mahoosuc notch

[rdljr]

a couple of "simple" questions. I normally have no problem averaging 1 mile per hour in the whites and other parts of Maine. I have heard for the notch to just go campsite to campsite because it is so much harder. Is Speck pond to Carlo col shelter going to take more than 11 hours using my normal average?

which direction would one want to travel if they would rather rock scrabble up than down?

And the always asked question what can I expect for September drinking water conditions?
Thanks

[peakbagger]

I do Mahoosuc notch as a dayhike by spotting a car and using the Notch Trail to hook up with the AT at the top of the Notch and then heading through the notch and up Mahoousuc arm then out via the Speck Pond trail in about 10 to 11 hours which is longer overall hike. I am not particularly fast but steady. The standard AT hikes from Full Goose to Mt Speck is the way to go. The notch doesn't have lot of elevation gain or loss overall, its mostly bouldering up and over house sized boulders in spots. If you really want to climb up it then you need to be going southbound Speck Pond to Full Goose. Going up the slope from the head of the notch to Full Goose is still quite a steep climb complete with iron bars in at least one spot but not as difficult as going up Mahoosuc Arm northbound. Note there is very large unofficial tentsite at the base of Mahoosuc Notch just before the start of the ascent up the Arm.


There is always water at the end of Mahoosuc Notch and Speck Pond is fed from condensed dew off the surrounding terrain plus summer thunderstorms so they have reliable water. Full Goose had been iffy in the past in really dry years.

[joefryfry]

a couple of "simple" questions. I normally have no problem averaging 1 mile per hour in the whites and other parts of Maine. I have heard for the notch to just go campsite to campsite because it is so much harder. Is Speck pond to Carlo col shelter going to take more than 11 hours using my normal average?

which direction would one want to travel if they would rather rock scrabble up than down?

And the always asked question what can I expect for September drinking water conditions?
Thanks

I did 12 miles from Full Goose to Baldpate Lean to the day I did the notch. It took all day near the summer solstice, so that was about 12 hours of hiking. I start getting out of camp at sun up. Being later in the year, you'll have less sun. That part of the trail is very slow going, especially the notch and from Gentian Pond to Full Goose. I have section hiker legs, in good shape, but not thru-hiker legs. The notch took me about an hour and a half and I wasn't trying to go slow or fast, I just wanted through it. I research journals before my trip to get an idea of timing through there and depending on where you camp, many folks just did about 10 miles the day they do the notch, but again, that time of year, you have less hours of daylight.

[hikernutcasey]

I did 12 miles from Full Goose to Baldpate Lean to the day I did the notch. It took all day near the summer solstice, so that was about 12 hours of hiking. I start getting out of camp at sun up. Being later in the year, you'll have less sun. That part of the trail is very slow going, especially the notch and from Gentian Pond to Full Goose. I have section hiker legs, in good shape, but not thru-hiker legs. The notch took me about an hour and a half and I wasn't trying to go slow or fast, I just wanted through it. I research journals before my trip to get an idea of timing through there and depending on where you camp, many folks just did about 10 miles the day they do the notch, but again, that time of year, you have less hours of daylight.

This is very accurate information. I just did this section last week going south. We did Grafton Notch to Full Goose and it was a loooong day. We climbed Old Speck, down to the pond, up Mahoosic Mtn, down the arm, through the Notch and up and over to the shelter made for an extremely difficult day being a section hiker. We took 1:45 to go through the Notch but did stop to take pics and some video.

[Slo-go'en]

I felt going SOBO thru the notch was easier then NOBO, probably because SOBO is more up hill. The flip side is you have to go down the arm which is a trip.

We used the Grafton Notch Loop trail as the approach to Old Spec, instead of going up direct from Grafton Notch. Added a day to the trip, but is an interesting way to go. We went from a campsite on the Loop trail along the ridge of Old Spec to the campsite at the north end of Mahoosuc Notch, so we had an nice early start to do the notch.

[Slo-go'en]

Spec Pond to Calo Col is a full day. Up and over Goose eye is a work out and going down the cliff with the rebarb ladders on wabbly knees is exciting. That's just one of the many obsiticals they put in your way along there. I think this is one of those deals where you'll just have to see how the day goes wether or not you stay at Full Goose or push on to Carlo. Carlo is also 0.3 miles down a steep trail with lots of loose rocks. Lots of fun at the end of a long, hard day.

Water shouldn't be a problem, it's been a wet summer this year. Good chance of finding small weeps in the little notches you'll climb through along the way, but you'll probably only have to fill up at the shelters.

Hope the weather is good. Spectacular in good weather, dangerous in bad. This is one of my most favorite fall hikes, but I get to choose my weather window to be ideal. That's why I live here - to catch the best 3 days of the fall to go hiking.