Southbound at lehigh gap

imported
#1

since i’m considering a sobo hike next year, i’m wondering how the trail “feels” in certain places that i’m used to traveling northbound…one of those places is lehigh gap…that climb up from palmerton is a doozy and so i’d like to hear from some sobos if they experienced much difficulty coming DOWN the mountain there…guess i’m also wondering about the same thing with bald pate and maybe mahoosuc arm, too, in maine…and while i’m on the subject, i wouldn’t mind hearing from any 50+ women out there who might wish to recommend a southbound solo trek on the AT…HOW’S THAT MAY START AT KATAHDIN?

maw-ee

#2

Lehigh Gap just has one 15ft stretch where you have to use your hands going northbound. It’s not that bad southbound, and there’s a way you can loop around the steep part like a blowdown if it gets your nerves.

Duct Tape

#3

Hey, maw-ee…my one-word summary of a solo SOBO hike for a 50±year-old woman is “challenging.” Unless your hiking year is a lot different than mine, you will find no other hikers of your age and gender. Almost none of your age. Very few of your gender. For the rest of the story (and a very, very long one it is), check my TJ. I didn’t start in May, though, I started in July.

The climb down into Lehigh Gap was a bugger–hard on the knees. If it had been raining, I would have taken the blue-blaze. I did go down the Mahoosuc Arm in the rain, working my way down the roots. It wasn’t too bad. Baldpate was also sort of nasty–it was raining when I went over that, too. But…it’s all do-able. None of the hard stuff lasts forever.

Marta/Five-Leafed Clover

#4

Maw-ee,
The nobo hike out of Lehigh terrified me; I was too scared to turn around and go back down. If doing it again in either direction, I’d take the blue blazed “Winter Trail” around. Bald Pate was easier for me going south. Had no trouble with mahoosic arm. I was 59 then. A sobo out of Maine sounds good to me. However, there are many stream fordings, and at that time of year, they will be raging. Good luck.

margaret

#5

Greetings and Salutations.In 2001 I flopped from Harpers Ferry to the Delaware WaterGap, and came south through the Lehigh Gap in the rain. It was a bit unnerving, and hard to find adequate footing at times. It is doable, and patience is the key. Without the rain, it would have been much easier. The stretch before the down was depressing, as everthing up there was dead. It felt like hiking on the dark side of the moon, or on an old chemical dump. That year I met 3 woman around your age, 1 hiking solo. Good luck.

Kingfish

#6

Four years ago I started section hiking the AT with Schwartz my spouse. I had just retired at 62. We have met many women my age and older, some solo. There are always others on the trail willing to help. We did Maine last Aug. The rivers were down and no problem. I would be very cautious in May or June. We hope to complete the trail and 700 mi of the northern sections in July and Aug.
Good luck and hope we meet you.

Quartz

#7

thanks so much guys for all this good advice!..i need to consider all the angles…you’ve got me thinking about stream crossings in maine…in '03 we had VERY wet weather and in late july the streams were pretty swollen, but nothing super dangerous like we thought there might be…have any of you other SOBOS had problems with crossings?..what about you, miss marta? (by the way, i’m getting lots of good info from your journal…thanks!)

maw-ee