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Hey all,
I'm new to the forum, but have been hiking for over a year now. Recently, I hiked both Katahdin and Mt. Washington within a week of each other. When I hiked Katahdin, I went from Chimney Pond to Cathedral Ridge across Knife's Edge and down Helon Taylor. A week later on Washington, I hiked/climbed up the Huntington Ravine Trail and down Tuckerman Ravine. My question is, in terms of difficulty, what would be some comparable hikes to the trails that I ascended on Katahdin and Washington? More specifically, are there any "must hike" class 3 or 4's in the Northeast that involve a lot of scrambling and climbing without the need for technical gear?
Thanks,
Justin

The Flume and Tripyramid slides are all comparable to Huntington. The Holt Trail up Cardigan in NH has some slabby, scrambly sections as well. Jefferson in NH from the Crawford Notch side is supposed to have some fun sections too. And as for more gnarly slide type routes you can definitely find a lot of them in the Adirondacks....the slide up Macomb is one i can think of off the top of my head

Did the Flume Slide trail in the winter without knowing about its steepness. Needless to say, it was a tough, tiring climb. All of the other suggestions you've made are very helpful. Thanks a lot!

JRaphaelson wrote:Hey all,
I'm new to the forum, but have been hiking for over a year now. Recently, I hiked both Katahdin and Mt. Washington within a week of each other. When I hiked Katahdin, I went from Chimney Pond to Cathedral Ridge across Knife's Edge and down Helon Taylor. A week later on Washington, I hiked/climbed up the Huntington Ravine Trail and down Tuckerman Ravine. My question is, in terms of difficulty, what would be some comparable hikes to the trails that I ascended on Katahdin and Washington? More specifically, are there any "must hike" class 3 or 4's in the Northeast that involve a lot of scrambling and climbing without the need for technical gear?
Thanks,
Justin

The Range Trail in the Adirondacks has some substantial third class on the southwest side of Saddleback, and some more on Gothics and a few other places. Other than that, if you're talking about trails, there's really not a whole lot else in the category you're talking about. Also, at the risk of being nit-picky, I would argue that none of the trails mentioned in this thread are truly fourth class, furthermore I doubt that any trail in the Northeast (or frankly the entire United States) has any substantial fourth class terrain. Basically...it sounds like you should just get into climbing

Mahoosuc Notch in SW Maine. "Toughest mile on the Appalachian Trail". I haven't done the whole AT but it's certainly the hardest mile of designated trail that I've ever done. And it's not even climbing!

You've already hit the clear best in the class, if your definition of "hard" is sustained steepness. The suggestions above more or less exhaust what's left for official trails, though I'd mention King Ravine on Mt Adams and a couple of trails out of the Great Gulf in the northern Presis. Do try the Tripyramid North Slide; if you like that, there are lots of other slides (in the Whites, the 'Daks, and Baxter) a few with trails but most without. (Who needs a trail if you've got a slide?) The Trap Dike in the Daks might be something to consider.

Here's a list of trails in New Hampshire with exposure, though it includes some very short segments on otherwise easy trails:
http://www.trishalexsage.com/p/terrifyi ... -five.html (scroll down to get to the list)

Edit: where is my brain? Try the Hell Brook trail on Mt Mansfield, VT!

Edit2: you can also scroll or search through this album, skipping the stuff that's not in the northeast:
That's a trail??
Which reminds me: any trail named "subway" is usually fun:


Edit3: I hear the Devil's Path in the Catskills is tough. The numbers are similar to a Presi Traverse, but supposedly the footing is worse.

Thanks for the replies guys! Check out my new trip report on Katahdin while you're at it: http://www.summitpost.org/one-state-hig ... eam/800280

Alot of good suggestions here. I will reiterate...

One of my personal fav's,,, The Trap Dike on Mt Colden and just about any slide in The Dack's. Also Basin & Saddleback from Haystack to Gothics is cool. The King Ravine Trail is fun on Adams. Cathedral, Knife edge loop is a great NE classic! Hellbrook Trail on Mansfield is very cool.

Peace

Jack Kerouac, Great job. I am sure you have read Into the Wild.

Anyway, get into climbing and head west if you really want steep.

If you're already ticking off routes in the Whites, the Six Husbands Trail on the east side of Mt. Jefferson is pretty tough. It's steep enough to warrant the placement of 5 ladders along the steep face as Jefferson rises out of the Great Gulf. The steepness of that part of the route plus the fact that you have to cross a few miles of the Great Gulf Wilderness before even getting to the mountain itself will certainly make for a long, hard-earned day.

he-he-he-he...

Come to West Virginia and try hiking up the sides of some of these mountains...