Most Difficult Trail In The Northeast

[DayTrip]

SAT I finished up my "ravine list" (a post 48 4k goal I had set for challenging myself more) on the Great Gully Trail in King Ravine (which I found to be a pretty unique and awesome trail incidentally if anyone has yet to try it). Since I did the Cathedral Trail on Katahdin this Summer (which I had read in many places is the hardest trail in New England - which I think personally is not the case at all) I've been giving a lot of thought to what I consider to be the "hardest trail I've ever done" and I find myself pretty unclear on what that is. I've redone some trails recently that I remembered as pretty hard that I didn't find all that bad and vice versa. I've also read a lot of horror stories about various trails (like Cathedral) and found them to not be that bad from a technical perspective.

So I'm curious what hikers here find to be the hardest trail in the Northeast. I know this is an often asked and often vague question but I guess I'm looking more toward the hardest trail in terms of it's technical demands (i.e. scrambles, use of hands and feet but no actual equipment like rope, etc). I think we can all agree that a lot of vertical ascent in a short amount of mileage is "hard" but that doesn't make a trail technically demanding necessarily. Steepest climb is not what I'm looking for as much as hardest climb. I haven't done a lot of hiking in ME or NY so I may well have not been on "that trail" yet, and if not I'd like to go try it.

So next time you're bored and browsing the forum, please weigh in on what you feel is the hardest trail in the Northeast. I've also started to wonder about a lot of the "bushwhacks" I see regularly here and elsewhere of slides without trails that seem to be becoming more and more popular destinations (such as Arrow Slide) based on trip reports and facebook posts. Curious what the popular ones would be on that kind of list and how they compare to the hardest official trails. Maybe that'll be the next "list" I start exploring for that degree of difficulty I've been looking for.

 

[Tom Rankin]

Very subjective, but the Devil's Path in the Catskills has some very steep pitches along its 22 mile path with 8500' of elevation gain according to Alltrails.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Path_(hiking_trail) has a fairly accurate depiction, in part reading, "It draws hikers from not just the region but far outside, due to the challenging climbs straight up and down the steep gaps between the four peaks of the range, which often require hikers to use hands as well as feet to pull themselves almost straight up cliffs and through rocky chutes"

 

[wardsgirl]

Every hiker has a different scale for what they personally consider the "hardest."

How about "The Link?"

I swear that trail is twice as long as what the White Mountain Guide says.

 

[nartreb]

Every hiker has a different scale for what they personally consider the "hardest."

How about "The Link?"

I swear that trail is twice as long as what the White Mountain Guide says.

I feel that way about the Fishin' Jimmy trail. I know many people say the same about the Garfield Ridge Trail.

But back to the main topic, we should exclude routes that are concatenations of trails - so the Pemi Loop is out, and so is the full Presi Traverse. I think the Devil's Path is still in, as well as most of the Great Range traverse. Those two are obvious contenders when you look at elevation gain on a single trail. Then there are the truly *long* trails - there are sections of the Long Trail, Metacomet Trail, Bay Circuit Trail, Coos Loop, and A.T. that are vastly longer than those traverses, and some go through tough terrain. Which takes longer, the Devil's Path or the Hundred Mile Wilderness?

If we arbitrarily limit ourselves to "short" trails (say five miles or shorter), you have problems comparing very different challenges. On the one hand, Mahoosuc Notch - constant squeezing and scrambling. On the other, the abandoned OJI Slide Trails - wide-open slabs where one slip can be fatal.

 

[dug]

I think it also can vary, depending on your individual day, the conditions, what you are carrying, etc.

For me, the Cornice Trail kicked my butt more than anything else I have come across. I was tired after an extremely long day and it just wore me out.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Hale Brook might be the most mentally difficult.

 

[TJsName]

The Great Gulf trail from start to finish is pretty tough, combining distance and vertical with increasingly rough terrain (although I haven't done the headwall yet).

Danial Webster Scout trail felt very difficult when I did it I had gone up from Rocky Branch (from Rt 16) the afternoon before, camping on the Davis Path, then passing over Washington, Adams, and Madison along the way, so perhaps my fatigue played a role.

From what I hear, the Ice Gulch trail is fairly difficult too, but I haven't done it yet either.

 

[JustJoe]

The Great Gulf trail from start to finish is pretty tough, combining distance and vertical with increasingly rough terrain (although I haven't done the headwall yet).

That gets my vote. Just did it 2 weeks ago. But started at Pinkham and went Old Jackson Road, Madison Gulf, to Great Gulf. Similar mileage. Did the beginning stretch doing Six husbands last year. 7+ miles to the head-wall then something like 1500' in .6 miles. Kicked my A$$.

 

[Raven]

Lincoln Woods

 

[DayTrip]

Every hiker has a different scale for what they personally consider the "hardest."

How about "The Link?"

I swear that trail is twice as long as what the White Mountain Guide says.

I love the Link. Maybe not so much the early sections that are fairly uneventful but the stretch from Israel Ridge over to the Castle Trail is very unique, interesting, rough and never seems to have people on it. Winning combination in my book. There is a weird scramble too on the section between Cornice and Castle Trail that I think is one of the harder ones I've done because of it's awkward "set up". Wouldn't put it on a difficult trail list I don't think unless we were talking about the section from Castle Ravine to Castle Trail maybe.

 

[DayTrip]

On the one hand, Mahoosuc Notch - constant squeezing and scrambling. On the other, the abandoned OJI Slide Trails - wide-open slabs where one slip can be fatal.

Oji Slide Trail - that's in Baxter right? Is that an official trail? That sounds like the kind of thing I'm talking about/looking for. I'd love to do Mahoosuc Notch too but I'm fearful my claustrophobia would prevent me from completing. There were sections of the Subway in King Ravine I climbed up and over and Mahoosuc Notch sounds like the Subway on steroids.

 

[DayTrip]

The Great Gulf trail from start to finish is pretty tough, combining distance and vertical with increasingly rough terrain (although I haven't done the headwall yet).

Danial Webster Scout trail felt very difficult when I did it I had gone up from Rocky Branch (from Rt 16) the afternoon before, camping on the Davis Path, then passing over Washington, Adams, and Madison along the way, so perhaps my fatigue played a role.

From what I hear, the Ice Gulch trail is fairly difficult too, but I haven't done it yet either.

I did Great Gulf a few years ago from Rte 16 to Washington and didn't find it difficult technically. The headwall is a long, unending climb though. I did on a pretty warm day and was pretty beat by the time I reached the Crawford Path. It wasn't technical though. I don't really even remember any scrambles, although I suspect there had to be at least some.

I've read about Ice Gulch Trail but have never done. Sounded more like Mahoosuc Notch to me.

 

[DayTrip]

That gets my vote. Just did it 2 weeks ago. But started at Pinkham and went Old Jackson Road, Madison Gulf, to Great Gulf. Similar mileage. Did the beginning stretch doing Six husbands last year. 7+ miles to the head-wall then something like 1500' in .6 miles. Kicked my A$$.

Six Husbands would be pretty high on my list of difficult trails. I really enjoyed that one. Steep, tons of scrambles, etc. Love trails like this. I did as a loop up Six Husbands and down Sphinx. I was pretty wiped out that day too. These are the types of trails I'm looking for. I assume Baxter and NY have similar trails given how steep the peaks are.

 

[DayTrip]

Lincoln Woods

For mentally challenging trails that is right up there, along with the straightaways on Gale River, Stony Brook, Oliverian Brook, Osseo and just about all of the Garfield Trail (my most irritating non-road walk trail). Straight, flat and long is not a fun combo, especially after a long day. I remember walking out on Lincoln Woods in the dark from something (I think the Bonds in Winter) and just after I crossed the bridge and started the 2.9 miles back to car I noticed my shell pants were making a slight rubbing/squeaky noise as I walked. I thought I was going to be insane by the time I reached my car. It was all I could focus on for every single step of the walk back to car.

 

[DayTrip]

Very subjective, but the Devil's Path in the Catskills has some very steep pitches along its 22 mile path with 8500' of elevation gain according to Alltrails.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Path_(hiking_trail) has a fairly accurate depiction, in part reading, "It draws hikers from not just the region but far outside, due to the challenging climbs straight up and down the steep gaps between the four peaks of the range, which often require hikers to use hands as well as feet to pull themselves almost straight up cliffs and through rocky chutes"

I never did make it out there this year. I think you answered some of my questions about it on the ADK Forums and recommended a good map set (which I ordered). I think I'm going to do some Catskill hikes in the Spring when NH is still wet snow and run off and I've grown tired of my local favorites. You made a good point about how it dries out and provides good conditions more quickly than NH an the NY High Peaks area and there can be good hiking early in the season.

 

[Steve-o]

I will go with Huntington Ravine Trail.
The Holt Trail on Cardigan is no slouch, either.

 

[RichS]

Check out http://www.trishalexsage.com/p/the-terrifying-twenty-five.html I've done most of them and agree with the descriptions. Huntington Ravine is still on my bucket list. The ones that most terrified me were the Six Husbands crux at the overhang and the North Tripyramid slide. You have to trust your boot soles. Also, going down a steep ravine trail is, well, interesting. Facing the ravine is awkward, and your back to the ravine is marginally less awkward. I did that only once, on the Castle Ravine Trail, and it took forever.

 

[RollingRock]

I've been up Huntington, Six Husbands, Great Gulf, Tripyramids slide, Castle Ravine headwall, Knife edge, etc. While challenging, I enjoyed them all, and have no problem hiking them again.

The one trail is swear never to do again is THE LINK. A slanting, rock and roots filled trail, that would never end! Not difficult from an elevation point of view, but did me in mentally.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I never did make it out there this year. I think you answered some of my questions about it on the ADK Forums and recommended a good map set (which I ordered). I think I'm going to do some Catskill hikes in the Spring when NH is still wet snow and run off and I've grown tired of my local favorites. You made a good point about how it dries out and provides good conditions more quickly than NH an the NY High Peaks area and there can be good hiking early in the season.

Yes, the Catskills are usually ready for spring hiking before any other place in the NE, owing to their lower latitude and elevation. Let me know if you need further beta.

 

[TJsName]

I've been up Huntington, Six Husbands, Great Gulf, Tripyramids slide, Castle Ravine headwall, Knife edge, etc. While challenging, I enjoyed them all, and have no problem hiking them again.

The one trail is swear never to do again is THE LINK. A slanting, rock and roots filled trail, that would never end! Not difficult from an elevation point of view, but did me in mentally.

Yeah, there is pretty good consensus around this (at least between Castle and Caps Ridge). It's a rough trail if you're doing it as the return at the end of the day. I wised up the second time I did it, doing it going out instead, which changed the experience considerably, but it's still pretty rough and slow going when fresh.

For mentally challenging trails that is right up there, along with the straightaways on Gale River, Stony Brook, Oliverian Brook, Osseo and just about all of the Garfield Trail (my most irritating non-road walk trail). Straight, flat and long is not a fun combo, especially after a long day. I remember walking out on Lincoln Woods in the dark from something (I think the Bonds in Winter) and just after I crossed the bridge and started the 2.9 miles back to car I noticed my shell pants were making a slight rubbing/squeaky noise as I walked. I thought I was going to be insane by the time I reached my car. It was all I could focus on for every single step of the walk back to car.

These trails can get monotonous for sure. I find the problem is feeling like I'm going so fast, so it seems like it should be done so much sooner, but going 50% faster only turns an hour into 40 minutes, which is still a long time to be walking thinking you're almost done. I'd add Moriah Brook to this list. On the flip-side, I find the Gulfside trail to be difficult when you can see where you want to go and it's miles away, but at least you have the views.