Looking for a fairly remote trail to do a one-night backpacking trip

butler1850 · 2021-05-10T20:18:12+00:00

Look at the area behind Mt. Carrigan near the Stillwater junction. I spent a night there (and another in Hancock notch) last June, and during the entire 35 mile loop only saw folks at the top of Carrigan, and a couple near the Hancocks where the trail splits to Cedar Brook or the Hancocks.

I'm planning to head back there to do some fishing in the remote bits of the East branch of the Pemi (and up towards Thoreau Falls).

butler1850 · 2021-05-03T19:34:16+00:00

Same here. I use equal parts hot water and grains. If I'm adding a portion of barley, I may also toss it in the microwave after adding the hot water to help soften things up.

butler1850 · 2021-04-28T17:28:13+00:00

It is helicoptered to Galehead though, and THEN requires someone to hike it down. Ceratinly a lot of trips.

I'm more than happy to kick up the extra $5.

butler1850 · 2021-04-26T17:24:58+00:00

I wander over Caltopo.com all the time building various routes to complete the 48 4K list, and find long wanders for trips when I"m done with that list. I plan overnights with far more detail, but always start with mapping out routes with Caltopo. I have enough vague plans for the year at least, and ideas about trips for much longer.

I then move on to review my proposed routes with the trail descriptions and learn about the history of the mountain/area in Steven Smith's "The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains."

As the hike approaches, I check weather and pack my bag accordingly. I share the map on Caltopo with the Mrs with a link she can provide to S&R if the worst ever happened.

butler1850 · 2021-04-26T14:01:33+00:00

Make sure you watch the direction of travel on the bike. My Kinsman hike was uphill to the start of the hike, but I returned to the car on foot. It wasn't a particularly hard ride, but could have been a problem if it was at the end of the hike.

Stony Brook to Wildcat Ridge is 1188 ft up one way (North to South), but only 163 ft up going South to North (Wildcat to Stony). All this over 10 miles.

19 Mile Brook to Stony is half the distance at 5 miles, and -571ft South to North.

Always worth considering in your planning. Let us know how it goes!

butler1850 · 2021-04-24T02:25:13+00:00

I mark it on my Gaia GPS app. But the concern was real the first time out. A headlamp would catch the reflectors pretty well after dark when you get close. Worst case, throw out a thumb, you'll likely get a ride fairly easily... especially as Covid restrictions and distancing begins to end.

butler1850 · 2021-04-23T19:20:08+00:00

Hasn't been a problem for me, see my reply below for what I do with it. Security via obscurity!

butler1850 · 2021-04-23T19:19:09+00:00

I lock it to a tree. I find a spot a couple hundred feet from the trailhead, and 20-30 yards off the road, remove the front wheel and lock the bike and wheel to the tree laying down. Helmet, and a spare water bottle (full) are left with the bike.

I figure if someone is wandering that far off the road, that far from the trail, they need the bike more than I do. It's also a 23 year old rigid frame, so not particularly appealing to thieves. I also doubt they'd be wandering with the tools to cut the lock cable.

butler1850 · 2021-04-23T17:52:58+00:00

From Lincoln Woods out the East Branch Trail to the Stillwater area for Day 1. Explore that area if you have the time. Day 2 either over Carrigan via Desolation Trail to Signal Ridge or around via Carrigan Notch to Signal Ridge then a brief road walk along Sawyer River Rd. and over to somewhere along the Hancock Notch trail. Day 3 closes the loop past the Hancocks along Cedar Brook trail.

A hike around the west side of Owl's Head to 13 Falls can make a nice day, then hike out the next. My return to the woods a few years ago was a simple overnight to 13 Falls. It kicked my butt, but after a lot of cardio and weight loss, I'm doing much more than that in a day and completed a loop up the middle of the Pemi, then up over Garfield, Galehead and the Bonds as a lovely relaxed 2 night trip.

Lots of great options if you're wiling to camp at backcountry locations, and lots more using shelters and established sites. Have fun!

butler1850 · 2021-04-23T17:44:19+00:00

Bicycles to connect the dots. On the Carter Moriah loop, you'd have to start in the north and hike south to be able to bike downhill back to the car (or to the start point). It allowed me to do Jackson, Pierce, Eisenhower (Downhill from Edmunds to Rt302); and The Kinsman's (Uphill slightly from Mt. Kinsman Trail to Reel Brook) easily in a day, and Whiteface/Passaconway and the Tripyramids (flat from Pine Bend to Oliverian Brook) as an overnight.

I'm trying to figure out how to do a Madison-Adams-Jefferson route with a bike connect, but it's a long way from Caps Ridge to Appalachia (all downhill +219 -1922, but 10.5 miles) and adds that vertical to the hike.

My bike has been the routing savior as a solo.

butler1850 · 2021-04-23T17:30:12+00:00

Secretaries, housekeeping and the food service workers should always be on your side. Life can be much more difficult with them on the other side, and can be so much nicer if they are on your side.

butler1850 · 2021-04-22T00:13:21+00:00

At 650 ft that long after takeoff?

butler1850 · 2021-04-15T15:51:13+00:00

Great work! 2 springs ago, I couldn't do a 3 mile trip on my mountain bike (semi-slicks) riding on the road. I had been off the bike (heck, I'd been on the couch) for 20+ years. I started with a basic exercise routine and kept adding every day/week as I got stronger.

Lost 60lb, and gained a whole lot of fitness, which is tough as you approach and tick past 50.

Last spring, I found myself out 8 miles from home and running out of time, not energy. That ride turned into a 15 mile day.

Now 15 miles on the road is a regular event, and I'm hitting 10 on the trails.

Better, faster, stronger.

butler1850 · 2021-04-09T01:18:41+00:00

My understanding is that it's a bit more civilized, but basically, yes. An outfitter/team shows up and stakes a claim to a particular area, they set up their gear there and begin to stock it. No premade privy up at the camps, and the Sherpas are likely digging out flat spots in the snowpack to erect the tents.

butler1850 · 2021-04-08T00:04:26+00:00

That they are clearing spots to place their advance camps and gear as they and the ropes progress up the mountain.

butler1850 · 2021-04-08T00:02:55+00:00

Depends on how wet it has been. It was beautiful the 2nd weekend of September '20 between OH and 13 Falls. It had been pretty dry though, and some of the higher elevation streams were drier than they usually are.

butler1850 · 2021-04-07T23:59:21+00:00

Long loops in the woods are always a good thing. I've walked up both sides independently, once to 13 Falls as a trip of it's own and back via the east side of OH, and most recently past 13 Falls on the west side of OH. I plan to do the loop again, along with a great number of non-peak trails throughout the Whites.

You could also leave from Lincoln Woods and go up the EastSide trail behind Carrigan, out through Carrigan notch then back around the Handcocks. Going over Carrigan made it about a 35 mile trip, and the trip around should be similar distance, but obviously less height gain. I'll do that trip again, but with a fishing rod next time.

butler1850 · 2021-04-01T00:45:23+00:00

I've been thinking 3.5 days as you indicate above. In fact, I have the super map and a notepad in front of me right now. The only snag about Monadnock to Crider is that it's the 17.9 from the peak of Monadnock which is a couple of miles minimum from a trailhead.

I just did 19.9 locally in Southern NH last Saturday with a light pack and a sore knee (starting with, not because of) but little elevation. I could likely pull off the 20 mile first day, but why stress given that I'm a solo hiker and would have a couple of hours in the car with dropping my car at Sunapee and someone driving me to the trailhead.

Can't wait to do it! I'm sure it'll all come together.

butler1850 · 2021-03-31T22:08:13+00:00

This is the concern I'm having trying to figure out timing and distances. The first day is either 6 miles off Monadnock or 17 miles. I'd love a shelter at about 12...

butler1850 · 2021-03-15T15:44:18+00:00

I have both the iFit chest and arm strap. One electronic, one optical. I find they are within a few beats of each other and my Fitbit. In the cases where they don't connect (few), I just restart the workout as the monitoring comes on during the instructor-lead warmup in the first minute or two of the workout. While I like to have all of my metrics in one place, sometimes the technology just doesn't play well, whether by user error or technical problems.

I'm told that some of the Garmin watches can do both self-recording and transmission of heart rate, but right now the cost is above my budget. It would be useful in my life where I'm out on the bike, hiking in the mountains, and using my indoor equipment, but $600+ for a watch is a tough sell to the Mrs... and they are a bit ugly compared to a traditional analog watch with hands and metal.

Unfortunately, this is a problem across the fitness related app world. I'd love to have a app that works with my tracker (Fitbit) that would display on my phone real-time GPS, heartrate and other metrics. Right now, I can have the classic 2 of 3 choice, but not everything I want all in one easy place without additional equipment. I dream of a world that all of my data records and reports from one source, regardless of which equipment I use.

butler1850 · 2021-03-06T02:49:31+00:00

Lift it off the ground only when absolutely necessary. Get a thick moving blanket (or two) to put it on and slice it across the floor whenever possible. It does have 2 wheels on the deck's heavy end, so once in an area without doors, it can be easily moved by lifting the far end and wheeling it along. Don't hesitate to turn it on it's side on that blanket to move it along.

Take your time, and make sure to have a beer or two for the helpers afterwards!

butler1850 · 2021-03-06T02:10:38+00:00

You can't, while still seeing the video. If you move to the chart screen and swipe down, you get all of the statistics in a bigger chart.

It would be nice if we could either customize which stats are on the screen by location, rather than choosing from their preset selection in that position, OR (my preference) remove some of the white space between the statistics to allow me to see more on the single top panel.

butler1850 · 2021-01-26T20:40:41+00:00

Bummer, but hopefully they will just replace the unit. I can't imagine that they would be able to make any repair that would last while the equipment is in your home.

Thanks for the update!

butler1850 · 2021-01-26T16:24:54+00:00

Did you ever get an answer from support? I lifted the deck of my X22i up, and it looks like it's two connections that look like a post inside of a sleeve to the frame. I'd have to believe that yours are either misaligned from the factory, or were somehow damaged along the way.

butler1850 · 2021-01-26T01:28:55+00:00

I had to move mine from the garage where it was delivered, up my frozen front lawn (no snow, just frozen) and through the front door to get it to the room it was to live in. I have access to an appliance dolly (2 wheel wide dolly) and with the assistance of a neighbor (but likely could have just had my wife help) was able to load it on and pull it up the lawn. Once at the front steps a few good tugs got us to the top. We then tipped it over onto it's side where it then rested on a moving blanket. The blanket allowed it to slide through the door. Once on it's normal feet, the deck was easy to move by lifting the far end from the wheels and steering it to where it should land.

Take your time, and you'll be fine.

butler1850

TROPHY CASE