Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

[Soundbounder]

We had to compromise on the 50-mile plan. The AMC advised us not to hike more than 30 miles, given the scant protection we'd find above the treeline if winter weather struck; the two highest of the huts—Lakes of the Clouds and Madison Spring—were closed for the season. So we settled on a mini-traverse, starting just past picturesque Lakes of the Clouds and hiking between the five southernmost huts, a distance of nearly 30 miles that would take a normal person four days.
"Good thing we aren't normal," said Rob.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...le_Lifestyle_6

[CWSmith]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

A couple of my college students did a similar thing a few years ago - 9 peaks in one day. Of course, thet started from the parking lot at the bottom of the first peak. The mother who led the charge only had one day since she was training to return to the Himalayas.

[Willin']

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Had to laugh...

"We'll be done by 7 p.m.," said Rob, who spent two formative summers in Yosemite. "Eastern trails are easy."

I did Katahdin solo in a day last fall. Slept for 14 hours afterward.

[Eddiebou]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Wow, you guys are tough. I walked about 1/3 mile down a hill (wearing chest waders), trudged around in a duck marsh/timber swamp for 1/2 hr or so, then walked back up through the woods to the truck yesterday, and I was wore out.

[pefjr]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Ah, youth is not wasted on these hikers. I did 45 miles once across the Grand Canyon and back in three overnight 4 day hike(and lots of granola). Then, later that year, my buddy ran the same trip in a little less than 10 hours IIRC.

[S.V. Airlie]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

I don't know how many miles I hiked in a day in Alberta. I guess the only thing that kind of surprised me while sitting on a rock at 8 thousand feet and looking at where I spent the night before, it looked like the site was about a mile away. Felt as though I could reach out and tough it. Very deceptive!

Ran into an American tourist on the Isle of Skye at a pub no less. It was raining no less. Lousy weather. We chatted a while over a pint or two.. The next day, I headed out on my two wheels and did not see him for three days until we met again at a hostel on the east coast of Scotland. He looked at me and just gapped. I on a bike and he in a car. I had to show him my journal to prove how I had gone from point A, where we first met, to point B where we we met again. Distance was just something that I did not really think about whether it was 30 miles or 100.a day.

[J P]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

The longest single day hike I've done was inspired by Norman Maclean's writing about his younger days working with the Forest Service. In one of his stories he hikes something like 34 miles across the Bitterroot mountains in a day. A friend of mine had just finished reading it and suggested we repeat the same hike, so we did. The route was all trail ... except for part of a sidetrack detour we took up to a peak with a fire lookout, and we then had to bushwack off that mountain some miles to get back on the main route. There is just nothing like a couple of ice cold beers after a walk like that.

Here's a googlearth image of that hike. The magenta line is the route we did. Started from the left in Idaho, end in Montana on the right. The southerly dip at the left is the detour.



I think we figured we did about 33 miles.

[bamamick]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Damn. That's one heck of a hike. Must have been jogging.

Mickey Lake

[pefjr]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

The longest single day hike I've done was inspired by Norman Maclean's writing about his younger days working with the Forest Service. In one of his stories he hikes something like 34 miles across the Bitterroot mountains in a day. A friend of mine had just finished reading it and suggested we repeat the same hike, so we did. The route was all trail ... except for part of a sidetrack detour we took up to a peak with a fire lookout, and we then had to bushwack off that mountain some miles to get back on the main route. There is just nothing like a couple of ice cold beers after a walk like that.

Here's a googlearth image of that hike. The magenta line is the route we did. Started from the left in Idaho, end in Montana on the right. The southerly dip at the left is the detour.



I think we figured we did about 33 miles.

Is that LOLO pass?

[J P]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Damn. That's one heck of a hike. Must have been jogging.

Mickey Lake

Just walking about 2.75 mph avg. The off-trail part slowed us down a bit but it was nice going terrain for the most part.

Is that LOLO pass?

Lolo Pass/Hwy 12 would be a little above the top of the image. The saddle in the middle of this route, where it jogs north-south, is Blodgett Pass. Except for the one road going to the start of the trail on the left, that area is pretty much all roadless wilderness—for which I will be forever grateful to those that made it so.

[elf]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

I can't imagine wanting to do any of that. What do you see when you hurry like that? What do you smell, what do you learn to identify, treasure, remember, value?

What's the point?

[pefjr]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Except for the one road going to the start of the trail on the left, that area is pretty much all roadless wilderness—for which I will be forever grateful to those that made it so.

And keep it so. Beautiful Country. Every time I go up there I try to camp at the either Stanley or the headwaters of the Little Salmon just south of Montana.

[CWSmith]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

James Keelaghan - Cold Missouri Waters

If the MacLean book "Young Men and Fire" interests you, the song will work for you, too.

[coelacanth2]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

Haven't gone that far, but a few years ago we were scouting a mountain for elk hunting. Did about 16 miles or so starting at about 2500 and ending up at about 8000 or so. Western Montana. We'd pulled in the night before and pitched camp and had hit the trail early to scout. Carried the gear for a spike camp, JIC we found a good area. Oh, and the rifles and pistols and other stuff.

Met a local rancher a couple of days later after we'd hunted that mountain and a couple of others. He and his neighbors couldn't believe how far we'd walked. "You don't have horses? Good Heavens, there's most of the 20 year olds around here wouldn't or couldn't do that. Horse has 4 legs you got two - that's why you ride. And we all figured folks from back East was all soft. 'Specially flatlanders". (We'd told him we were from sea-level Delaware )

Been back once since, want to go again.

[J P]

Re: Hiking 30 miles across the White Mountains in one day

I can't imagine wanting to do any of that. What do you see when you hurry like that? What do you smell, what do you learn to identify, treasure, remember, value?

What's the point?

Good questions. Not everyone’s cup of tea for sure.

"What do you see when you hurry like that?"
Hallucinations eventually.

"What do you smell ...?"
Sweat. Horse and mule crap now and then.

"... what do you learn to identify,"
Which sweaty fabrics smell worse than others, worse than mule poop.
Places where my boots could fit better.

"... treasure,"
Good boots, the chocolate in my gorp, water.

"... remember,"
Being tired, hungry to the core, looking forward to cold beers followed by greasy burgers and fries, hot bath, comfortable bed, sleep. A massage would be heaven.

"...value?"
Excellent value. Hiking is inexpensive.

"What's the point?"
Confirming I was as tough and dumb as my friend and Norman MacLean.
Also a good way to lose weight if one needed that.


Seriously though, I think I understand the gist of your comments. That kind of hike is different, more of an inner journey really, a look into one’s personal capabilities. Plus it’s just mighty beautiful country there and it was an opportunity to see a route I probably wouldn’t normally take if I were doing a multi day trip in the area.

I do try to get out just about every day for ‘regular’ walks and it is more my nature to poke around, look at sign, listen, ‘smell the roses’, rather than dash along. In fact I often need to prod myself so I actually get some exercise out of it too.