Hello all,
I'm in the planning stages for a week-long late summer/early fall hike along the AT from Pinkham Notch to Franconia Notch (or vice versa) with the girlfriend and possibly another couple.
I hiked the southern 900 miles of the AT (from Springer to Shenandoah) in 2013 and I remember people saying that the Whites were brutal and miles per day drop way down.
With that in mind I've put together what I believe to be a decent itinerary that I'd like some feedback on from any of you fine folks that have better knowledge of the Whites. The huts are a little on the pricey side so I'm planning on tent camping the whole way.
Here's my initial plan:
AT Southbound Hike
Parking @ Pinkham Notch Visitor Center
Day 1 (Sun) - Pinkham Notch -to- RMC Perch Shelter (9.3 miles)
Day 2 (Mon) - RMC Perch Shelter -to- Nauman Campsite (10.3 miles)
Day 3 (Tue) - Nauman Campsite -to- Ethan Pond Campsite (9.3 miles)
Day 4 (Wed) - Ethan Pond Campsite -to- Goyot Shelter (9.0 miles)
Day 5 (Thu) - Goyot Shelter -to- Garfield Ridge Shelter (5.5 miles)
Day 6 (Fri) - Garfield Ridge Shelter -to- Liberty Spring Campsite (7.6 miles)
Day 7 (Sat) - Liberty Spring Campsite -to- Franconia Notch (2.7 miles)
AMC Shuttle - Pick-up @ 11:50AM @ Liberty Spring at Whitehouse Trailhead -to- Highland Center @ 1:25PM, switch shuttles, Highland Center -to- Pinkham Notch Visitor Center @ 3:00PM
The only thing I'm a little leery about with the itinerary above is that we're grabbing the AMC shuttle at the end of the hike and if we miss it (bad weather, etc) we'll be SOL. The other thought I had was to take the AMC shuttle the first day to Franconia Notch and hike north to our parked car...
AT Northbound Hike
Park @ Pinkham Notch Visitor Center
AMC Shuttle - Leave @ 7:30AM @ Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to Highland Center @ 9AM, switch shuttles, Highland Center to Liberty Spring at Whitehouse Trailhead @ 10:25AM
Day 1 - Franconia Notch to Liberty Spring Campsite (2.7 miles)
Day 2 - Liberty Spring Campsite to Garfield Ridge Shelter (7.6 miles)
Day 3 - Garfield Ridge Shelter to Goyot Shelter (5.5 miles)
Day 4 - Goyot Shelter to Ethan Pond Campsite (9.0 miles)
Day 5 - Ethan Pond Campsite to Nauman Campsite (9.3 miles)
Day 6 - Nauman Campsite to RMC Perch Shelter (10.3 miles)
Day 7 - RMC Perch Shelter to Pinkham Notch (9.3 miles)
Any feedback/suggestions?