Mahoosuc Notch

Here is a trip report from 2 years ago with a link to lots of pics. I'm glad we didn't have to climb Mahoosuc Arm after going through the notch.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthre...dventure-6-15-13&highlight=Mahoosuc+Adventure

Hardest mile on the AT? IMHO, it's the last mile to your destination after a long, hot day when you are low on water.

"The Notch hits the crotch, but the Arm does the harm" - shelter journal entry from Speck Pond shelter

IQuest said:

Here is a trip report from 2 years ago with a link to lots of pics. I'm glad we didn't have to climb Mahoosuc Arm after going through the notch.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthre...dventure-6-15-13&highlight=Mahoosuc+Adventure

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Thanks for those pics. I would freak out in some of those crawls if there was no way to go around. Looks like I'll be skipping the notch.

That's why I take folks through Ice Gulch or Kings Ravine before I take them to the Notch, everyone has different levels of comfort and the Notch is a bad spot to discover that it has exceeded their level.

peakbagger said:

That's why I take folks through Ice Gulch or Kings Ravine before I take them to the Notch, everyone has different levels of comfort and the Notch is a bad spot to discover that it has exceeded their level.

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Is there absolutely no way around these crawls? I was able to bypass the two that freaked me out in King Ravine by going up and over them (but that had its own peril). I can't imagine being 1900 or so miles into the AT and then hitting that stretch with a huge backpack. That must be a major slap in the face, especially in bad weather.

Hikers frequently queue up at choke points and hand their packs through the tight spots. Its pretty easy to take off the pack and push it forward through the gap. In no spot is the gap necessarily that tight, its just visually tight. There are some spots that folks have found a way around but its hard on the terrain and potentially dangerous to the hiker. The rocks in the notch tend to be mossy where folks dont normally walk and in order to find a way around you will be tearing up the moss and dealing with wet rock underneath. In some cases you may have to slide/ scramble down a 20 to 30 foot drop. The reality is that the skill required to go through the marked trail is far less than the gymnastics required to avoid it.

Another place to workup confidence is stop by Lost River Gorge http://www.findlostriver.com/index.php

peakbagger said:

Another place to workup confidence is stop by Lost River Gorge sometimes http://www.findlostriver.com/index.php

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There's a tiny crawl (Wolf Den?) if you pay up for the Flume and take the long way back (via the Pool).

(Yipes the Flume's gotten expensive. I presume my state park plates don't get me in, either.)

I haven't climbed Ice Gulch yet this year, but I think with all the snow we got last season that you probably want at least trail crampons for traction at this point; it's probably still a few months before it'll be mostly ice free.

I thru-hiked the entire Mahoosuc trail a few seasons ago, from Grafton Notch to Gorham. It was great, beautiful, and fairly strenuous. Well worth the effort if you can find the time and good weather.

What is "Notch 2"?

Notch 2 is reportedly a similar formation located north of Mahoosuc notch that the AT runs through. It is dead end and requires bushwhacking. There wont be any blazes to assist in route finding and hopefully would resemble what an early explorer may have encountered when the first notch was encountered. This entire area was extensively logged at one point so its not virgin forest but I expect there was little of commercial value in the area of Notch 2 and therefore it didn't get a lot of traffic. I haven't been there but one of these days hope to. Notch 2 is shown of the Old Speck USGS topo. Note that the contour lines are touching each other in this area or are omitted as they are too dense so the terrain is going be cliffs.

There is another reported more accessible notch in Shelburne called Lary Flume, http://www.panoramio.com/photo/42760709