Follow the AT from the town of Monson to Abol Bridge on the edge of Baxter State Park, a one-way 99.4-mile trip.
The hike travels through a lush, low-elevation hardwood forest and crosses numerous streams and rivers that cut through wild terrain. The trail then ascends the Barren-Chairback Range, traversing the mountain spine for 15 miles before crossing the West Branch of the Pleasant River and reaching the slate gorge of Gulf Hagas. From here, the journey climbs White Cap Mountain's 3,654-foot alpine summit, the highest point on the hike.
After steeply descending White Cap, the AT treks toward Crawford Pond, the hike's midpoint. The route follows Cooper Brook along an easy-cruising section of trail past idyllic Cooper Brook Falls and enters the land of large lakes and more level walking. Tour the shores of substantial Jo-Mary and Pemadumcook lakes and walk alongside Nahmakanta Stream to emerge at Nahmakanta Lake. After a steep climb over Nesuntabunt Mountain, the final leg of the hike travels beside the rushing Rainbow Stream and the long length of Rainbow Lake. A final rise over the Rainbow Ledges leads to the hike's end at the southwest edge of Baxter State Park.
Many people underestimate the rigors of this hike. The rugged trail is laced with roots and rocks, and occasionally boggy. There are no resupply points. The longer your trip, the more food you'll need to carry-and the slower you'll hike. Achieving the right balance of speed, pack weight, and enjoyment time is a challenge. AT thru-hikers often complete the 100-Mile Wilderness in only five days, an average of 20 miles per day. But keep in mind that thru-hikers are in top physical condition by this point in their journey, and inspired by their approaching endpoint atop Katahdin. Moving this quickly also allows little time for relaxing at the many beautiful locations on the way.
A seven- or eight-day itinerary sets a more relaxing, but still steady, pace covering an average of 12 to 14 miles per day. A trip of nine to ten days is a more leisurely journey, with plenty of time for fishing, swimming, and viewsavoring, but you'll have to pack a lot of food. No matter how long you take, the trip requires a high degree of fitness. Dogs are allowed.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- HIKE OVERVIEW - Trip 34: 100 Mile Wilderness
- OVERNIGHT OPTIONS
- Shelters and Tentsites
- Lodges and Hostels
- TO REACH THE TRAI LHEADS
- To Reach the Ending/Northern Trailhead.
- To Reach the Starting/Southern Trailhead.
- Other Trailheads
- HIKE DESCRIPTION
- INFORMATION
- NEARBY
- AUTHOR BIO
# WORDS: 10820
# PHOTOS: 4
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Companion forum thread to:
100 Mile Wilderness
Matt has written a fine article and the fact that I regularly read his "Equipped" postings for AMC show that I'm a fan. But on a humorous note, let me add my 100-mile wilderness story.
Matt says: "Several major unpaved roads intersect the AT in the 100-Mile Wilderness and can provide alternate access points." To which I add, "and beer."
In 1983, my partner was 20 minutes ahead of me and came to one of those clearings
where a road crossed. As he approached the road, a car drove by, screeched to a
halt, and the driver asked if he'd like a cold beer. "Sure," said Roger Suttles
(with his dog,Tiny), "but I have a friend coming right along. You got two?"
No problem! When I came along, Roger was grinning from ear to ear and said,
"Check the creek for a little surprise I have for you!" Well, after enjoying
that little surprise on that hot day, I wondered what to do with the heavy empties,
lamenting having to carry out 2 glass bottles for several days. Sure enough,
along came ANOTHER car and I talked the driver into taking out our empties.
So, I gotta ask ya…What kind of "wilderness" is it where you can enter a
clearing, get handed 2 cold ones from one car, and before you can leave,
minutes later, have another car take out your empties????!!!!
Nice writeup for planning a hike. I did this a couple of years ago with my son and really enjoyed it. A night at Antlers campsite is well worth it. Its a beautiful lakeside setting with all the huckleberries for a lifetime of breakfasts.
The mountaintop and lake visits were really spectacular.
Its definitely worth doing the section of Baxter up to Katahdin as well.
In Monson, the Lakeside hostel is pretty nice too.
This is super article. I'm tired of reading "reports" in Backpacker magazine than have details wrong, leading one to believe that the story is research-based and not reflective of one's actual experience. This is right on. Thanks!
I plan to thru-hike the Hundred this Sept. for my third time. I've also been in there before doing sections. I loved taking a float plane from Millinocket with Katahdin Air when I was dropped off at Crawford Pond just south of Cooper Brook Lean-To. Cost me ~$135, but I could have had a partner and split the cost in half.
You gotta love the Hundred. How slow to go equals how heavy a load you carry is a metaphor of life itself.
this seems mostly like a re-print from a guide to me. I have guides.
If you are going to write articles about trails, how about including many nice high rez, large pictures please. ala Trailgroove, they are doing it right. Might have to actually hike it and take some, but so what.
Water in the 100 Mile Wilderness is no problem.
Wood for fuel is no problem. My UL Caldera Cone ti Sidewinder stove W/Inferno wood burner insert will do fine.
FOOD is the main problem. What do folks take for 8 to 10 days?
I can carry 8 days but like to have at least one day backup.
NOTE: Seems this would be a perfect place to rent a PLRB before entering.
I'm hoping to one day do this in conjunction with the northern most 300mi of the AT.. starting at my "highpoint" in NH and finishing at Katadin. I really want to do Mahoosuc notch.
this is one of those spots where having the ability to do bigger miles helps with logistics. Pack less, hike more, carry less.. etc. Not to say you can't spread it out and carry more food, depends what you want to do. they warn people to take 10 days worth… that is a lot.
saved the article to read more in depth. especially to check out his tips for getting back south.
"this seems mostly like a re-print from a guide to me. I have guides."
That's because…
"This story is excerpted from the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Best Backpacking in New England, and has been published with the permission of the Appalachian Mountain Club"
Sigh.
A better question might be:
"Why does BPL think that re-printing lengthy guidebook descriptions is a substitute for offering real content?"
The only thing people need for the 100mile wilderness, is a couple of profile pages from Awols guide, and a map (just in case) that they will likely never look at.
Many thruhikers hit it with 4-5 days food. Used to be able to resupply at Whitehouse Landing (1mile off trail) but they are now closed.
There are several outfitters that will bring you a food drop on one of the roads, or pick you up to bail you out. Shaws will do this too. A float plane service will as well. You can generally get cell service from peaks to get in touch with them.
Half of the 100 mile wilderness is flat. The second half can make good mpd on.
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