AMC to Add Three New Stops to Hiker Shuttle Route this Summer

[Kevin Rooney]

The 2011 schedule is posted here.

 

[Chip]

The 2011 schedule is posted here.

Thanks for posting. That's good news.

 

[Bob]

that's GREAT news!

 

[Peaks]

Just to be clear, the new stops are:

Muncie's in Lincoln
Lincoln Woods Visitor Center on the Kanc
Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway.

First time the shuttle has gone that far south. See how things work out.

 

[MadRiver]

Just to be clear, the new stops are:

Muncie's in Lincoln
Lincoln Woods Visitor Center on the Kanc
Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway.

First time the shuttle has gone that far south. See how things work out.

I've run into a number of hikers coming out of the Pemi who thought that the shuttle stopped at LW so they could get a ride back to their car. They were shocked when I told them that it didn't. One time my friend John and I gave a father and his daughter a ride back to their car at Clinton Rd from LW after they were in the woods for three days. The expression on the daughters face when I told them the shuttle didn’t stop at LW sealed the deal for the ride back.

 

[mtruman]

Those are great additions! Wish we'd had those options the last couple of years. Now thinking about some new plans for this summer...

 

[JustJoe]

I've always hoped they'd make a stop at LW. This opens up some great backpacking possibilities without the need of a car-spot.

 

[walker]

First and foremost...I'm not bashing the AMC. Please don't take it any other way than my thoughts on a shuttle service.

I always felt the AMC (or somebody) SHOULD run a shuttle service encompassing the entire White Mountain Nation Forest. This would help all hikers and lower traffic.

For years the AMC only ran shuttles to support their huts. If you had a loop that started or ended on the Kanc. or any parts south, your where on your own. The shuttle service should be expended to include the entire Kanc from Lincoln to N. Conway.

I also think the fair you pay should be rated on the distance you ride, not a flat rate. I thought about using the shuttle the first time I did Wildcat Ridge. I parked at Pinkham and came out 19 Mile. When I realized a 4 mile trip would cost $12.00 I opted to stick my thumb out.

Again, This is not a bashing, just my opinion. Just for the record, I am a full dues paying member of the AMC. I believe in their mission, and feel if not for the AMC, the Whites would be a far different place, not as hiker friendly as it is now.

Hike Free and Live...Walker

 

[Kevin Rooney]

...For years the AMC only ran shuttles to support their huts. If you had a loop that started or ended on the Kanc. or any parts south, your where on your own. The shuttle service should be expended to include the entire Kanc from Lincoln to N. Conway.

I also think the fair you pay should be rated on the distance you ride, not a flat rate. I thought about using the shuttle the first time I did Wildcat Ridge. I parked at Pinkham and came out 19 Mile. When I realized a 4 mile trip would cost $12.00 I opted to stick my thumb out.

I'm not sure anything has changed in terms of supporting those individuals who use the hut system. Notice that the dates coincide with dates the AMC huts are open.

As for the rates - as I thought about the logistics of implementing a system based upon distance, the details get a bit complicated. I doubt you could call a cab or one of the specialized charter services and get a better deal, though. With gas inching towards $4/gallon, everything gets pricey.

I've never used the shuttle service, but for those city dwellers who use public transportation to get to the Whites, this expansion will probably help them.

And you're right about bashing/trashing the AMC. The mere mention of the name sends some into a rage!

 

[RoySwkr]

It is always nice to have more options, although the schedule is mostly for backpackers not day hikers and at those rates I probably won't ride soon

Note that the North Conway stop is basically an express connection to the Highland Center

I once thumbed a ride from Imp to Great Glen with a guy who had thumbed from 19Mile to Pinkham the previous week after seeing the shuttle rates

 

[JoeCedar]

I think the prime motivation is still to serve the huts business.

I wish they would have a early loop at 6 a.m. and late loop at 7-8 p.m. This would be a lot more helpful to day hikers.

 

[RickB.]

A member of our hiking bunch is an AMC shuttle driver and her ridership drops to nothing in the shoulder week(s) at the beginning and end of the season.

 

[adamiata]

First and foremost...I'm not bashing the AMC. Please don't take it any other way than my thoughts on a shuttle service.

I always felt the AMC (or somebody) SHOULD run a shuttle service encompassing the entire White Mountain Nation Forest. This would help all hikers and lower traffic.

For years the AMC only ran shuttles to support their huts. If you had a loop that started or ended on the Kanc. or any parts south, your where on your own. The shuttle service should be expended to include the entire Kanc from Lincoln to N. Conway.

I also think the fair you pay should be rated on the distance you ride, not a flat rate. I thought about using the shuttle the first time I did Wildcat Ridge. I parked at Pinkham and came out 19 Mile. When I realized a 4 mile trip would cost $12.00 I opted to stick my thumb out.

Again, This is not a bashing, just my opinion. Just for the record, I am a full dues paying member of the AMC. I believe in their mission, and feel if not for the AMC, the Whites would be a far different place, not as hiker friendly as it is now.

Hike Free and Live...Walker

Somebody SHOULD get me a beer. Right now.

I'm waiting.

 

[roadtripper]

I like that the AMC shuttle system exists, but I still prefer "thumbing" a ride in the Whites. A lot of people do it still.

As long as you don't look like a creep, you are more than likely going to get picked up after only a few minutes (at least on the weekends and on the primary highways).

 

[erugs]

I like that the AMC shuttle system exists, but I still prefer "thumbing" a ride in the Whites. A lot of people do it still.

As long as you don't look like a creep, you are more than likely going to get picked up after only a few minutes (at least on the weekends and on the primary highways).

Back in the 60s when I was a kid, my parents, younger brother and I, along with a collie dog or two, would occasionally thumb for a ride in the Whites. Once we all got picked up by a bread delivery truck.

I'm sure that in today's world that a) my parents would be arrested for thumbing with children, and b) that the truck driver would be afraid of losing his job.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Can someone explain how the shuttle helps hut business? The only explanation I can come up with is if you are hiking from hut to hut and need to get back to your starting point. How many people do that in a given year?

I can't personally see using the single 11:40am stop at Lincoln Woods, but I'm not a backpacker either.

Tim

 

[roadtripper]

Can someone explain how the shuttle helps hut business? The only explanation I can come up with is if you are hiking from hut to hut and need to get back to your starting point. How many people do that in a given year?

I can't personally see using the single 11:40am stop at Lincoln Woods, but I'm not a backpacker either.

Tim

Hut-to-Hut is extremely common. A lot of people take advantage of their deal where you stay a few nights and you get either a discount or a free night.

 

[Bill and Sheep]

I can't personally see using the single 11:40am stop at Lincoln Woods, but I'm not a backpacker either.

As a solo hiker, I'd use the service all the time if it wasn't for the no pets policy. I've done some pretty convoluted hikes in order to get back to my car after a few days in the woods. It would be nice to get a ride to a starting point and know my car would be waiting at the end.

 

[RoySwkr]

I'm sure that in today's world that a) my parents would be arrested for thumbing with children, and b) that the truck driver would be afraid of losing his job.

Yes to both

I don't do hikes which require me to thumb a long distance, but often come out a mile or two from the car and stick out a thumb. Sometimes I don't get a ride and sometimes I do, usually with another hiker.

Can someone explain how the shuttle helps hut business?

You can now get to the Highland Center by bus if you're from an urban area or overseas and don't have a car, do workshops or day hikes there - or even backpack to Pinkham and take the bus home

 

[peakbagger]

Quite a few folks take the Concord Trails bus up from manchester and Logan airport which stops at Pinkham and Gorham, so its a great service for them to go hiking and do stretches of the AMC hut to hut. I also expect that when the weather is hazardous along the ridge that some folks may use it to bail out of a hut to hut. I live locally so dont use it but for someone on a trip, it doesnt really make sense to rent a car for a week to have it sit at a trailhead.

When doing planning a trip in New Zealand last year, I discovered there were all sort of options for hiking shuttles, when I go back one day and not doing an organized hike, I will seriously consider using shuttles instead of a car rentals.