Mob scenes on the trails last weekend

Brian what you saw is in fact quite commen. People see a trailhead and decide to " Go for a walk". I think what get's folks in to deep is he difference between Mountain miles and back home miles. I took a girl hiking for her first time and told her the hike was 4 miles to the summit. She replied, jees no problem, I do 5 mile walks all the time. Well 2 miles in and up she was struggling with the steady grade, huffing up a storm. She said, " I think I'm having an off day, Im tired". To which I replied, " I dont think so, its the grade and roughness of the trail". The difference from a mountain trail and a paved flat road is not insignifgent at all. On that nore the difference in climate also plays a factor. A sunny day down south, can be quite different then a front passing over the franconia range. The forecast the ill prepared got that moring from channel 9, is all but worthless up high on some days.

I always make a weekday hike my first choice. That cuts the crowds way down.

I was hiking up the Speck Pond Trail yesterday, and had it entirely to myself. After three miles of spiderweb after spiderweb, I found myself thinking "Gee, couldn't there be a few other hikers on this trail"? I remembered this thread and had to chuckle.

Have been following this post and can agree with much that has been said here. I don't think I really mind the crowds so much as the behaviors of some members of the crowd. I have been trying to do hikes that might get me the rewards but keep clear of the crowded summits. Our last hike was up Ammo, at a fairly early time. Saw 6 going up and 5 down all the way to Monroe. Then went out to Boott Spur and only saw a few. Took Westside to Clay and the same. The hordes were going up Washington but we got super views and plenty of solitude, and used some trails that don't get as much travel. Today we did Moosilauke via the Benton Trail. Due to Irene road closure you need to add 3 miles to the total (1.5 each way). It is an easy road walk and I actually like to have a warm up and cool down from a hike (old age). The Benton Trail is well worth the extra 3 miles if you like solitude and a real nice trail. Two very nice overlooks (one to east and one to west). Conditions of the trail were very good with some minor issues of brushing down low, a bit of mud and a few trees to step over or go under. We saw 4 people when we came down and none on the way up until we hit the junction with Beaver Brook Trail. Quite a few on the top and some exhibiting the behaviors that irk me but it was easy to find a quiet spot and then head back down in relative solitude. If those of us who identify this problem all try new trails to get to summits at least we cut down a bit on the "crowds" on the trail and the wear and tear on those overused trails. As Robert Frost said "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I was out on Washington and Jefferson Sunday and was quite surprised how quiet the trails were, sure there were people out hiking but far less then expected on nice summer weekend. The number of folks on Gulfside was downright sparse.

My daughter and I hiked Pine Moutain yesterday and did not see another hiker all day. Had the ledges and lookouts to ourselves on a gorgeous day to hike.

Nobody else on Boy Mountain yesterday, but I think that's generally the case. The Bald Mtn./Artists Bluff loop near Echo Lake and Cannon, on the other hand, was hopping, with lots of families. It is a tourist attraction of long standing and will always be busy on a sunny summer weekend. Saturday, the Ethan Pond Trail, which is part of the AT, was getting plenty of traffic, but I had the Kedron Flume Trail to myself and met only one other hiker on the 5 miles of the Thoreau Falls Trail south of the Falls. At the Falls, however, which are just .1 mile from the Ethan Pond Trail and a well-known destination, there were nearly 20 of us enjoying the scenery, around lunchtime. Some trails and spots are popular but the majority are not.

Owl's Cliff and Tremont from the south is one of my all-time favorite hikes. The trail can be a little hard to discern in leaf season between OC and Tremont in the col. Outstanding views from the top! And very peaceful.

marnof said:

Owl's Cliff and Tremont from the south is one of my all-time favorite hikes. The trail can be a little hard to discern in leaf season between OC and Tremont in the col. Outstanding views from the top! And very peaceful.

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This was beautiful even in the rain in early May last year! I would highly recommend it as an alternative.

No one else on Landing Camp Trail yesterday afternoon.

...Nor on Mill Brook Trail/Rogers Ledge. (Nice recent trail work on MBT!!)

Come to think of it, I didn't see ANYONE of the trails this weekend. Of course, I didn't hike... but still an effective strategy.

trailbagger said:

I was hiking up the Speck Pond Trail yesterday, and had it entirely to myself. After three miles of spiderweb after spiderweb, I found myself thinking "Gee, couldn't there be a few other hikers on this trail"? I remembered this thread and had to chuckle.

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It's funny, I had so many cobwebs in my hair on Friday on the Stoney Brook Trail that I could have woven a kimono. I have to say, I was very happy to see four big dudes coming up from Isolation and I was dropping down off of Glen Boulder on Saturday, simply because it meant I wasn't going to get webbed any more.

Even on Sunday, the Caps Ridge Trail was jammed. Had a nice conversation with some ladies who work at L.L. Bean on the way down (I work part time at REI). There was enough trail to go around. Actually, it felt like there should have been more people, given the number of cars in the lot. It's quite possible some folks were doing a loop and thus we didn't cross.

Brian

Only saw 2 other hikers on Sugarloaf up in Nash Stream, on a day where one could see easily into ME, VT, and Quebec as well....

Some school districts are back to school and lots of colleges are already registering so those may have factored in the latest lull.

On the other hand, we saw a Tufts orientation hike on Liberty Springs on Sunday.

Tim

bikehikeskifish said:

On the other hand, we saw a Tufts orientation hike on Liberty Springs on Sunday.

Tim

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I met what must have been the same Tufts group as they were leaving the Ethan Pond campsite Saturday morning, heading west on the Ethan Pond Trail. The Ethan Pond caretaker told me that similar groups from Harvard, Yale and a couple of other New England colleges had been through in the past week.

interesting thread. i was noticing the last few weekends that the parking lots are more full than they are on holiday weekends in the past. some of the comments have the unspoken theme of 'we were here first, whats with these new people'. which is a normal reaction i guess, though highly illogical. all of us hiking are part of the crowd, and everyone new has the same right to be there.

I guess my issue isn't with the numbers as much as it is with lack of common courtesy (littering, being inconsiderate, etc.) but I guess the bigger the number of people the more likely these things become a problem. Another thing that I found interesting was the amount of clothing left behind by others along the trail. Shirts, hats, socks, towels....

Amicus said:

I met what must have been the same Tufts group as they were leaving the Ethan Pond campsite Saturday morning, heading west on the Ethan Pond Trail. The Ethan Pond caretaker told me that similar groups from Harvard, Yale and a couple of other New England colleges had been through in the past week.

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The Dartmouth groups are on the trail now, so there will be an extra 300-400 hikers on the trails for the next week or so. Not sure of the exact routes but they typically stay at shelters and campsites along the AT such as Beaver Brook, Eliza Brook, Kinsman Pond, Liberty Springs, Garfield Ridge, Hexacube, Smarts, and a few others, plus up in the College Grant and along the Connecticut River.

bikehikeskifish said:

On the other hand, we saw a Tufts orientation hike on Liberty Springs on Sunday.

Tim

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I also ran into a group from Tufts as I was heading back up from Isolation towards the Glen Boulder Trail on the Davis Path. They have an impressive outdoor orientation program. The student leaders come across as extremely well-trained.

Brian