Lets make it Official. Having seen no alternatives to the White Birches in Shelburne, the Fall Gathering will be held in Shelburne NH at the White Birches Mountain Campground starting Friday evening on Sept 21st through Sunday Sept 23rd. The campground has tentatively reserved a block of group campsites in the back of the campground for the event (if no-one gets around to reserving sites and someone else wants them, then we take our chances.) They are referred to as the "Wilderness" sites and will accomodate 36 people (6 sites with 6 people). They are drive up sites. If you want to stay in these sites its $9 per head. They also have other more private sites that start out at $16 for 2 people. Please call them directly to make reservations at 603-466-2022 and make sure you mention the Views From The Top event. They have showers.
The campground is easy to find.
From the South and West, drive to Gorham NH via Rt 2 or Rt 16. At the easterly intersection of Rt 16 south and Rt 2 East, go East on Rt 2. Drive about 2 miles and look for the campground entrance on your right (its on both sides of Rt 2).
From the East, take Rt 2 west out of Bethel (or Gilead). Drive past the NH line and go past the first campground that is adjacent to the rest area. Keep driving on Rt 2 past the AT parking lot and keep an eye out for the campground entrance on your left after the Shelburne Birches.
Note that there is an AT hostel at the campground that will sleep about 10, I dont have any info on it but it may be an option for some folks. The motels of Gorham, the "Barn" and Hiker Paradise are just down the road about 10 minutes. Super Walmart and Shaws are about 15 minutes away for last minute purchases. There is a bus service to/from Boston that runs into Gorham on a daily basis.
The only official event will be the Saturday evening potluck and subsequent campfire. Unlike recent events, we dont have access to refrigerators, ovens or stoves beyond what we bring with us. Therefore brush up on your camp cookery skills. A donation of a small amount of firewood is appreciated but dont go out of your way. I can bring a tarp and rope to rig it up.
Dependent upon where I am working Friday the 21st, I will gladly join any folks who would like to hit the Northland Dairy Bar (arguably the best family restaurant in the area) in Berlin Friday evening and we can we can check out Berlin minus the pulp mill. For those in a gourmet mode and a gourmet budget, I can highly recomend Liz's Bistro in Gorham who has received regional honors.
As for hikes and events, The northern Presidentials and the Mahoosucs are right near by, with the AT just down the road. Someone could probably make up a nice loop hike of Carter Moriah and Shelburne Moriah using the Carter Moriah Trail in Gorham and the Rattle River Trail, right from the campground. Drop me a PM if you have any particular areas you want to check out.
Sherpa has mentioned a paddle on the river on Sunday. The campground rents boats for those who want to go.
I can recomend a good basic mountain biking trip using the presidential range rail trail and its extension up into Berlin, it runs down the east side of the Androscoggin and runs for miles out through Randolph. Let me know if you want directions as the recomended starting point is difficult to find. There is also an nice run up the Hogan Road that starts a mile or so from the campground.
I will host a Mahoosuc Notch day trip on Saturday, It is about the easiest way to do the notch in a day starting via the Notch Trail and ending up at the Wright Trail parking lot. The car spots and shuttles are a bit of a pain but with the exception of a short climb in the morning, its all down hill. In order to pull it off there is a minor bushwhack via an unofficial herd path in the afternoon. Optimists can hope for warm weather, as there are some great swimming spots on the upper Sunday River.
I think I covered the basics, thanks for all the input, and I look forward to seeing everyone than can make it.
The campground is easy to find.
From the South and West, drive to Gorham NH via Rt 2 or Rt 16. At the easterly intersection of Rt 16 south and Rt 2 East, go East on Rt 2. Drive about 2 miles and look for the campground entrance on your right (its on both sides of Rt 2).
From the East, take Rt 2 west out of Bethel (or Gilead). Drive past the NH line and go past the first campground that is adjacent to the rest area. Keep driving on Rt 2 past the AT parking lot and keep an eye out for the campground entrance on your left after the Shelburne Birches.
Note that there is an AT hostel at the campground that will sleep about 10, I dont have any info on it but it may be an option for some folks. The motels of Gorham, the "Barn" and Hiker Paradise are just down the road about 10 minutes. Super Walmart and Shaws are about 15 minutes away for last minute purchases. There is a bus service to/from Boston that runs into Gorham on a daily basis.
The only official event will be the Saturday evening potluck and subsequent campfire. Unlike recent events, we dont have access to refrigerators, ovens or stoves beyond what we bring with us. Therefore brush up on your camp cookery skills. A donation of a small amount of firewood is appreciated but dont go out of your way. I can bring a tarp and rope to rig it up.
Dependent upon where I am working Friday the 21st, I will gladly join any folks who would like to hit the Northland Dairy Bar (arguably the best family restaurant in the area) in Berlin Friday evening and we can we can check out Berlin minus the pulp mill. For those in a gourmet mode and a gourmet budget, I can highly recomend Liz's Bistro in Gorham who has received regional honors.
As for hikes and events, The northern Presidentials and the Mahoosucs are right near by, with the AT just down the road. Someone could probably make up a nice loop hike of Carter Moriah and Shelburne Moriah using the Carter Moriah Trail in Gorham and the Rattle River Trail, right from the campground. Drop me a PM if you have any particular areas you want to check out.
Sherpa has mentioned a paddle on the river on Sunday. The campground rents boats for those who want to go.
I can recomend a good basic mountain biking trip using the presidential range rail trail and its extension up into Berlin, it runs down the east side of the Androscoggin and runs for miles out through Randolph. Let me know if you want directions as the recomended starting point is difficult to find. There is also an nice run up the Hogan Road that starts a mile or so from the campground.
I will host a Mahoosuc Notch day trip on Saturday, It is about the easiest way to do the notch in a day starting via the Notch Trail and ending up at the Wright Trail parking lot. The car spots and shuttles are a bit of a pain but with the exception of a short climb in the morning, its all down hill. In order to pull it off there is a minor bushwhack via an unofficial herd path in the afternoon. Optimists can hope for warm weather, as there are some great swimming spots on the upper Sunday River.
I think I covered the basics, thanks for all the input, and I look forward to seeing everyone than can make it.
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