IDEA: Hike/Gathering in each northeast state

[Blue]

I don't think I would have ever hiked in the Catskills or ADKs had it not been for the VFTT gatherings. I was born and raised in CT, but have never really hiked there, so that would be great fun. I would also go back to the ADKs because there is so much to hike and to Maine/Eustis. FWIW, I think a place with group camping near hotel options works best.

Oh, but I live in Sweden for now.. so hopefully you can plan these in advance

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I can accept, up front, that no plan will please a majority. The best we could hope for is a series of events spread out over the next 12 months or so in order to have something for everyone.

Let's talk a bit more about timing and hiking distance, as the former affects the urgency of planning, so-to-speak. I posted this when I did with the idea of having at least one, if not two, events during calendar winter for the peakbaggers amongst us. If you have a proclivity for or against winter, let's hear it. If you think that holiday weekends work better (or not), that's valuable too. Non-members, feel free to contact me via the "Contact Us" link below.

So far, I believe we have volunteers for:

* NH: Tim / Raven / Scarpy / ... (Several)
* MA: JayH / Peakbagr (Greylock)
* CT: Driver8 (Several)
* NY/Cats: Tom Rankin / Peakbagr (Slide)
* VT: TeeJay (OK, he was volunteered by Stan) / (Several...)

Any volunteers for ME and NY/ADK? Not to leave RI out either... if someone wants to plan something there.

Since I brought it up, I don't mind "going first" - There are many places to camp and many motels in NH, with the caveat that the latter fill up with skiers. Lincoln/Franconia and Gorham both have a cluster of options. Lincoln/Franconia is closer for NY/VT folks (while Gorham is closer for Mainers). I would suggest that every event have at least 2, if not 3, planners / hosts, as we all have some other things in our lives which may distract us (some of us more than others.)

On a related note, I know there are many of us that are cyclists as well. I'm inclined to do a road cycling event (yes, I know that is not technically a backcountry pursuit...) this summer in the Whites. The gotcha here is that a "big event" (50-100 miles, several passes/notches) is not something one can tackle without preparation. I'd be willing to have 2-3 "training" events leading up to this from my house, out through the Monadnock area. Heck, I'd be interested in an 80-mile round-trip ride from my house with a hike up Monadnock in the middle

Tim

 

[Stash]

I might join you for a bike/hike event in 2013.

 

[Tom Rankin]

So far, I believe we have volunteers for:

* NY/Cats: Tom Rankin / Peakbagr (Slide)

We already have a pretty busy Winter planned, so maybe a spring hike would work. Alan, maybe we can talk offline, and get a weekend penciled in where one of us does Hunter one day and Slide the other. With any luck, we could also advertise this as a Catskill 3500 Club hike set. (Both peaks have options for longer, multi-peak trips). We could go anywhere to socialize, but Cave Mountain Brewpub is pretty close to Hunter and Keegan Ales in Kingston might be a good choice if people are heading back to I-87 for driving. Woodland Valley Campground is centrally located if people want to camp. And in that case, we could go to Brio's in Phoenicia for food and drink.

Does anyone remember the name of the campground that hosted the Catskill VFTT Gathering? It was near Woodland Valley.

 

[Jay H]

Tom, That was "hide-a-way campground" and was fairly close to Woodland valley as far as the 6 mile road goes.


Greylock would make a for a fun bike ride too as well as a hike! It's really not a tough climb from the south either... (A 35 mile loop could be done via Greylock and Rt 7 or a longer and tougher loop could be done via Greylock and the Ash. railtrail.)

Jay

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Yes, Jay, I would enjoy cycling up Greylock as well

Tim

 

[Driver8]

I'll be happy to put a CT hike together. The Talcott hike has one issue - the Heublein Tower is open only Memorial Day to first weekend in November. The hike is worthwhile without a trip up the tower to access its singular 360* views, but that is a highlight. Sleeping Giant, being close to the coast, stays relatively warmer and will afford less wintry hiking than most other spots in New England most days in winter - would be a welcome respite for many more northward hikers in winter. The Bear/Race hike features some White Mountain-ish terrain and can be pretty fierce in winter, as it is further inland and most of the terrain covered is above 1500'.

If we want to do a winter hike, I'd say Sleeping Giant or Talcott/Penwood would each be fine. I can lead a Talcott hike which takes in most of the best views and most interesting terrain, even with the Tower's seasonal closure - Everett is visible from the tower's base and other spots nearby, Mt. Tom and the Holyoke Range from a particular northern overlook, and most other angles are taken in from one spot or another near the New England Trail in the two state parks. Sleeping Giant's various trails will allow for audibles to be called if conditions are relatively mean.

Bear and Race would be good for late winter, depending on how fierce the winter is - a hike up the falls and through Sages Ravine amid winter thaw is a treat. I'll let you lead off, Tim, and then get to work on a CT hike to follow yours in NH.

 

[KPMMBM]

I'm in to join in and help where I can. Maine hike of Old Speck with camping at a campground somewhere nearby? Thought of Baxter but a lot of logistics there. If I hike all the gatherings, do I get a patch?

 

[Scarpy]

Summer, winter, spring and fall. I hike throughout. So far just in NH but I'm itching to get to Katahdin sometime soon. The cycling looks interesting. On my own I do 25-30 miles as time allows after work. It would be a good change to push that up with a group.
I haven't organized a hike with a group (unless my dog and son count as a group),so it might not hurt if I joined one to begin with.

 

[Stan]

Baxter Park South Branch Pond proposal

I am planning to attend Baxter Park’s “opening day” for reservations and reserve half the bunkhouse at South Branch Pond (capacity 8). Am willing to reserve the entire bunkhouse if there is sufficient interest in two or three nights in late June, early July. Bunkhouse would be first come first served but there are plenty of tent sites available under the rolling reservation system.

The bunkhouse could be used as base camp for shared meals and preparation. We must be cognizant, and observant, of Park rules etc. regarding noise.

The main attraction here is the Traveler Loop but there are a few other nearby hikes. There are also canoes available for paddling the pond as well as strategically located elsewhere nearby.

If we were to Gather there I would try to arrange a campfire presentation with Park staff.

 

[Scarpy]

I'd be interested in that Stan.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

On the subject of Baxter, I am tentatively planning to get a cabin beginning Tuesday after Labor Day.

Tim

 

[MichaelJ]

Stan, very tempting, and thank you tons for the offer, but isn't late June in that area the big black fly convention?

 

[Stan]

Stan, very tempting, and thank you tons for the offer, but isn't late June in that area the big black fly convention?

Michael, I decided long ago that I would not be deterred by those little biting bastards, especially at a time of year that nature is at its most glorious development in the sustenance of life, e.g. pretty flowers and cute mammalian offspring.

I've been to Baxter several times between mid June and mid July and, yeah, I've come away with a few welts and some annoyance but more often than not, have successfully managed the issue by a combination of 1) luck that they weren't really too bad as in dry springs, 2) a dietary mix of every old wives' tales I know, 3) a progressively strong stash of repellents ranging from fragrant herbal elixirs through 90% deet ... not to mention the ultimate which I've never used, gasoline for self conflagration ... though I've found internal consumption of tequila far better, and 3) a lightweight layering system which includes rarely used headnets (mostly bushwhacks) and white silk gloves reminiscent of the other Michael J.

One thing about that time of year ... those who endure it are either hard core and great companionship or totally innocent and need our help!

 

[mtruman]

Missed this thread before now. Glad I found it! I think this is a great idea and we'd love to participate in these. As for RI. There are some good options for hiking, even better options for biking and GREAT options for paddling. We've got several VFTTers in RI and I'm sure that between us we could figure something out. Looking forward to seeing all these plans come together!

 

[ChacoTaco]

Id like to meet some of you all

 

[Jay H]

Missed this thread before now. Glad I found it! I think this is a great idea and we'd love to participate in these. As for RI. There are some good options for hiking, even better options for biking and GREAT options for paddling. We've got several VFTTers in RI and I'm sure that between us we could figure something out. Looking forward to seeing all these plans come together!

As some of you know, Darren, the original owner was quite a paddler as well so we had a splinter paddling group with informal paddle meets in Maine, RI, and at Darren's place for a bit. I got my first kayak not too long before the paddles. In RI, we camped at a defunct private camground in Exeter and did a paddle on the Woods River (because the bay was kind of rough for newbies the first full day) and then paddled from Port Judith over to Dutch Island in the Narr. Bay which was a lot of fun...

We've had paddle parties from Old Quarry campground in Stonington, ME as well. And old time VFTT Warren and I did some other MITA paddling around ME before as well.

Jay

 

[mtruman]

As some of you know, Darren, the original owner was quite a paddler as well so we had a splinter paddling group with informal paddle meets in Maine, RI, and at Darren's place for a bit. I got my first kayak not too long before the paddles. In RI, we camped at a defunct private camground in Exeter and did a paddle on the Woods River (because the bay was kind of rough for newbies the first full day) and then paddled from Port Judith over to Dutch Island in the Narr. Bay which was a lot of fun...

We've had paddle parties from Old Quarry campground in Stonington, ME as well. And old time VFTT Warren and I did some other MITA paddling around ME before as well.

Jay

We actually did a couple of river paddles in RI with VFTT folks this year (not as "official events") - Wood River in the Spring and Pawcatuck in the Fall. Both were really nice and perfect as 1/2 day paddles. Only issue for folks coming for the day from a distance is working out the car spots. Doable though.

There are lots of great coastal and salt pond paddles in RI too (those are our favorites). I'm sure we can find something that would work for folks.

We'd also be interested in paddling trips in other states. We've actually spent a couple of weeks vacationing on Deer Isle in the past and it's one of the most spectacular paddling locations anywhere. Multi-day trips definitely required for ones like this.

 

[Driver8]

Missed this thread before now. Glad I found it! I think this is a great idea and we'd love to participate in these. As for RI. There are some good options for hiking, even better options for biking and GREAT options for paddling. We've got several VFTTers in RI and I'm sure that between us we could figure something out. Looking forward to seeing all these plans come together!

Hi Mark: Not having a boat, my thought for RI was to wonder what cool coastal hikes there might be with nice bluffs and rocks exposed to ocean spray, maybe some neat salt marshes. Would be an interesting contrast to the higher land hikes which will likely prevail in the other northeastern states. Anything in that realm that would hold your interest?