Hut-2-3-4: Route Profile
The total distance disagrees with the Map Adventures mileage (I used my DeLorme map software - which always disagrees with other maps), but this is what the route profile looks like - roughly speaking. No big surprises.
Note that the baseline is the ending elevation on rte 16 across from Pinkham Notch.
I may have gotten Zealand tagged wrong, and I know Boott Spur is higher than Monroe so I think I got that right, but clearly there's room for error.
(Click on the map to zoom.)
[Update A] Ha! I just noticed the caption that reads "Boott Sput"!
[Update B] Total elevation gain is approx 20,000ft.
[Update C on 8/29] Bailout Points: The bad news is that once we go into the Pemi (let's say Mt. Lafayette) our best bet if things are sticky is to retreat to Greenleaf Hut or advance to Galehead or Zealand huts and head out for a car as soon as possible. Where are the cars?
- - At the start at Lafayette Campground
- - AMC Lodge in Crawford Notch (at about mile 28!)
- - At the finish at Nineteen Mile Brook Trailhead on rte 16
Have any of you had a chance to estimate time? The trip starts with Cannon and Lafayette, which is a HUGE undertaking all on its own. My initial estimates of average time including water, toilet, rest, etc. were:
- 2.0mph to Garfield because we'll be fresh and enthusiastic. (~6hrs)
- 1.75mph to Crawford Notch because we'll be starting to tire (~9hrs)
- 1.25mph to Rte 16 at the bottom of the Glen Boulder trail (~9hrs)
- 1.25 mph to Rte 16 over Wildcat Ridge (~8hrs) oh god please don't let me die on wildcat
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total = 32 hours
Then I decided to add 4 hours for additional margin, and came up with:
7hrs (to Garfield)
11hrs (to Crawford Notch)
10hrs (to Rte 16)
8hrs (to Rte 16)
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total = 36 hours
What do you think?
route direction:
ReplyDeletei favor west to east, but only because i don't want to pass the car and then come back to it at lonesome lake.... and avoiding it means hitting Cannon.
route timing:
let's say, for the sake of argument, that the route takes 36 hours. because day and night are almost about 12 hours each (not exactly, but close) at that time of the year, that means we have a best-case and worst case scenario:
worst case: start at sunset, hike in 12 hrs of dark, then 12 of light, then 12 of dark and finish at sunrise. that's 24 hrs of dark hiking.
best case: start at sunrise, hike 12 in day, 12 at night and 12 in day, ending at sunset. that's 24 hrs of daylight hiking and only 12 of darkness.
while the 2nd option seems the right choice (assuming a 36 hr hike), it also means ending the hike at 6pm on Sunday and we all have to work that monday morning.
here are a few thoughts and my vote: the trails we'll be on are all great trails - well marked and easy to follow in the dark - even if some are rugged. if we start VERY early saturday, before sunrise, and plan on hitting the summit of Cannon before sunrise (if we go that route). let's say we start at 3am. if the weather is good, we'll be able to turn our headlamps off by 5:45 with sunrise at 6:15 on the summits. we'll be back down in the notch by sunrise and will hit lafayette in the full blazing glory of a fall sun. Anyway, if we do this in 36 hours we'll be done at 3pm on Sunday, with a safety margin of 4 hours before our headlamps have to come on again at 7:30 sunday evening.
if we get back by 3pm that'll give all the folks from points south time to nap, eat & whatever.
again, this is based on a 36 hr hike.
-mz
E-W or W-E, there has been no discussion of the sleep thing. Good question, MD.
ReplyDeleteAs far as putting the HUT234 off until the 22nd - I'll leave that for the wolves to chew on. Obviously doing this later in the month has its issues.
We also might try something that can be done in 24hrs to give ourselves sharp minds on Monday.
Let's hear it from the peanut gallery.
My situation is this I am taking off the 7th and 10th from work...I have the option of working from home now so I could work technically on the 10th but that is not happening...
ReplyDeleteI would like to do this earlier in September rather than later so that is my vote.
When we finish on the 9th I was probably either going to sleep in my car for a good amount of time or find a hotel...I am not going to attempt to drive and fall asleep while driving I have already done that and it didn't turn out good.
The other thing we have to decide is setting cars. If we are setting cars I would think we have to do that Friday the 6th...then all drive to where we decide to start and either sleep at nearby hotel or if we have to cars and tents??? I would prefer hotel so that may also be a factor where we start as I would think there are more hotel options near Nineteen Mile Brook.
I am open to either HUT 234 or Pemi Loop, bottom line I want to do something big as far as mileage and hours...
setting the cars the night before sounds like a good idea. i personally don't care about a hotel room- i can sleep in the car if i have to.
ReplyDeletehut234 vs. pemi: i'll talk to MD this weekend. i'm up for either as well. i also just signed up for the leaf peeper half marathon on 9/30 in waterbury, vt so hopefully i won't break myself on the hut234.
Sounds like a plan...keep me posted...
ReplyDeletetmail
My gut is telling me we will probably be ahead of schedule to Garfield but on the flip side may be slower towards the other check points. I agree with those estimates. I have never hiked at night so I have no idea what it is like, my recommendation is that we have experienced "night stalkers" lead the way during the night I can set trail during day light hours.
ReplyDeleteI think we should be fine with the bail points mentioned below I think having a car at 28 is perfect...everything else will have to be a retreat.
hiking at night only sucks if the footing is bad, like on madison, where the deep shadows from the headlamp would make foot placement hard. I also wouldn't want to be in the northern Presi's at night where it's hard to follow trails no matter what time of day or year.
ReplyDeleteOn this route I can't imagine there will any standing around shining our headlamps and wondering where the heck we go next, unless it's where we cross under rte 93 or over 16 to pick up the next trail.
i should also note that because we'll be carrying MD for the last 20 miles, we should keep the estimate high. as long as he's not bleeding from his knees we can take our time.
ReplyDeleteI will carry is 75lbs pack that he probably still has packed from Bad Boy...
ReplyDeletefood - i'm guesstimating 10,000 cals burned, divide by for cals i can ingest and then divide by 2 for what i carry and then stash the other half at crawford. pb and crackers, prosciutto, cubed cliff bars, gel shot, dried cocoa packets, dried soup, some expensive chocolate.
ReplyDeleteweather - rain cancels. wah wah wah, no need to fuss with battling cold temps and hypotherm conditions. the mountains aren't going anywhere.
team gear - stove (pm has it), sleeping bag (MD, unless someone has a light one) to stablize an injured hutter, pad, rope/slings??, sense of humor other stuff?
personal gear - bottom is g-$$$ rei pants, helly hansen long legs, top will be helly base layer, 200weight something for mid layer, extra light rain shell, compass, map, batteries, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss (doubles as suture mat'l), tp, beenie, gloves, shades, crotch lube, change of socks, montrail ridge runner, lightweight pack, knife, nalgene, poles, 2-gallon drums of ibruprofen, skate pad for the bum axle.
money - some for hut goodies (i regret this big time when we did the pemi).
that's all that comes to mind right now.
-MD