpack: the Grafton Loop Trail (GLT). Steve and I met six other like-minded hiker types at the intersection of the two trails, and began our counter-clockwise, approximate 35 mile loop.
The GLT shares a similar elevation profile with the Mahoosuc Trail…lots and lots of ups and downs. It’s not nearly as rough walking as the Mahoosuc Trail though, and there were plenty of spots that made for some nice jogging. We camped at Sargent Brook campsite 5/23. There are no shelters on the GLT (except for the short section where it mirrors the AT), so we were now roughing it under tarps and tents. With 3 tents and a tarp crammed into a very small site, it made for a very cozy night.
Next day we walked about 5 miles before crossing RT-26 (first road Steve and I came to in nearly 50 miles!). We’d parked one car here, and resupplied with food (and had a few beers) before continuing onward. Camped at Town Corner campsite 5/24 (larger than Sargent Brook, but no privy) and played some Frisbee before retiring for the night.
Monday 5/25 was our last day on the trail. It was a quick 10 mile walk over the Baldpates and back to RT-26, completing the loop.
In closing, I’d just like to say that if you’re looking for a pretty awesome 60-70 mile backpack in the northern NH/southern ME area, I’d say that this route may be the best option available. The Mahoosuc Trail undoubtedly gets overrun with AT thru-hikers later in the season, but we had the trail almost completely to ourselves the entire time. And based on the looks of the GLT, I don’t think that gets a terribly high volume of use ever.
Pics will be added eventually, once I edit out the inappropriate content.
Jason
Steve and I started in Gorham, NH late in the night on 5/20. Walked a couple miles up to Hayes Mountain, and camped there. From there we spent two days walking the approximate 30 miles north, across the Maine border and towards Grafton Notch State Park. The trail is rough, rocky, muddy, steep…and fun. There are lots of short spurts above tree line, but nothing sustained. The biggest difference between this hike and the Great Range would probably be the slightly lower average elevation. This is good though, as it makes it a lot easier to find water if you’re doing it as a backpack, as we were.
After sleeping at Carlo Col campsite 5/21, and Speck Pond campsite 5/22…by the morning of 5/23, we’d come within a couple hundred vertical feet of Old Speck. This is where we were going to end our “traverse” and begin the second part of the backpack: the Grafton Loop Trail (GLT). Steve and I met six other like-minded hiker types at the intersection of the two trails, and began our counter-clockwise, approximate 35 mile loop.
The GLT shares a similar elevation profile with the Mahoosuc Trail…lots and lots of ups and downs. It’s not nearly as rough walking as the Mahoosuc Trail though, and there were plenty of spots that made for some nice jogging. We camped at Sargent Brook campsite 5/23. There are no shelters on the GLT (except for the short section where it mirrors the AT), so we were now roughing it under tarps and tents. With 3 tents and a tarp crammed into a very small site, it made for a very cozy night.
Next day we walked about 5 miles before crossing RT-26 (first road Steve and I came to in nearly 50 miles!). We’d parked one car here, and resupplied with food (and had a few beers) before continuing onward. Camped at Town Corner campsite 5/24 (larger than Sargent Brook, but no privy) and played some Frisbee before retiring for the night.
Monday 5/25 was our last day on the trail. It was a quick 10 mile walk over the Baldpates and back to RT-26, completing the loop.
In closing, I’d just like to say that if you’re looking for a pretty awesome 60-70 mile backpack in the northern NH/southern ME area, I’d say that this route may be the best option available. The Mahoosuc Trail undoubtedly gets overrun with AT thru-hikers later in the season, but we had the trail almost completely to ourselves the entire time. And based on the looks of the GLT, I don’t think that gets a terribly high volume of use ever.
Pics will be added eventually, once I edit out the inappropriate content.
Jason