Steepest mile

[Freighttrain]

***The single hardest one-day climb, oddly enough, is your very last day, but the funny thing is that on Katahdin, nobody seems to care.***


Its day one for us SOBO's!... DAY 1.!! took me the entire day to go up n back down..... i had to take a zero at Abol bridge because it put such a hurtin on me

[Kerosene]

what, were you like 16 or 17 at the time???

Yep, I was just shy of 16 that hike, as were my three hiking partners. This was our second section hike. Three of us had done DWG to Unionville a year prior when we were 15. To this day I'm amazed that my parents let me go out in the woods for a week when I was that young, but I think they trusted my scouting experience (which only helped a little with long distance backpacking it turns out!).

[spike]

You can choose your poison. Going north is Three Ridges, and going south is The Priest.

I've section-hiked over both of these, and I didn't think they were that bad. As someone noted, the trails have plenty of switchbacks, so a "slow-and-steady" approach will get you over with no problems. A worse climb to me was the climb from Brown Mountain Creek shelter north to the top of Bald Mountain. Never thought it would end.

Another hard piece of trail is the infamous Mau-Har Trail "shortcut" going north from the Tye. The trail climbs along a steep creek, and it just about killed me the first time I did it. Of course it was a very hot day, and on the last day of my first section-hike.

(For you purists out there, I have since gone back and done the section without the shortcut!)

[neo]

I would vote for somewhere on Katahdin, Mahoosuc Arm, or the north side of Moosilauke. All of 'em are pretty darn steep.

IMO, there is nothing like any of those climbs south of NH.

i did the north side of moosilauke a few weeks ago,it took me over 2 hours to do the first 1.6 mile up to beaver brook shelter,it got easier after that neo

[neo]

You can choose your poison. Going north is Three Ridges, and going south is The Priest.

I've section-hiked over both of these, and I didn't think they were that bad. As someone noted, the trails have plenty of switchbacks, so a "slow-and-steady" approach will get you over with no problems. A worse climb to me was the climb from Brown Mountain Creek shelter north to the top of Bald Mountain. Never thought it would end.

Another hard piece of trail is the infamous Mau-Har Trail "shortcut" going north from the Tye. The trail climbs along a steep creek, and it just about killed me the first time I did it. Of course it was a very hot day, and on the last day of my first section-hike.

(For you purists out there, I have since gone back and done the section without the shortcut!)

i did 3 ridges in the rain in october 2002 neo

[MoBeach42]

I'd add South Kinsman, too

I think this was one of my favorite climbs on the whole trail. Hand over hand exhiliaration!

I have to quote a trailbuddy of mine this year.

Chino's Rule #2 for the AT:
"Never trust another hiker's opinion or interpretation of distance ("It can't be more than 20 minutes from here"), difficulty ("you can easily do two 25 mile days out of Kincora.") or map reading in general ("looks like all down hill today.")."

Rule #1, of course, is: "Don't Get Killed."

Thanks, "Chino"!

[Kerosene]

I was SOBO down Three Ridges on a rainy, windy day in October a few years ago and was glad I wasn't going up on a humid hot July day. I thought that the ascent of The Priest would be much easier, probably because the trail surface was smoother with easier switchbacks.

[Cookerhiker]

I agree with most of the ascents cited but no one mentioned Pleasant Pond Mountain in Maine - over 1,100 feet in less than a mile. I remember this well because I strained my rib cage from stretching to boost myself up one of the hand-over-hand climbs. Like most of Maine, the views on top were worth it!

[Bankrobber]

I feared for my life dropping down the Beaver Brook trail on the north/east face of Moosilauke. The entire Mahoosuc section seemed impossibly steep. In the south, the climb down the Priest and up the Three Ridges is a butt kicker. I also seem to remember a particular section near Trey Mtn in Georgia called Kelly Knob that seemed quite tough.

[RockyTrail]

I also seem to remember a particular section near Trey Mtn in Georgia called Kelly Knob that seemed quite tough.

Yep, Kelly Knob north of Tray Mtn can be a doozy. It has some straight-up, no switchback sections that seem to go on for quite a while. It hits folks especially hard when they started from Blue Mtn or Unicoi Gap headed NOBO to Deep Gap, been hiking all day, they're almost there, and then right before Deep Gap BLAMO there's this huge hill to climb. But it's got a nice view and it makes arrival at Deep that much sweeter.

Another one in Georgia that surprises many is Sassafras; it's not all that bad, but for fresh starts from Springer it seems huge when they hit it on the second day.

[Kerosene]

Is Kelly Knob the climb out of Addis Gap? I was making good time from Blue Mountain Shelter in early April last year on my way to Hiawassee for the night. I really wanted to stop at the annual hiker feed in Addis Gap when I found out that it was going on, but it was near the end of the feed and my schedule didn't really allow spending several hours off-trail (a drawback to section hiking). It started to rain on the ascent and I bonked big-time, forcing me to stand there and re-fuel. That was the only climb in Georgia that I wasn't able to do without stopping to rest.

The funny thing is, Hikerhead, my hiking partner who was somewhere behind me, didn't arrive at Dicks Creek Gap until 4 hours after I did!

[generoll]

Kelly Nob is before Addis gap if you are northbound. and yeah, it certainly got my attention this past weekend.

[Smile]

Kelly Knob is next biggie after Tray Mtn. And a long hike uphill it is.....and downhill for that matter, very long down hill to Deep Gap Shelter.

[swift]

Probably a protective mechanism but I can't recall or compare in terms of single miles and a lot of the pieces mentioned here are in those days. Maybe I should start a Hardest Day Thread. Using that criteria 3 come to mind: Kinsman to Franconia Notch....the 17 or so miles with Mahoosuc Notch dead center....Pinkham Notch through Wildats. Katadhin seems like a nero day as a thruhiker, a half-day romp up and down. For sure I will never whine or complain about the terrain or steepnes of anything in the south again

[Kerosene]

Kelly [K]Nob is before Addis gap if you are northbound.

Maybe that's why I bonked after Addis Gap...I might have maxed out on the Kelly Knob climb.

[RockyTrail]

Is Kelly Knob the climb out of Addis Gap?

Yes, it's one mile north of Addis Gap. In fact the climb starts at Addis and goes mostly straight up about 960 feet in one mile according to this topo map:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=17...83&layer=DRG25

I realize there are far worse climbs, but notice the trail goes pretty much directly across the contour lines at right angles; that means straight up, baby!

[Hikerhead]

The funny thing is, Hikerhead, my hiking partner who was somewhere behind me, didn't arrive at Dicks Creek Gap until 4 hours after I did!

I wasn't in no hurry, I had all damn day to get there.

[Moxie00]

I started at Springer and I thought Albert was the only thing that resembled the moutains I was used to growing up in Maine. The rest were just very tall hills. Dragons tooth did have a little challange to it, I didn't mind Moosalauke because I was going downhill snf the Dartmouth Hiking Club had installed wonderful wood steps. After the notch Mahoosac Arm is a real Bitch. I feel it is to me the steepest climb on a scale geared to difficulty. Jack is 100% correct on weather. Avery in the rain or icy conditions or Saddleback can bust your chops in bad weather. Katahdin is the hardest and steepest but by the time you get there you are flying and most thru hikers wouldn't notice,(or slow down) if it was straight up and covered with ice.

[pdhoffman]

I agree with the "fearing for my life" sentiment. I came down the north side of Moosilauke in the rain and there was a significant pucker factor present. One slip and you are going to take a long slide down the smooth rock faces. A very tense time.

Pete Hoffman
Old Corpus:

[RITBlake]

As a southbounder.... i remember the climb up to 'dragons tooth' being incredibley steep. The 'priest' was rough, as well as '3 peaks'. But....I think the Abol trail up Katahdin was about as steep as it ever got, but thats not really on the AT. So I guess my answer is dragons tooth.