Skip to main content

Introduction

Greetings!  My daughters,  Alex (14) and Sage (12), and I (Trish) hiked the Cohos Trail from end to end, northbound, from July 29-August 12.  We hiked for eleven days, rested for two planned "zero" days, and took another two emergency off-the-trail days due to incoming thunderstorms.  This blog documents our adventures.

Note -- it is currently 8/14/2017.  Beginning tomorrow, I will post a day's worth of trail adventures each day.  For example, tomorrow I will post the adventures from our first day of hiking, the day after tomorrow I will post the adventures from our second day of hiking, etc.  There will be a ton of photos in each post; my hope is that this blog proves useful to those planning a Cohos Trail thruhike in the near future.

First, the essentials.  Besides the standard hiking gear, a Cohos Trail hiker NEEDS to carry the following:

Databook
Cohos Trail map

This blog is not meant to be a substitute for the Databook!  Buy, read, and carry the Databook. 

Speaking of standard hiking gear, please note that the Cohos Trail is rugged, rocky, traverses through miles of thick and tall weeds, and goes through areas known for the world's worst weather.  This is not the John Muir Trail, where you can expect most of your nights to be dry.  This is not the Appalachian Trail, where you can expect to see people on a regular basis.  For most of this trail, you will hike through true wilderness, not seeing anyone for days at a time, completely at the mercy of the often times unpredictable northern New Hampshire weather.  This trail is not for the beginner hiker, nor is it for the faint of heart.  Hardiness and a good attitude are a must.  Bring your waterproof layers, your insulating layers, your tent, your first aid kit, etc. etc.  

Come back tomorrow afternoon; I should have the first day (Davis Path from the southern terminus to Mt. Isolation) posted by 2 or 3pm.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Post- Hike Notes

The Cohos Trail is a rugged and tough hike through New Hampshire's wild northern backcountry.  If you are from out-of-state and only have experience hiking western trails, or if you have never hiked mountainous territory in New England, then please understand that these trails are not graded for horses/mules, that New Hampshire doesn't believe in switchbacks, and that weather here can and often does turn on the drop of a dime.  This is one of the most difficult areas to hike in the USA.  Our trails are full of boulders and roots, and the path is sometimes only as wide as your foot.  We have ticks, thorns, snakes, mosquitoes, spiders, and blackflies everywhere on the trail.  If you're really lucky, you'll find ground wasps too.  (Yes, we also have moose and bear, but moose and bear really aren't a concern unless you decide to use your food sack as a pillow.  Leave them alone and give them space, and they'll return the favor). Given the above, you will...

August 11, 2017. Happy Corners/Pittsburgh to Deer Mountain Campground

About 19.6 miles with perhaps around 1700 feet of elevation gain. Route 3, Danforth Road, Prospect Mtn Trail, Ramblewood Link, Covell Mtn Trail, Round Pond Brook Trail, Bog Bridge Trail, Magalloway Road, Route 3, Falls in the River Trail, Idlewilde Spur Trail, R&J Chaput Trail, Lower Black Cat, Middle Black Cat, Upper Black Cat, Sophie's Lane, Route 3 Our next to last day! We left our cabin around 6am, turned right (left if you are coming from Young's Store), walked a tenth of a mile along Route 3, and turned right onto Danforth Road. One walks this road for about 1.4 miles before turning onto a normal trail.  Use the map combined with the Databook to make sure you are on the right track, for the blazes are sparse.  The map clearly shows you should walk right at this intersection... ...and then again at a next one, but when one comes to a junction up high, underneath what looks like two private residences, one in both available directions, turn lef...

August 12, 2017. Hiking Day Eleven: Deer Mountain to Canada!

Sophie's Lane and Fourth Connecticut Lake Trail 7.5 miles with about 900 feet of elevation gain. It rained overnight, but we didn't care; it's usually a pain to pack up a wet tent, but this was our last day and we didn't have far to go.  We even slept in  -- instead of getting up at 5am and heading out by 6, we slept until 7:30 and headed out around 9.  Sloths! It took about five minutes to get back to Sophie's Lane and start heading toward Canada. We stopped to say hello to this little guy/gal along the way. Sophie's Lane is easy walking.  It's a very pleasant way to spend your last few miles -- you're on a nice country road that feels flat the entire way.  We tried to slow our pace since our ride wasn't supposed to arrive at the border until 5pm; with the way we were walking, we were bound to get there hours earlier.  We couldn't seem to not hike quickly, though...quickly was our natural pace now and it felt strange slow...