Most Difficult Trail In The Northeast

[DayTrip]

The first time I did the Hunt up Katadin, I thought it beat even Mahoosuc. Now I'm not so sure.

Is Hunt considered to be the hardest route on Katahdin? From what I had read I thought it was Cathedral but I did not find it that technically demanding. Very steep and rough but no real scrambling like Huntington Ravine.

 

[ChrisB]

I've done pretty much everything in the Whites that is an actual trail. That's why I wondered if NY or ME had more formidable trails. Sounds like Coe and Oji are peaks to put on the radar for my next trip to Baxter.

Back in the Paleolithic I did the Osceola Slide out of Greeley Pond. It was a fun and grungy scramble. Not sure what its status is these days.

In Baxter the trail up Doubletop from the Kidney Pond side is a killer. Long and buggy swamp approach to a saddle, and then straight up to the summit ridge. Be prepared to swing from tree root to tree root as you work your way up. And all this with no dramatic views to keep you stoked. It's a green hell!

The Great Chimney route on Pamola is a fun, accessible and easy snow climb when condx are right. It's can be an avi chute when they are not. Definitely worth checking out if you find yourself at Chimney Pond on a rest day.

cb

 

[egilbe]

Funny you should mention those two. I'm hoping to do the Holt this Friday and Huntington Ravine on Saturday. I've done each of them a few times and know what I'm in for.

Flume Slide is nasty. North Slide on Tripyramid can be unnerving. Great Gully is certainly strenuous but not especially scary; likewise the King Ravine Trail. Great Gulf is a bit of a slog; I had difficulty finding some of the blazes on the headwall.

I did Mahoosuc Notch a couple of weeks ago for the first time in 12 years. Have they made it even harder since 2005? Mercy!

The first time I did the Hunt up Katadin, I thought it beat even Mahoosuc. Now I'm not so sure.

Castle Ravine kicked my butt last year.

I started up the OJI Slide one time and turned back an hour into it. It was the sand and loose gravel on the steep slabs that scared me witless.

Thats kinda funny. Im doing Mahoosuc Notch this weekend. I thought Hunt trail was pretty hard, but I wasnt in very good hiking shape. Its a long, steep trail.

 

[nartreb]

How come nobody's mentioned Hell Brook trail on Mt Mansfield? Now that trail is rough.

Katahdins a pretty big hill, and most of its trails are steep. Hunt had a couple short fun scrambles, but overall it was easier than Abol (old route: mostly straight up the fall line) and had better views too.

There's a slide near Zealand that leads to a peak with great views. Easy to reach the slide, but requires caution as the rocks are a bit loose.

 

[Grey J]

Oh that's funny - you used the exact example I did.

Mental telepathy has only a 50% chance of success at such a long distance.

 

[DayTrip]

How come nobody's mentioned Hell Brook trail on Mt Mansfield? Now that trail is rough.

Katahdins a pretty big hill, and most of its trails are steep. Hunt had a couple short fun scrambles, but overall it was easier than Abol (old route: mostly straight up the fall line) and had better views too.

There's a slide near Zealand that leads to a peak with great views. Easy to reach the slide, but requires caution as the rocks are a bit loose.

Hell Brook Trail. Even the name makes it sound tough. Adding to the list.

On Zealand are you referring to Whitewall Mountain across the notch or a slide on the actual Zealand Mt? I've talked to a few people who have gone up that big chute of Ethan Pond Trail. I had that mountain (not the slide) on the list for a bushwhack this year but never got around to it. Maybe in Sept.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

How come nobody's mentioned Hell Brook trail on Mt Mansfield? Now that trail is rough.

Yowsah! I'd forgotten that one. I've been up it once. It's a pip!

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Is Hunt considered to be the hardest route on Katahdin? From what I had read I thought it was Cathedral but I did not find it that technically demanding. Very steep and rough but no real scrambling like Huntington Ravine.

I've never done Cathedral so I can't compare. I was comparing Mahoosuc Notch to the middle mile of the Hunt for which had the honor of being the toughest mile on the AT. Today I'd have to say the Notch is tougher, but then I think through hikers may tend to slackpack the Hunt. I can't even imagine what it must be like to go thru the Notch with a full backpack.

 

[TJsName]

I've never done Cathedral so I can't compare. I was comparing Mahoosuc Notch to the middle mile of the Hunt for which had the honor of being the toughest mile on the AT. Today I'd have to say the Notch is tougher, but then I think through hikers may tend to slackpack the Hunt. I can't even imagine what it must be like to go thru the Notch with a full backpack.

When I went up Hunt I met up with two others and one was a small woman who was maybe 5'2". She definitely found it tougher than I did.

 

[Stan]

I never did Mahoosuc Arm after the Notch but after coming down Mahoosuc Arm and going southbound through the Notch I thought,"Wow, am I glad I didn't do this in the other direction!"

Otherwise, King Ravine was the one that wore me out the most, twice. Why, both times it took two doses of tequila at the Madison Saloon to revive me.

 

[Amicus]

I never did Mahoosuc Arm after the Notch but after coming down Mahoosuc Arm and going southbound through the Notch I thought,"Wow, am I glad I didn't do this in the other direction!"

I had the opposite reaction. The Arm is one of those relentlessly steep and eroded trails I'd always rather ascend and I pitied the SOBOs we saw sliding down. I didn't think King Ravine was that bad, but I was ascending. Of the others mentioned, I think Huntington Ravine stands by itself. I don't think Cathedral, Hunt or any of the other Katahdin trails I've hiked (which includes only "old Abol" among the former slide trails) match for difficulty Tripyramid North Slide, Flume Slide or some of the other White Mountains trails mentioned above. That is not a complaint.

 

[NHClimber]

On Zealand are you referring to Whitewall Mountain across the notch or a slide on the actual Zealand Mt? I've talked to a few people who have gone up that big chute of Ethan Pond Trail. I had that mountain (not the slide) on the list for a bushwhack this year but never got around to it. Maybe in Sept.

I've done the Whitewall slide. From a technical perspective it is no big deal but definitely very insecure and felt like the whole slide might give way at any moment. There is a cannister at the Whitewall summit. Landslide Gully on Webster is longer and more robust of a slide "hike". Also very insecure, there is some scrambling near the top, and the top out itself is challenging in the sense that again you feel like the whole thing could come down on you. You can bail into the woods on any of these slides.

 

[egilbe]

Just got back from a Gorham to Grafton Notch section hike. I have to say that section from Gentian Pond to Old Speck was the worst I've ever hiked. Took one short day due to the incoming rain and wanting to avoid walking up wet slabs (futile, they were still wet) and another short day right before the Notch. We hiked the Notch, and Mahoosuc Arm and stopped at Speck Pond leanto and ended up staying there because of forecasted thunderstorms. Hiked to the Grafton Notch parking lot this morning anf got a ride back to Puzzle mountain parking lot from Miss Janet. Normally we can hike 12 to 15 miles on the AT through Maine that we've already done. This trip saw us doing 4 to 6 mile days, except for the first day out of Gorham, which was our typical 12 miles. Tough section, indeed.

 

[sierra]

I've done pretty much everything in the Whites that is an actual trail. That's why I wondered if NY or ME had more formidable trails. Sounds like Coe and Oji are peaks to put on the radar for my next trip to Baxter.

As far as the slide on East side of Franconia Ridge does it have a name? I've seen several trip reports this year from people who have used it to catch Franconia Ridge and Owl's Head in the same hike. Sounded "better" than going around the long way. The bottom of that slide does look quite a ways from the Lincoln Brook Trail. I've only gone up that far once and don't really remember what the woods look like regarding a bushwhack.

It's pretty much referred to as the "Lincoln Slide". The Whack at the bottom is not to bad, but it can be wet and boggy.

 

[TJsName]

It's pretty much referred to as the "Lincoln Slide". The Whack at the bottom is not to bad, but it can be wet and boggy.

Yeah, but there are definitely distinct routes on the upper slopes. The southern most chute is wetter with smooth ledge making it much more difficult. The middle branches aren't much harder than the northern once you get in it, it's just harder to get into due to the krummholz. Most people opt for the northern route, or wish they had.

 

[DayTrip]

I've done the Whitewall slide. From a technical perspective it is no big deal but definitely very insecure and felt like the whole slide might give way at any moment. There is a cannister at the Whitewall summit. Landslide Gully on Webster is longer and more robust of a slide "hike". Also very insecure, there is some scrambling near the top, and the top out itself is challenging in the sense that again you feel like the whole thing could come down on you. You can bail into the woods on any of these slides.

I did Whitewall Slide two weekends ago. Found it pretty ho-hum actually, although it definitely was very loose. I found it more tedious than dangerous. Nice hike though. The ledges on top have spectacular views and the endless birch glades on the way out were awesome with the undergrowth starting to change color.

Do you know if there is a map or some other intel on routes for Webster Cliff? I was eyeballing several possible routes in this area but didn't know if they required actual climbing gear or dangerous scrambling. I think I'd prefer doing slides that were less talus and more actual scrambling. Nothing crazy but solid rock and ledge. Any suggestions?

 

[DougPaul]

Do you know if there is a map or some other intel on routes for Webster Cliff? I was eyeballing several possible routes in this area but didn't know if they required actual climbing gear or dangerous scrambling. I think I'd prefer doing slides that were less talus and more actual scrambling. Nothing crazy but solid rock and ledge. Any suggestions?

In general, I'd look in technical climbing info sources rather than hiking sources.

My ice climbing guidebooks describe several routes on Webster: Shoestring Gully, Horseshoe Gully, and Central Couloir.

I've climbed Central Couloir as the start of a winter Prezzie traverse. It was mostly loose rock with lots of loose basketball-sized rocks* plus a couple pitches of easy ice. Finish with a short easy vertical rock climb. We used protection (ropes etc) for the ice portion.)
* You do not want to be below another party in this gully...

I didn't see any mention of Webster in my rock climbing guidebooks.

My technical climbing guidebooks are pretty old--there might be more info in newer ones.

There are a number of old threads mentioning routes on Webster:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en..._occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=

Also try:
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=webster+cliff+rock+climbing,
https://www.google.com/search?q=webster+cliff+ice+climbing,
and https://www.google.com/search?q=webster+cliff+gully+routes.
I suggest that you focus on the gully routes (I presume that you are not interested in the harder technical routes.)

Doug

 

[sierra]

I did Whitewall Slide two weekends ago. Found it pretty ho-hum actually, although it definitely was very loose. I found it more tedious than dangerous. Nice hike though. The ledges on top have spectacular views and the endless birch glades on the way out were awesome with the undergrowth starting to change color.

Do you know if there is a map or some other intel on routes for Webster Cliff? I was eyeballing several possible routes in this area but didn't know if they required actual climbing gear or dangerous scrambling. I think I'd prefer doing slides that were less talus and more actual scrambling. Nothing crazy but solid rock and ledge. Any suggestions?

Most of the routes on Webster, require ropes. While they are not really that hard when roped, you could find yourself in a pickle unroped, if your not sound on technical terrain. The large slabs have established rock routes on them, some easy, some pretty hard. The gullies themselves are actually better climbed in the winter. They are loaded with loose rock. You could always go up and recon one. I would wear a Helmut anytime, up there.

 

[weatherman]

I had the opposite reaction. The Arm is one of those relentlessly steep and eroded trails I'd always rather ascend and I pitied the SOBOs we saw sliding down. I didn't think King Ravine was that bad, but I was ascending. Of the others mentioned, I think Huntington Ravine stands by itself. I don't think Cathedral, Hunt or any of the other Katahdin trails I've hiked (which includes only "old Abol" among the former slide trails) match for difficulty Tripyramid North Slide, Flume Slide or some of the other White Mountains trails mentioned above. That is not a complaint.

Amicus, great to hear from you and hope you're doing well!
My Arm experience was with a full big pack, after the Notch in which my sleeping pad and bag somehow exited my pack and tried to make their way to the bottomless abyss. Big pain in the butt, and insanely taxing, but being wet it was much MUCH better than it would have been going down, and in any case safe. Got to the top and just about died for an hour or so. I think I would have descended it mainly by falling.
I never found Abol (up only) to be a problem, nor Cathedral, which is one of my favorites. I actually hate Dudley, probably because of the big boulders halfway up where balance is an issue. My hardest was N Tri slide in sneakers in high school, I think.

 

[weatherman]

I would wear a Helmut anytime, up there.

Ja, und zen you und Helmut could share a couple of biers und ein wienerschnitzel at ze top.