Highest Peaks in New England

[swatsullivan]

Thanks everyone else. That great info. Instead of compressing the trip, I’ll likely add days. Maybe make this a Saturday through Sunday the following week trip instead of only 6 days.

My aunt & uncle & cousins live in Portland, ME, so we’ve been lucky to get up there to see the beautiful ME coast and visit Freeport over the years. I also canoed for a week with my dad when I was in the Scouts on the ME CA border. That was such beautiful country!!

I will take a closer look at the plan.

Great info about the Baxter parking permits/passes.

I think Old Rag Mountain in VA is closer to Katahdin, but I realize it is nothing compared to Katahdin or any of these NE Peaks. (I still need to get out to do Dragon’s Tooth).

Biggest questions right now are where to stay and where to start the hikes/trailheads.

Thanks everyone.

[peakbagger]

Katahdin, - Rent a family cabin at New England Outdoors. It has power and plumbing plus the best restaurant in the area. Its about 25 minutes to the park gate. The penobscot outdoor center is closer to the park but has less amenities. For first timers, the Hunt trail (the AT) from Katahdin Stream Campground to the summit. If you want to make it a loop, and have car support you can take Abol trail down to the Abol Campsite. The Saddle trail via the Chimney Pond trail goes up from the Roaring Brook side. Its the "easiest" option to get up to the summit and does go past Chimney Pond. I cant really recommend the Knife Edge trail for a first timer.

Mt Washington - Not much for family cabin options like at Baxter but plenty of hotels. The high class option is the Mt Washington Hotel but expect its too fancy. There is a motel across the street and may be some air bnb options in the area. This sets you up for the Cog railroad and the Ammonusuc Ravine/Crawford Path/Jewell trail loop. If you want to do the east side of the mountain including the autoroad option, stay in Gorham, I recommend the Tourist Village motel. If you want a very classic experience the Philbrook Farm Inn in Shelburne is the oldest inn in the US operated by a single family. They do have some family outbuildings available but I dont think you can get them for just one night. The Rattle River Hostel in Shelburne NH has a great reputation and is popular with thru hikers. The hiking route is Tuckermans Ravine Trail to the summit and then down the Ravine trail to Lions Head trail and then back onto the Tuckermans ravine trail.

Mt Mansfield is tougher as I dont hike over there as often. My favorite is the route from Underhill State Park on the west side. The Laura Cowles trail to the ridgeline and then down the Sunset Ridge trail. There are options from the Smugglers notch side to the east.

[AllDownhillFromHere]

My suggestion on Katahdin is to approach from the back side, up from the Roaring Brook Campground, take the Helon Taylor trail west, go across the Knife Edge, hit the summit, then down towards Chimney Pond Campground (rent a cabin berth, not a tentsite, the bugs are horrible). You avoid the blown out AT side and the dangerous Abol trails, and Chimney Pond is just great.

I did this route in 2011: https://flic.kr/s/aHskZ5mSc8

[peakbagger]

Chimney Pond is a neat place but quite difficult to get reservations. Given the OPs stated desire for this to be a family event I dont see the family hiking up to Chimney Pond. There is only one cabin and its popular. The prior poster appears not to have hiked the relocated Abol trail, the upper route still is steep and gnarly but the trail now avoids the lower slide. As for the reference to the "blown out AT" I dont get the reference. It is the traditional route that AT hikers go up with far less exposure than the Knife Edge trail. Now that the Dudley trail is closed, there are less options to cut back to Chimney Pond.

[SpongeBob]

The lodge atop Greylock is a great place to stay. Good day hikes. Great food. Driveable. Book early.


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[Slo-go'en]

The lodge atop Greylock is a great place to stay. Good day hikes. Great food. Driveable. Book early.

I stayed at the Bascom lodge on Graylock on a weekend and had the bunk room to myself. Of course, that was in late May before the season really started to heat up. I couldn't afford to eat at the restaurant - it was like $50 for a meal, cost as much as the bunk did! I did get free muffins for breakfast (I asked how many I could have and they said as many as I wanted, so I eat like 6 of them) then one of the guests I was chatting with let me eat the rest of their breakfast.

Saw one of the best sunsets of the 6 week hike up there, but it rained like crazy the next day. Red sky at night, hiker take fright!

[swatsullivan]

Some great insights here. Thanks, everyone.

I am hoping I will have good weather, but with my luck I’ll pick the only week where it rains for 7 days straight with low overcast!

[4eyedbuzzard]

I think you're trying to put 10 gallons of $#!^, er, ah, summer fun into a five gallon pail.

Do you really want to drive 16+ hours from Richmond, make camp, and be up before dawn to climb Katahdin the next morning? If you have a reserved campsite at Baxter, you have to arrive at the gate no later than 8:30 pm. Which means leaving Richmond maybe 2 am on Sat morning - and hope that there aren't any major travel delays. Probably not. So lose a day right there. Reserve two days (but wait *) Likewise, nor will you likely enjoy driving 7+ hours to Pinkham Notch from Baxter, setting up camp and again being up at dawn to climb Mt. Washington.

Both climbs require early starts even on good weather days because of the amount of vertical and type of terrain plus the tendency for afternoon weather to pop up. And both are likely going to leave you tired and with sore legs.

Speaking of weather, it may greatly affect any planned schedule. There are three types of days on these mountains: Days that neither Katahdin nor Mt. Washington can be safely climbed (storms). Days it just isn't enjoyable (wet, windy, foggy, and/or otherwise miserable - pick a combination). Good climbing days. And they tend to be about equal in number - on average about one out of every three days offer a good climbing experience. I especially wouldn't recommend climbing Katahdin on anything other than a Class 1 day (* so reserve three days). Katahdin is the linchpin in your plan. You just can't predict when you'll be able to climb it. The logistic of climbing Mt Washington aren't as difficult as campgrounds can be found without reservations midweek, access isn't difficult, and climbing isn't as regulated.

Honestly, if you could knock off just these two climbs on a one week combined climbing and family camping trip, you'd be ahead of the curve. Forget all the rest unless you get really lucky weather wise.

[swatsullivan]

I think you're trying to put 10 gallons of $#!^, er, ah, summer fun into a five gallon pail.

Do you really want to drive 16+ hours from Richmond, make camp, and be up before dawn to climb Katahdin the next morning? If you have a reserved campsite at Baxter, you have to arrive at the gate no later than 8:30 pm. Which means leaving Richmond maybe 2 am on Sat morning - and hope that there aren't any major travel delays. Probably not. So lose a day right there. Reserve two days (but wait *) Likewise, nor will you likely enjoy driving 7+ hours to Pinkham Notch from Baxter, setting up camp and again being up at dawn to climb Mt. Washington.

Both climbs require early starts even on good weather days because of the amount of vertical and type of terrain plus the tendency for afternoon weather to pop up. And both are likely going to leave you tired and with sore legs.

Speaking of weather, it may greatly affect any planned schedule. There are three types of days on these mountains: Days that neither Katahdin nor Mt. Washington can be safely climbed (storms). Days it just isn't enjoyable (wet, windy, foggy, and/or otherwise miserable - pick a combination). Good climbing days. And they tend to be about equal in number - on average about one out of every three days offer a good climbing experience. I especially wouldn't recommend climbing Katahdin on anything other than a Class 1 day (* so reserve three days). Katahdin is the linchpin in your plan. You just can't predict when you'll be able to climb it. The logistic of climbing Mt Washington aren't as difficult as campgrounds can be found without reservations midweek, access isn't difficult, and climbing isn't as regulated.

Honestly, if you could knock off just these two climbs on a one week combined climbing and family camping trip, you'd be ahead of the curve. Forget all the rest unless you get really lucky weather wise.

Thanks for the input.

You may be correct. I am just trying to recreate something my father did with some friends many years ago (sometime in the 1990s). Having my kids (or at least the younger 2) may not make sense either. Also, the time to do this with my father is now. No telling what future years will bring.

I’ll keep mulling it over and talk to my dad about it.

[Slo-go'en]

It's a great idea, you just need a lot more time to do it. 2 weeks might do it in fairly leisurely manor.

[iAmKrzys]

I just try to avoid North Conway on a weekend Peakbagger

Some people know how to get around North Conway logjam, but it is a closely guarded secret! I suspect one day Google maps will get smart enough to figure it out, or maybe it already knows considering how many people let Google spy on them.

[peakbagger]

Some people know how to get around North Conway logjam, but it is a closely guarded secret! I suspect one day Google maps will get smart enough to figure it out, or maybe it already knows considering how many people let Google spy on them.

The top secret routes are not that secret anymore, the local tourist paper has a section that reveals the "secret" routes which arent that secret anymore.

I generally dont rain on a posters parade. If it were me I would probably head up to Maine and do BSP as a dayhike than hit Acadia the rest of the week and possibly do Washington on the way home. I routinely drive from my house in Gorham NH to Millinocket in 3.5 to 4 hours, I just did it a couple of weeks ago to get my reservations and then drove home the same day. I have also driven over after work to Millinocket, got a hotel in Millinocket, hiked up Katahdin via the Hunt trail and back down again with a newby who really didnt like heights and drove home that evening. Trying to camp in the park really doesnt make sense if you are in rush. The gate is open around 6 AM and with the DUPRs its quicker to wait in line and day hike the mountain.