Looks like a perfect storm holiday weekend coming up

[peakbagger]

Long Weekend - check
Perfect Forecast (as of today) -check
Gas prices coming down, check
Tourist business's understaffed - check

My local indicator is when the line of parked cars at Appalachia goes past the blue Horton Center sign which is about 2300 feet past the east exit of Appalachia. The odd thing is Lowes rarely has more than 10 cars parked in the lot on summer weekends.

My guess is l the lots will be full near sunrise (around 7 AM these days). Lincoln and North Conway will be bumper to bumper every evening. Definitely a weekend for off trail hiking if you dont like crowds.

 

[JoshandBaron]

My local indicator is when the line of parked cars at Appalachia goes past the blue Horton Center sign which is about 2300 feet past the east exit of Appalachia. The odd thing is Lowes rarely has more than 10 cars parked in the lot on summer weekends.

Randolph East was empty while cars lined the road at Appalachia on Friday a couple weeks ago. I don't get it.

 

[peakbagger]

Randolph East just does not get much hut traffic, if the hut didnt exist (or AMC shuttled their guests from another lot) Appalachia would still be busy but the hut traffic tends to be out of synch with dayhikers so there is overlap when parking is very tight. Head by in the evening and there will be plenty of spots in the parking lot yet cars will be strung out along the road as they tend to be hut guests who got there late in the morning or early afternoon while day hikerswere still out in the woods.

The best alternative to the mess at Appalachia is go park at the original location that serviced most of the trails on the north side of Madison Adams and Jefferson on Durand Road across from the Ravine House site near the Randolph Pool, It is a short walk up by the pool and tennis courts to Appalachia. IMO a far nicer place to start than the zoo and traffic at Appalachia and a good place to take a swim. Originally most trails started at the Ravine Lodge but when RT 2 was relocated to bypass Durand Road in the 1960's the trails were intersected and routed to Appalachia's parking lot. If you know where the Dartmouth Cabin and Stearns lodge is, the trails from the westerly side of the ridge followed Cold Brook across what is now the current RT 2 and then down through the farm to eventually come out at Ravine Lodge. After the relocation, the Link then became the connector to Appalachia although rescue and trails crews on occasion use the old route if they are doing a carryout to shorten the distance. Note that the road that services the Dartmouth cabin is dead end and there is no legal access to Durand Road from it.

 

[maineguy]

Definitely a weekend for off trail hiking if you dont like crowds.

Or, for us retired folks...a perfect weekend to just stay out of the WMNF. Actually, I never hike on weekends anymore unless there are extenuating circumstances. I live in a high tourist traffic area with the beaches and all, so basically I don't venture out on weekends.

 

[peakbagger]

Unless I am hiking with a friend who only has weekends off, I usually hike during my current two days off during the week which has been a challenge with this summer's weather pattern. I may be slinging drywall this weekend. The nice thing is things quiet down a bit in about a week and a half and then cranks back up on weekends for leaf season.

 

[DayTrip]

Randolph East was empty while cars lined the road at Appalachia on Friday a couple weeks ago. I don't get it.

Is that the lot that Howker Ridge Trail leaves out of? It was packed and had at least 8 cars that I could see on the road last SAT around 11PM. I was pretty shocked. It was a phenomenal weather day.

 

[skiguy]

Or, for us retired folks...a perfect weekend to just stay out of the WMNF. Actually, I never hike on weekends anymore unless there are extenuating circumstances. I live in a high tourist traffic area with the beaches and all, so basically I don't venture out on weekends.

Kind of a no brainer indeed. It's Labor Day weekend. Always amazed at the troves of folks on Holiday weekends but it is totally predictable and avoidable if you're not into crowds.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Is that the lot that Howker Ridge Trail leaves out of? It was packed and had at least 8 cars that I could see on the road last SAT around 11PM. I was pretty shocked. It was a phenomenal weather day.

Indeed. I hit it around that time 8/12 and it was empty. Beautiful night to cowboy up Dome Rock.

 

[Mike P.]

How about a Choir Challenge? Go someplace this weekend where you think you will not see many people. (On Saturday I'll be on a local open space property putting benches in as part of an Eagle Project) Sunday or Monday, I'll try and go someplace with limited crowds, hopefully.

I know most of us could go someplace and not see many people. (Spruce or Misery in MA?, in the Whites, East Royce, Speckled, Carlo, Shelbourne Moriah, not from the AT, the AT between Cube and Moosilaukee? In CT almost anything not on the AT near Salisbury, or Talcott or Case Mt. (East or West of the River)

 

[skiguy]

How about a Choir Challenge? Go someplace this weekend where you think you will not see many people. (On Saturday I'll be on a local open space property putting benches in as part of an Eagle Project) Sunday or Monday, I'll try and go someplace with limited crowds, hopefully.

I know most of us could go someplace and not see many people. (Spruce or Misery in MA?, in the Whites, East Royce, Speckled, Carlo, Shelbourne Moriah, not from the AT, the AT between Cube and Moosilaukee? In CT almost anything not on the AT near Salisbury, or Talcott or Case Mt. (East or West of the River)

Your supposed to be good at this but not tell everyone your trade secrets.

 

[Mike P.]

Your supposed to be good at this but not tell everyone your trade secrets.

There's room for both, don't give up your best blueberry hike or Mountain Laurel, (in bloom) hike, etc. In my case hidden CT hikes will still be in CT, therefore, I don't expect folks near the Whites, ADK or Catskills heading this way.

 

[NHClimber]

Or, for us retired folks...a perfect weekend to just stay out of the WMNF. Actually, I never hike on weekends anymore unless there are extenuating circumstances. I live in a high tourist traffic area with the beaches and all, so basically I don't venture out on weekends.

This. Time for more bushwhacks or head up to Evans or Grafton Notch or maybe Cape Horn. Who wants to meet up at Diana's Baths? Anyone? Or maybe just a good w/e to chill around the house.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Trail traffic is a lot easier to avoid than vehicle traffic.

 

[peakbagger]

The perfect forecast is now degrading for the weekend, usually the forecasters wait until Friday morning to issue an accurate forecast as its too late to cancel reservations