Section Hiker seeking input

[-SEEKER-]

In 2013 I planned to finish the last section of my NOBO hike. It was my fifth year and I picked the trail back up at Franconia Notch. After breaking my leg on MT. Madison, I only made it as far as Carter Notch Hut. After spending the night one of the Crew walked with me down The ' Nineteen Mile Stream Trail' ? to the road, where I hitched a ride into town. The leg is perfectly fine now, but it took the whole summer plus, to get back to being able to walk.
Here is my dilemma :I want to finish this year. I've had problems with my total G.I. system since Sept. which kept me from exercising. I was able to start training again in early March but, I'm not sure I will be in good enough shape to start north from where I left off. My time allowance puts me at starting in early July. I'm also concerned about the mud in Maine since we have had so much snow and rain this season. Going through"Vermud" drained me mentally.
When responding keep in mind that on the Trail I am a purist. I also tend toward type A personality, am a loner and quite sensitive.
Thank You.

[rafe]

Starting where you left off in early July should give you plenty of time to finish. Weather should be fine for hiking, maybe a bit hot. What's your concern, exactly? I don't believe there will be significant "mud in Maine" that time of year.

As a caution though, from Carter Notch you're only two days from Maine, and southern Maine is pretty tough -- not a whole lot easier than the Whites, but a lot less crowded. Mahoosuc Notch in particular is a good place to take it slow. It's been called "the toughest mile on the AT."

[Slo-go'en]

Gorham, NH to Andover, ME is probably the toughest 40 miles of trail on the AT. You'll have to be in pretty decent shape to do those miles in a reasonable amount of time. In terms of effort and time, 5 miles is equal to 10 or more miles anywhere else. Maybe you can do a week long trip on an easier section of the AT before leaving for Maine, even if it pushes your start date back a week or 10 days?

Hard to call trail conditions this early, but even with the amount of snow we've had this winter it should be reasonably dry by July and most of the nastly bugs gone. Kinda depends on if we have a rainy June or not. There are some boggy areas in Maine, but on average it's not as muddy as Vermont.

Except for some SOBO's, you won't see too many others in Maine. August/Spet is the busy season for Maine.

[tiptoe]

SEEKER, as a section hiker who broke her ankle in the Carter Range in 2011, I understand how you feel. Last spring was my first extended backpacking trip, but I didn't feel anywhere near ready to head back north, so I did Waynesboro to Daleville. This year, I'm feeling stronger and more confident, but I'm still not psyched for the rough terrain I'd be facing up north. You might want to schedule your trip a little later if you can, when more people will be on the trail, both for moral support and for safety. Even if you prefer solitude (I prefer that too), it's nice to know there's help around if you need it.

[rafe]

Gorham, NH to Andover, ME is probably the toughest 40 miles of trail on the AT.

Yes, and some of the most rewarding, for us view-seekers, anyway. Or for those seeking a bit more of a "wilderness" feeling.

[-SEEKER-]

Starting where you left off in early July should give you plenty of time to finish. Weather should be fine for hiking, maybe a bit hot. What's your concern, exactly? I don't believe there will be significant "mud in Maine" that time of year.

As a caution though, from Carter Notch you're only two days from Maine, and southern Maine is pretty tough -- not a whole lot easier than the Whites, but a lot less crowded. Mahoosuc Notch in particular is a good place to take it slow. It's been called "the toughest mile on the AT."

My concerns are being fit enough to start where I have to & having to mentally deal with the mud. Over the past 3 years of hiking I have met SOBO hikers with horror stories about the mud in Maine. It is also mentioned in some of the books written by AT hikers.
As a section hiker I found out last year how tough it is to start in NH. I was hoping maybe other people had the same experience and could offer input. That's all.

[rafe]

Mud in Maine, eh? I can't say it was a serious problem for me, ever. Almost all my Maine hikes were late summer or early fall.

As to the fitness required, that's another matter. There's a good deal of vertical gain and loss, that's for sure. But you can take it as slow or as fast as you want, just like any other part of the AT.

I did the Gorham to Grafton Notch section after being away from the AT for six or seven years. Walked the 30.8 miles in two half-days and two full days. Pretty much keeping to my usual 1 mph White Mountains pace. That was with a heavy frame pack, leather hiking boots and no hiking poles.

Between Grafton Notch and Maine Rte. 17, you have easy slackpacking opportunities from the hiker-friendly hostels and lodges in Andover.

There's an easy 13-mile stretch between Rte. 17 and Rangeley (Maine Rte 4.) Some serious verticals between there and Flagstaff Lake. Relatively mild hiking from Flagstaff Lake to Monson. In the HMW, you have the Chairback and Whitecap ridges to deal with, and then of course Katahdin itself. On the plus side, in Maine: where there are big verticals there are usually awesome views from the top.

[Kerosene]

Are you likely fit enough to backpack from NH-ME later this summer? Probably.

Are you fit enough to cover 10 miles a day starting out? Probably not.

So what to do? You can take another year off and get your fitness level back, or you can get out there and try to be satisfied with short, strenuous days, hiking shelter-to-shelter (or less). The advantage of the time off approach is that you will likely have more fun once you get out there, but it will still be darn hard work. The advantage of the just-do-it approach is that you'll be outdoors as you restore your fitness.

Personally, if I didn't have a lot of time pressure to finish, then I'd rather be outside slowly building my strength and endurance. Just recognize that you may have to carry more food (that is, more weight) as it will take you longer between re-supplies.

For that section, you could take 3 days to go from Pinkham Notch to US-2/Gorham; a full 5-6 days to get to ME-26/Grafton Notch. From there, you could arrange to slackpack all the way to ME-17/Oquossoc if you wanted, or at least break it down to 2-3 day re-supplies. By then you should have a good sense for what it will take to get to Katahdin.

Having gone through extensive re-habbing, my guess is that your biggest challenge will be to avoid trying to do too much to fast, and/or the frustration of not being able to do what used to be easy for you. Starting slowly will give you a much better chance of finishing strong without injury.

[-SEEKER-]

Decision made. No hiking this year. Broke my ankle!

[rafe]

Decision made. No hiking this year. Broke my ankle!

Bummer, sorry to hear that. Take care of that ankle and try again when you can.

[Kerosene]

Well, maybe your subconscious broke through to tell you to take a bit more time!

I didn't get an opportunity to do my annual section hike (annual since 1999) and I've really been missing it the past 6 months. I used to play a lot of soccer and I would always get very concerned that an on-field injury would destroy my hiking plans; to the point that I would sometimes stop playing a week or two ahead of my departure date.

Do your PT and get that cardio back so you can tackle Maine next Fall (when it's less muddy). I'm planning to finish my AT odyssey with a Rangeley to Katahdin trek in late September, so I probably won't see you.