I am looking for some info and opinions on three "ridge" day hikes:
1) Kilkenny Ridge from Unknown Pond trail to Starr King
2) Wildcats - Carters from Pinkham to Gorham
3) Tripyramids - Sleepers - Whiteface & Pass from Pine Bend to Oliverian
Please rate in order of difficulty.
What is the availability of water once on the ridge?
I will be hiking in NH July 4 thru 7 and may hike two of these. Thanks for the feedback.
Well, I can only give you my impressions on two of the three, the Kilkenny Ridge, and the Tripyramid/Sleepers/Pass/Whiteface loop (herein referred to as the Sandwich Range loop). The Wildcats/Carters traverse is still on my list.
By the numbers, the Kilkenny Ridge traverse is the more difficult of the two. 21.4 miles (assuming you're starting from the Fish Hatchery, not Mill Brook Road), and 7350 feet of gain, versus 17.4 miles, and 5948 feet of gain for the Sandwich Range loop.
In my experience, the Kilkenny Ridge was the more difficult of the two. I started from Mill Brook Road, saving 1.2 miles, and about 150 feet of gain. It was easy to follow all the way to the Kilkenny Ridge Trail. The trail up to the Horn and over the Bulge to Cabot was decent, very primeval looking forest, and mossy rock footbed. The Horn is a fantastic peak, and should not be skipped, it's the best view you'll get all day. There is a spring near Cabot, but I've never found the spur trail to it. The trail going over Terrace is also decent, but you'll start to notice that the footbed starts to look a lot like the surrounding forest floor, though it's still easily followed. There may be some points in Bunnell Notch and Willard Notch that you can filter some water, but you'll have to go searching for it. The trail going over the Weeks' gets more primeval, and you'll need to take care to stay on trail, as the blazes are faded, and the foodbed looks exactly like the surrounding forest. I ended up off trail between North and Middle, and had to bushwhack to Middle. Blowdowns will likely be plentiful, and you'll probably run into more moose than people. Once past South Weeks, the trail becomes easier to follow, and climbs easily to Waumbek over a couple false summits. Once there, it's an easy trek down. I did this in late October last year, and had a fantastic day. I wrote a blog post about it, if you're interested,
HERE it is.
The Sandwich Range loop has one crux, the Sleepers. The Kate Sleeper Trail was decimated by "Super Storm" Sandy, with a huge section of blowdowns between East Sleeper and the Downes Brook Trail junction. I was up there before this (6/15/12), and found the whole loop to be a joy, though I went in the opposite direction. There have been several different groups working to clear the trail, and it's passable at this point, but you'll still have to climb over/duck under/crawl under/try and go around blowdowns along the way. They've recommended bringing a saw and clearing a few if you're out there. There was running water at the Downes Brook junction (if I recall), and I believe there's water near the former Camp Rich on Dicey's Mill Trail.
Both hikes are fantastic, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Kilkenny.
Hope this helps you out, and let me know if I can provide any further information.
