SIx Husbands...

[Jasonst]

Looking to (dayhike) summit Jefferson via Great Gulf / Six Husbands trail and loop around to Washington and descend via great gulf to the parking area. Will this be a punishingly long day? Anyone have any practical knowledge of these trails? I heard that six husb is quite challenging... Any advice would be helpful.

 

[Quietman]

Without calculating the trip mileage, the Six Husbands trail is quite steep, with a few scrambles and ladders, but a spectacular trail(just don't bring a dog along.)
6 Husband trail thread
The headwall of the gulf is a wonderful place but I would rather descend the Wamssuta trail. None of these trails are technical, just steep. After going down the Castle Ravine trail at dusk, I try to avoid descending ravine headwalls, especially ones with lots of loose rock. The Wamssuta is still steep, just easier on the knees. I'd rather camp at one of the spots in the ravine, and do the loop from there.
Have fun!

 

[sapblatt]

The only part of this hike I hae done is the lower part of the Great Gulf Trail - this loop is something I would like to do next year. From what I have heard and read this would be a very tough day trip. When I attemtp to do it I would plan on camping in the Great Gulf and not attempt to get out and back in the same day to route 16. The mileage and elevation for this trip is significant, and Six Husbands and the Great Gulf headwall are quite steep.

 

[David Metsky]

Well, you got the direction right. Going up Six Husbands is certainly easier than coming down. There are a few interesting ladders and small caves (think King Ravine Subway) to go through that wouldn't be too much fun to downclimb at the end of a long day. I haven't done the Great Gulf Headwall, but by most descriptions it'll be a better descent.

Be prepared to have your feet hurt a lot by the end of the day. That's a lot of rough rock to hop. You can find water at the summit of Washington and at a spring on Gulfside next to Mt Clay.

-dave-

 

[SherpaKroto]

Great Gulf Headwall is a bear. It is mostly loose, gravel like from what I remember years ago. I swore I'd never do it again after my first trip. I've stayed true to that after my second
Last loop I did up in that vicinity was like this:
Six Husbands
Sphinx
That was a long 14.5 mile day. Also a fantastic hike - Six Husbands is one of my favorite trails. If you are feeling tired, Sphinx is an excellent bailout point. Good luck - pick a good weather day!

 

[maineguy]

We once did this loop as a day hike...except we were staying at the (now extinct) Great Gulf Shelter at the junction of Six Husbands and Great Gulf Trail. It was quite punishing, and we were teenagers. Can't imagine doing it from the parking lot on RT 16, which probably adds 7 or so miles to the loop. More power to you.

 

[Bjarni]

A couple of years ago I made a loop from Pinkham to the Great Gulf Trail, up the headwall, and back to Pinkham via Lion's Head. Your proposed loop looks to have similar distance and elevation gain. It's a long day.

I second the idea about not coming down the Great Gulf headwall. It's fun to go up because the views are phenomenal and you gain elevation quickly (or slowly, like me), but I wouldn't want to go down it because of the combination of scree and steepness. Wamsutta would be a good alternative, also Nelson Crag.

But rather than head south from Jefferson and have to deal with Washington, why not loop around over or by Adams and Madison and take the Osgood Trail back to the Great Gulf Trail?

 

[Jasonst]

But rather than head south from Jefferson and have to deal with Washington, why not loop around over or by Adams and Madison and take the Osgood Trail back to the Great Gulf Trail?

Probably not a bad idea. Thanks

 

[sapblatt]

But rather than head south from Jefferson and have to deal with Washington, why not loop around over or by Adams and Madison and take the Osgood Trail back to the Great Gulf Trail?

...or the Buttress...

 

[jfb]

Looking to (dayhike) summit Jefferson via Great Gulf / Six Husbands trail and loop around to Washington and descend via great gulf to the parking area. Will this be a punishingly long day? Anyone have any practical knowledge of these trails? I heard that six husb is quite challenging... Any advice would be helpful.

I think that would be a great hike if you're looking for something challenging and have hiked similar distances with that type of elevation gain/loss. If the hike is much more than you've ever done, you should reconsider and do something less ambitious.

Getting up Six Husbands trail to the summit of Jefferson shouldn't be too bad, and if you're too tired at that point to finish you can go down the Randolph and Lowe's Path to Rt. 2 and hitch back to your car.

If you're tired once you get to the summit of Washington, you can hike down Lion's Head to Pinkham and hitch back to your car.

 

[Jasonst]

As with most hikes, it will need to be a "game day" decision. I am sure there are other factors to consider such as precip, humidity and bugs, (plus I have to drive a few friends to Logan at 3:30 am that morning) Thanks all.

 

[el-bagr]

You could do it like we did two years ago and go up Great Gulf to Six Husbands, summit Jefferson, traverse Adams and Madison and descend Osgood Ridge.

We may do that again this year, but go down Mad Gulf.

Both would be long days, but doable.

 

[David Metsky]

We may do that again this year, but go down Mad Gulf.

That's the way I did it several years ago. A long day, but definately worthwhile.

-dave-

 

[RoySwkr]

Looking to (dayhike) summit Jefferson via Great Gulf / Six Husbands trail and loop around to Washington and descend via great gulf to the parking area. Will this be a punishingly long day? Anyone have any practical knowledge of these trails?

I have done a very similar hike, leaving off the summits of Jefferson & Washington which we had done previously and climbing Clay which we hadn't. Yes, this is a long hike and doing it in bad weather is foolhardy but as mentioned Sphinx is a possible bailout. Doing Osgood is easier and gives you more different trail, but we wanted to see the Great Gulf headwall and we did. Just as the ladders on Six Husbands are best done uphill, the loose rock on Great Gulf is best done downhill.

If the weather is good, go for it!

 

[Lovetohike]

Tough choices! Six Husbands is one of my favorites too, a totally cool trail. And once you top out and get onto the long shoulder of Jefferson, the views down into the Great Gulf are incredible. If you head south towards Washington, the Sphinx is a good option if you don't want to do the long haul to Washington. Great Gulf trail down should work if you get over there. But going north to Adams and/or Madison is great too, although a long day with major elevation. Personally, I prefer going down Osgood off Madison back to the Great Gulf trail. The ridge West and Southwest off Madison on the Osgood trail is very scenic for quite a while before it drops into the woods. Going down Madison Gulf is very different, more of a climb down a steep ravine headwall. Depends on your preference. If you're comfortable doing 15+ miles and 6000 feet of climbing, either way you go works fine as a good solid long day hike. Bring lots of water and adequate food and snacks, you'll need the energy!

 

[Double Bow]

I'm thinking about doing either Six Husbands up and Sphinx down or Israel Ridge/The Link/Castle Ravine up and Castle down. What are people's thoughts on these two loops?

I'm thinking about next weekend (not this one)...

 

[sweeper]

I started from the base of the 6 Husbands did Jeff then around to Wash and down Nelson Crag. Up the atuo rd to the top of Chandler Brk Tr and back to the start. (I'm trail bagg'n now).
So in the Great Gulf, up 6 around to Wash, down Crags to Madison Gulf to Great Gulf and out should be a long doable day. Get a good day, start early and have fun. 6 is a GREAT trail.

 

[pedxing]

I loved six husbands as did my 12 y/o son (and we came down it, bailing out due to nasty weather and no visibility on the ridge). but I do remember someone on the AMC site trying to tear us all new ones because we didn't sufficiently warn him that going up, Six Husbands was difficult and hard to follow.

 

[David Metsky]

but I do remember someone on the AMC site trying to tear us all new ones because we didn't sufficiently warn him that going up, Six Husbands was difficult and hard to follow.

Ah, that was a fun thread.

I never found Six Husbands dangerous, just difficult. But it is tiring, by the time you get to the top of Jefferson you feel pretty beat up.

-dave-

 

[Seeker]

Well...back on '91, it felt dangerous to me! Many folks here have loads of experience, and it's easy to forget how wigged people can get on trails that we wouldn't give a second thought to.