New Hampshire White Mountains AT Section Hike – Video and gear list

[Yoyo]

I recently returned from a section hike of the Appalachian Trail in the Whites.  My goal was to complete the entire 100.4 mile section from Glencliff to Rattle River.  Unfortunately, mentally I wasn’t feeling it on this trail on day 1, in part due to having had no sleep the previous 2 nights (insomnia).  I ended up doing about 60-70 miles, including miles off trail.  More on that in a bit.  I took a bus from Port Authority (NYC) to Boston, and from there to Plymouth, NH, whereupon I called for a ride from Hiker’s Welcome Hostel.  A young guy by the name of Buffalo picked me up for $30 and drove me (35 min each way) to the hostel, where I stayed for the night.  The whole night I couldn’t sleep for whatever reason (anxiety?) and ended up waking up kinda late around 7 am and didn’t get on trail until around 7:30 am.  Then bad stuff started to happen.  I ended up going SOBO instead of NOBO on the AT about 2.5 mi, only realized it until I came to a trail junction.  This was even using Guthooks!  I was hiking fast, trying to catch the other NOBO thru hikers who had already got an early start from Hiker’s Welcome, and kept wondering why I wasn’t catching them!  This really set me back.  By the time I got back to Glencliff, it was 9:30 am, so I had lost 2 hours and gone an extra 5 miles, and it was already getting hot.  I had a 16.5 mi day planned.  This means that I was going to do a 21.5 mi day, which is a bit more than I wanted to do, esp. because I had to climb over and down Moosilauke, which has a notoriously steep north side (going NOBO the descent is steep).  I also wanted to take it easy, not having had any sleep the previous 2 nights and also this being the first time in the Whites.  I soon learned why the Whites are considered so tough.  The descents are painstakingly slow, and much of the trail is boulder hopping.  Foot placement is key to avoid a twisted ankle or fall.   Can’t really “crush miles” here.  Anyway, I also got lost coming down Moosilauke (got off on a blue blaze trail) and had to climb up again and regain that elevation before heading down again.  All told, I probably put it 22 mi that day and maybe 6000-7000′ of gain.

Long story short, I ended up finishing just short of Mt Washington, and stayed at Crawford Notch Lodge (AMC).  I cut the trip short, as my wife was meeting me to head up to Quebec for family vacation time.

Here’s my 8.5 lb gear list for the trip:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sMK9mLgsQY9CUCMmo5VL5dmZbqDhJJQjqN3m7i-GA90/edit#gid=1066687479

If I had the funds, I’d ditch the 20 degree bag and get a 30 or 40 degree bag. I think the coldest night was around 48 F but many nights were in the low to mid 50s F.  I’m not sure if this is typical for the AT in July (this is my first year hiking it), but my 20 degree setup is for camping in CO at 10-12000′.  I ended up not bringing bottom long underwear and was fine.  In fact, I was too warm most of the time at night.

I brought the Plexamid on this trip but didn’t get a chance to set it up. Most nights I was too tired and I stayed at shelters anyway, so I just slept in the shelter.  Bugs weren’t an issue in the shelters I stayed at but I did bring a 0.3 oz headnet (purchased from BPL around circa 2009!).  I brought my Borah gear own anorak (5.3 oz) as my mid layer and it was probably overkill again.  If I could find something synthetic comparable weight I’d probably go with that as moisture is often an issue on the AT.  That, or just wear my long sleeve baselayer if it got cold.  As it turned out, I hiked in my running shorts and short sleeve T shirt the entire time, and only added my rain jacket on the last day, as that was the only day I got rained on (got lucky with good weather most of the trip!).  This was my first time testing out the Berghaus Hyper 100.  So far, I’m loving this jacket.  At 3.8 oz, it’s heavier than my 2017 Berghaus Hyper (not 100), which weighs in at 3.07 oz.  But the Hyper 100 feels a lot nicer on the skin and is probably more stormworthy.  I’m debating whether to sell the regular Hyper and just keep the Hyper 100, but those 0.7 oz!!!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sMK9mLgsQY9CUCMmo5VL5dmZbqDhJJQjqN3m7i-GA90/edit?usp=sharing

Unfortunately, I left my beloved Evernew 0.9 L UL pot with Sidewinder windscreen system in a cuben fiber stuff sack at Garfield Ridge campsite in a bear box.  I’ve been using this system since circa 2011.  I went ahead and placed an order for the Evernew 570 mL pot with Sidewinder system to go with it–hey why not save a bit more weight! Turns out that the campsite caretaker found it and brought it down to Pinkham Notch. They are shipping it to my home for $10.  I guess I have two pots now?

In summary, my first section hike in the Whites was humbling as well as awesome.  I got used to the slow ascents/descents due to the ruggedness of the terrain.  I think next time when I go back to finish the Whites I’ll try to keep my mileage to around 16-18 mi per day, which was my original plan.  Anyway, here’s a brief video that sums up some of the highlights.  Definitely doesn’t show the lowlights–all the forest walks and steep climbs/descents, but that stuff doesn’t come out well in video anyway.  I also plan to do a post-hike gear talk one of these days, and a review of some of the gear items I tested out o this trip, including my Brooks Cascadia 14s (which I love) and my Berghaus Hyper 100.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRpTOwlXg2M

[Alex Fedorov]

GREAT job on the video!! :)

 

[David Moreno]

Just read your post and watched the video. I live in Ohio (pretty flat). I was in the same area of the Whites September 30 – October 1. I just got home on the 2nd. I would agree, the one thing missing from your video is all the root tripping / boulder scrambling up and down the mountains. I wasn’t at all prepared for that. I finished the overnighter 4 days ago and I’m still sore. They’ll get you in shape. I’m going back next summer.

My ARMY buddy, his wife and their daughter (my goddaughter) all live in Seabrook, just north of Boston.

Beautiful views the first day, totally fogged in the second day. Rained the first night and half the second day too. Highs the first day were around 55, the lows were about 35, the second day the high was about 50. Beautiful but rugged.

[John K]

Not sure how I missed this one – I did Franconia and the Presidentials last month and it was awesome! Cool you got your cook kit back!

 

[Author]

Posts