Doing some Presidentials in NH (Aug. 3 – 6), ~25mi, wanna go?

woot! Lupus and I are in.

I have a few friends that are interested, so I'll give them the dates and find out.

I (with some of said mentioned friends) have done the Southern presi's and Washington and Monroe, but I've been waiting for this trip to do the rest.

So the idea will be to car camp at the base Friday night and start Saturday morning, finishing off some time Monday?

That's correct. base camp Friday night while everyone arrives and finish up some time Monday afternoon (we have to catch the last AMC shuttle @ 4:30pm, or stage two cars).

We'll try to keep the group to <7 peeps if possible. Thx.

does Lupus count as one of the 7?…

as for hiking in the Whites, especially this range…
well, it can be tough on those that haven't hiked similar conditions. very rocky and the steep elevation changes can take a toll on your body if you're not used to that type of climbing/hiking. stories Clint and Ryan have told me from their AT days of hikers that have never been in the Whites that when they finally get there they are slightly overwhelmed, and the AT through the Whites is a fairly easy path compared to many of the possible trails.

in that area you generally have to refill on water whenever you see it especially when traveling the ridge line in the summer. there's a reason I'm so sold on my inline water filter.

the ground dirt can be as little as 2" before you hit rock, though generally you'll have about 6" at the lower elevations, possibly more in the valleys.

Lupus is a half. :p

Not a lot of $ to buy gear these days, so Chlorine Dioxide tablets for me. Oh well.

Day 1:
-Appalachia Trailhead to The Perch RMC
-Airline up to Madison, Adams, The Perch RMC
– ~7.5 miles, ~5050'

Day 2:
-The Perch RMC to Nauman Tentsite
-Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, Pierce
– ~10.7 miles, ~3870'

Day 3:
-Nauman Tentsite to AMC Highland Center
-Jackson, Webster
– ~5.5 miles, ~500'
-9:05am or 1:30pm shuttles back to Appalachia. It's about a 70 minute ride.

These mileages/elevation gains are rough estimates.

There's water at both campsites along with several points throughout each day.

Good deal Nathan. Where were you thinking of staying Friday night?

@Steven, will you have a car to stay at one end of the trail? That way we aren't slave to the shuttle. (or have to pay for one)

@Nathan/Steven, how many people car your cars fit? (That's probably a bigger limitation on the size of the group)

I will be driving up, so we can put one car at each end.

I can fit 4+dog comfy.

So since I’ve been concentrating on things other than hiking the past few months, I’ve begun to get back into shape. Based off this thread:

Whiteblaze thread

….last night I went to the gym and on the inclined treadmill did 3182 feet vertical gain over 2.25 miles in 45 minutes. It’s a start folks!

I would love to come along but back in Scotland that week.
Would be up for a trip in September or October.

Anyone know which is the nearest big airport?

Bryce,

If your group is not full, looks like I can commit to this trip. Also from Connecticut. Thought you guys would want to do this in a day judging by your Winter trip…but glad the schedule is what it is. Will follow.

Frank

Hey Frank,

That's great news.

No, no death march this time. :p

I've never been, I hear it is challenging regardless, but I look forward to it.

We're in Norwalk, CT…. would you like to carpool? Gotta check with Nathan to see if we still have room in the car.

Absolutely… we can work out cars…I've got access to a van if needed. Willing to do whatever works.

Wow…something else to look forward to.

Frank

Enjoy Bryce. i'm hoping to do it in a day sometime soon as long as this weekends trip feels good on the knee.

i should be on the LT for your trip but it's good that you're getting back out.

I have two friends that are interested in joining if there is room in the group.

Steve (Lupis the dog)
Bryce
Nathan
Frank

Just making sure….

Frank u still game for carpooling? Nathan has a small hatch I believe we can get 3 packs into. Everyone got their days off from work? (;p)

I've been ramping up my inclined treadmill at the gym…man I suck.

still in, got Monday off work, will drive up after work on Friday

some inspiration for you guys!

looking south from the side of washington down to Lake of the Clouds and hut

Still in…can car pool, either drive or ride. If more need a ride, have access to a van with plenty of room, or if we don't want to cram.

Details: Friday night lodging/camping; car at each end/ shuttle; I think it's $8/night/per person? at the sites; chances of sites being full on Summer weekend; other issues?

Frank

Ok so we're staying at one of the following campsites:

http://www.reserveamerica.com/campgroundDetails.do?subTabIndex=0&&contractCode=nrso&parkCode=barn

http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/Dolly_Copp/r/campgroundDetails.do?page=details&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70441&topTabIndex=CampingSpot

One slightly cheaper than the other, both in the same area, so I figure we'll go for the cheaper option. These are reservable sites, so if no one has any problems, Nathan or I will grab a site (holds 8 people apparently). The sites are dog friendly and I figure if they don't like hammocks, Steven can bring his car camping tent for the first night.

Gotta looks into water on the trail a bit more and the shelters along the trail. We plan on staying at The Perch and Nauman tensite.

Frank, PM me your address and cellphone # and we'll pick you up. We leaving Norwalk, CT after a 1/2 day of work.

Is there room for one more? my housemate Julia wants to join if she can get Monday off work (she says she's 75% in if there's room for her). I'll definitely bring a tent to car camp, it's nice to be able to just toss it in the back of the car and not worry about packing it =P

Might be tight shuttling back to cars, but whatevs, we'll squeeze. And the tent sight Friday night allows 8 so fine with me.

Seeing as:

) If I'm reading your itinerary correctly we are starting at the Northern end and finishing at the southern end along 302.

) it looks like we will have 3 cars amongst the group

I suggest we only take two cars to the Northern terminus for the initial night of camping. When we finish on Monday the car we leave there heads north with the drivers of the other two cars to pick those vehicles up and return to the southern terminus. then we should not have the need to cramp at any point. We could even have the first car that gets close go straight to the Northern terminus and "set up camp" and the second two meet at the southern terminus.

I have been planning to purchase this:
http://www.amazon.com/Keeper-07203-Waterproof-Cargo-Cubic/dp/B000H6P55W/
I think I will do so now, as it may come in handy for this trip as well.

any thoughts for first night dinner? Most car sites have a fire ring with grill, I could stop at Costco on the way up and get a couple big fillets of wild caught salmon or steaks, and some fresh veggies for grilling.

Also, I have two platypus wine bags if we want to carry some wine or scotch/whiskey for nightcaps?

Frank, myself, an Nathan are coming up in one car. Are you and your friend taking two?

I'd like to have cars setup at the North and South on Friday night if possible so we can get an early start to our toughest day on Sat. morning.

As for food, I'll just be packing my usual meat rocks and pasta. :p But if everyone wants to do more for dinner on Friday night that's fine as well. No alcohol for me….don't need anything else slowing my fat a_s down on Saturday, Haha.