The Notches of New Hampshire are Pretty Darn Awesome!

Well hello trail and gravel friends. I’m fresh off 5 days of vacation in Northern New Hampshire, staying in the beautiful Coleman State Park. While the town and surrounding area is clearly set up for and overrun by ATV enthusiasts, as an active outdoor family, we found no shortage of things to do and places to explore. One of the highlights of the trip was a short but stout hike up the Table Rock Trail #50 in the middle of Dixville Notch State Park. This particular view was striking as the hike up was just shy of 1 mile, so in one sense it seemed like you were right on top of Lake Gloriette, The Balsams and NH Route 26 which were all right below you at the top. But on the other hand, due to the striking contrast of the very narrow table rock ledge at the viewing area at the top, and the deep notch far below, it seemed like you were up very high.

Being a frequent driver (and somewhat frequent runner/hiker) through Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch in New Hampshire, this had me wondering more about New Hampshire notches. What makes them so unique, how many are there, and how can I help others learn more about them to make sure they are added to your running to-do list. As a side note, notches aren’t unique to New Hampshire, though there are several very notable ones there. Other names for notches include gaps or mountain passes. Smugglers Notch in Vermont would also fall under this category.

Wikipedia lists 7 notches in New Hampshire:

• Carter Notch

• Crawford Notch

• Dixville Notch

• Franconia Notch

• Kinsman Notch

• Pinkham Notch

• Zealand Notch

Something I learned after our visit and hike to Dixville notch is its quirky presidential voting tradition. According to the 2020 census, the town of Dixville Notch had a total population of…wait for it…4. Yes, four. So what does a town of 4 do to gain notoriety when it comes to the national media spotlight? On the day that the polls are open, they gather at midnight, have EVERYONE in the town come to vote at midnight (yes, all 4 of them) and then they send in their official voting results before anyone else in the country. No joke. From Wikipedia:

Dixville Notch is best known in connection with its longstanding midnight vote in the U.S. presidential election, including during the New Hampshire primary (the first primary election in the U.S. presidential nomination process). In a tradition that started in the 1960 election, all the eligible voters in Dixville Notch gather at midnight in the ballroom of The Balsams. The voters cast their ballots and the polls are officially closed when all of the registered voters have voted – sometimes merely one minute later. The results of the Dixville Notch vote in both the New Hampshire primary and the general election are traditionally broadcast around the country immediately afterwards.

Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch are my 2 personal notch favorites when it comes to hiking and trail running. While I’ve done several in the Franconia Notch and Cannon Mountain area (including technically some of the western side of the Pemi Loop which covers some of the same trails) my personal favorite was a loop I put together a couple of years ago that I titled the Franconia Notch-Ridge-Notch-Ridge-Notch run (yes, that’s an absurd title). I started at the base of Cannon Mountain in Franconia, went up Cannon, over the Kinsman Peaks, back down into the Notch, up on the other side of I-93, up the Slide trail, over to Mt Lafayette and finally back down into the notch. It ended up being a total of 23.6 miles and 9,900 ft of elevation gain. I remember thinking at the time that this route was as burly as the Pemi Loop with more elevation gain per mile. I made a video about my experience which you can check out here.

For a much shorter and quicker run in the Franconia/Crawford area, my go-to is Arethusa Falls. I’ve done this one a number of times, usually as an out and back. But last time I visited, I also added on the Frankenstein Cliff trail which was a very nice loop. Check out the Strava activity here.

There are so many to explore in New Hampshire that no single recommendation or list would suffice. Perhaps this list from the Visit the White Mountains website is a good starting point.

Community Corner: Share Your Notch Stories

I believe that every trail runner has a unique story to tell. Have you visited one or more of these NH notches? Tell us about it! I invite you to share your most memorable experiences in the New Hampshire notches. Send in your tales, photos, and even your favorite trail running recipes for a chance to be featured in our next edition! Comment below, or shoot me a note at [email protected]

John Kelly sets a new FKT on Vermont’s 270 mile Long Trail

In typical John Kelly understated fashion, the Tennessee ultra-runner set a quiet but very stout new Fastest Known Time (supported) on Vermont’s Long Trail, finishing on Monday July 3. I wrote about John’s attempt in last week’s newsletter as he was about a day into it. His new record, which stands at 4 days, 4 hours and 25 minutes, is a little over 7 hours faster than the previous FKT. Speaking of the previous FKT, the record holder there was Ben Feinson, who helped and accompanied John on part of his journey. Read more from John and his Long trail experience in this article from iRunFar.

Andrew Drummond’s Mt Washington Summit streak lives on!

And if you’re still counting (I am) Andrew Drummond’s epic daily summit of Mt. Washington is now at 47 days. I’ve made it a personal goal to hype this thing up because it is incredible and I think the average folks who don’t understand the tenacity of the white’s could overlook the significance of such a feat. In 47 days days, he has racked up over 410 miles and 208k ft of elevation gain. In the Whites. Absurd. Hats off Andrew, what you are doing is just phenomenal. In case you want to see the numbers, here’s an excel file to follow along.

Until next time, get outside!

Ricky

[email protected]

www.outdoorendurance.etsy.com