Bob Kittredge
Active member
I hiked the Great Gully Trail several years ago and have been meaning to get back to it again for a few years now. Finally did it today.
Up at 5:45 at Hiker's Paradise and on the road (in the fog) to BK for breakfast at 6. By the time I'd finished, the fog had cleared and I could see Madison and Adams in the clear under wispy clouds. Excellent! On Lowe's Path by 6:50. Then King Ravine Trail to Great Gully. Great trail! Very steep, lots of scrambles, narrowest of treadways, but not too hard to follow. Good views and no blowdowns.
I'm about two thirds of the way up, huffing and puffing and starting to wonder if I'm getting too old for this nonsense, when I meet my first other hiker of the day. And he's headed down. Yikes! Of all the trails where I thought I might meet someone, Great Gully was not one. We chat. He's an AT through-hiker taking a couple extra days to see more of the Whites. "By the way" says he, "how far is it to the hut?" Whoa! I explain that this trail drops 1700 feet in the course of it's mile length and will deposit him on the floor of the King Ravine. From there the most direct route to the hut is back up the headwall on the equally steep KR Trail. After a little more discussion he agrees that the thing for him to do is to reascend Great Gully and take the Gulfside.
When I finally top out at Thunderstorm Junction, the weather's looking a little dicy, so I don't bother to go up and tag Adams. Instead, I head west on Gulfside to Isreal Ridge to Randolph Path (can you tell I'm red-lining?) to Lowes Path where I finally meet some other hikers, four young backpackers looking to spend a night or two on the mountain. Where is everyone today? Out by 3 and on my way home (heavy, heavy traffic on 93).
All in all an excellent day.
Up at 5:45 at Hiker's Paradise and on the road (in the fog) to BK for breakfast at 6. By the time I'd finished, the fog had cleared and I could see Madison and Adams in the clear under wispy clouds. Excellent! On Lowe's Path by 6:50. Then King Ravine Trail to Great Gully. Great trail! Very steep, lots of scrambles, narrowest of treadways, but not too hard to follow. Good views and no blowdowns.
I'm about two thirds of the way up, huffing and puffing and starting to wonder if I'm getting too old for this nonsense, when I meet my first other hiker of the day. And he's headed down. Yikes! Of all the trails where I thought I might meet someone, Great Gully was not one. We chat. He's an AT through-hiker taking a couple extra days to see more of the Whites. "By the way" says he, "how far is it to the hut?" Whoa! I explain that this trail drops 1700 feet in the course of it's mile length and will deposit him on the floor of the King Ravine. From there the most direct route to the hut is back up the headwall on the equally steep KR Trail. After a little more discussion he agrees that the thing for him to do is to reascend Great Gully and take the Gulfside.
When I finally top out at Thunderstorm Junction, the weather's looking a little dicy, so I don't bother to go up and tag Adams. Instead, I head west on Gulfside to Isreal Ridge to Randolph Path (can you tell I'm red-lining?) to Lowes Path where I finally meet some other hikers, four young backpackers looking to spend a night or two on the mountain. Where is everyone today? Out by 3 and on my way home (heavy, heavy traffic on 93).
All in all an excellent day.
