Grafton Notch, ME?

I'm thinking about the loop next week, and looking for local knowledge, e.g...

Is clockwise best?

How long - 2nights/3days? Or 3/4 more reasonable?

Is one side or the other way cooler?

Any particulate places better (or worse) than others to camp?

How crowded is it likely yo be mid-week?

Bear/mouse/critter/man-eating alligator/etc issues?
Hanging food OK?

Any awesome sights not to miss, or anything to avoid?

Any other experiences, anecdotes, etc. would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Speck Pond worth the detour

I did the Grafton Loop counterclockwise from the southern trail head fall 2009. Nice loop with a lot of interesting spots although there's a fair amount of woods walking. Most of the campsites are view less and not especially interesting. I was very glad I went a little out of my way and spent a night at Speck Pond. Such a great place to camp and definitely worth the detour! The section of the AT from Old Speck to Speck Pond is fantastic. I did two nights, three days: Lane campsite first night, Speck Pond second night, then out. This was three 8 hour+ hiking days for me. Lane has a nice stream with some open slabs. There is some great terrain on this loop. I wish the campsites were a little closer to the "good stuff".

Sunday River Whitecap is not to be missed, awesome summit; however; it was kind of weird with all the rock fencing, wood planking and metal rods driven into the rock. I think the trail builders went a little overboard here trying to manage what I imagine is probably not significant hiker traffic.

Did the loop clockwise last Thursday-Saturday (6/11-6/13), from the southern trailhead. Found the west side to be in excellent shape, well blazed with signs of recent trail-work in evidence. Stayed the first night at Bull Brook, and found ourselves inundated by black flies. All the tentsites on the western half feature a privy and bear box, and all the sites on the loop (with the exception of Stewart, which was rather scanty) have excellent water sources close by. Second night was at East Baldpate tentsite (which you'd think would be close to East Baldpate, but instead is 2 trail miles away). The east half of the loop was far more wild, with many brushy sections, and rather scant blazing (some sections of yellow and orange blazing, along with the blue), though I found the trail always easy to follow. There are also MANY blowdowns on the east half, especially between East Baldpate and its namesake tentsite, and in the section up and over Long Mountain. The tentsites on the east half do not have bear boxes, and I believe only East Baldpate tentsite has any sort of privy (and it was a sketchy one at that). Puzzle provided a challenge on tired legs at the end of the loop, but the views more than made up for the pain. Don't miss Lightning Ledge either, accessed by a short but obscure path on your right as you descend from its namesake knob coming from East Baldpate (or on your left coming up from Lane tentsite).

As for direction, pick your poison, either will provide a good challenge. I'd do it again as a three day, and depending on temperatures, could be talked into attempting a two day. With the campsites spaced as they are, you can pick and choose how much mileage you want to do on a given day. As far as people are concerned, with the exception of the sections that coincide with the AT, I doubt you'd see many mid-week. My friend and I saw five people total on the Grafton Loop Trail proper (three on the first day, and two on the third day), while there were a couple dozen on the trails to Old Speck and the Baldpates.

Enjoy it, it's one of the best backpacking loops in the Northeast (at least in my opinion)!

You can check out my trip report from back in 2012 that should hopefully help with your planning. Don't forget to check out our pictures as well. We took it slow...took 4 days...to make it a memorable trip...it doesn't get better than this. The Grafton loop is indeed the perfect getaway for a 4 day backpack, quite different from the AT or the Whites - highly recommended.

Just be aware that there is a Outward Bound facility that is close to the western portion of the loop. On occasion, the people from Outward Bound have been known to occupy an entire campsite on the west side of the loop; not a good surprise after an 8+ hour day. +1 on Speck Pond, SR Whitecap & Puzzle Mt.

Thanks for the input! I think I'll take good for 3days, though I suspect I'll do it in two. Still thinking about direction and starting point...clockwise doing the west side first seems to make the most sense.

I'm looking forward to it and will post when I get back...

Any more input?

I would shoot for clockwise as the hike up from the south to Speck is quite a nice bit of trailbuilding. The switchbacks up the south side of Speck are endless but incredibly well graded.

I maintain the section of the east loop from The Lane campsite to the third crossing of Wright Brook.
As an update, I know that Long Mountain was cleared last week and I am going to be spending several days next week clearing from East Baldpate down to The Lane, a section that hasn't had an adopter for a while.

(the MATC could use a few more trail adopters - hint hint, nudge nudge)


Bill - "the Lane" has a privy and I'm pleased to report it is non-sketchy