How crowded is 100 Mile Wilderness in Sept?

[ajm]

Am toying with the idea of section hiking 100MW next September (2017). Will probably SOBO.

Wondering how busy it is that time of year. Am used to hiking primarily in Canada - this year spent a week on a wilderness trail and saw only 4 people total. Not expecting that type of solitude on the AT but not looking to encounter thousands of Day hikers and families out for a Sunday stroll either.

I understand Baxter can be busy - but I will be avoiding there because I travel with a dog. I know it's not part of 100MW but a lot of people seem to include it in discussions because of Katahdin (which I won't be doing).

Thoughts?

[egilbe]

September is a busy time for through-hikers finishing up their nobo hikes. I hiked it end of August, beginning of Sept this year and saw a few other hikers headed north, daily, but I really can't say I would call it busy. Some days we didnt see any one, and others we would see 20 other hikers headed North (we were headed South).

The HMW is not the White Mountains of NH. Thats what I call busy.

[ajm]

September is a busy time for through-hikers finishing up their nobo hikes.

I don't mind that, Thru-hikers are by then dialed in and pretty serious. They would have great stories too. And I could high five them as they went by

[Heliotrope]

Very few day day hikers in my experience. Agree with Egilbe. My favorite season is August and September. It's fun to high five the NOBOs as you head south. I am always open to hiking with others if you need a partner. I live 2 hours from Millinocket.


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[nsherry61]

Hike NOBO, with the majority of hikers, if you want to see fewer people. Hiking SOBO, you will pass every single NOBO hiker and the trail will feel crowded compared to hiking NOBO where you will only see SOBO hikers and the few NOBO hikers you are in the immediate trail vicinity of each day. Also, camp away for primary camping areas, because hikers will accumulate over the hours prior to dark at the common camping sites. If you "stealth camp" you will be alone at night, and again, see many fewer people and have a more isolated experience. If you want people, head to the shelters at night.

[rafe]

Busiest time of year.

[illabelle]

We were up there late Aug and early Sept. About 2 or 3 days south of Katahdin I counted NOBOs all day long, but did not differentiate between thru-hikers, weekenders, or section-hikers like ourselves. I counted 52 that day! A couple days later I counted 12.

Despite the numbers, the trail did not seem all that crowded. Spread those people out over several miles and it doesn't seem like so much. I only remember one shelter (Hurd Brook) being overloaded. Not the shelter itself, but the better tentsites.

[moldy]

I made this hike this year from Sept 21 to Sept 28. In the first 30 miles from Monson North I encountered about 10 day hikers per day. After chairback Mountain I never saw another day hiker. The Thru hikers were all in groups of 6 or 8. I slept in 5 shelters, 3 were full with thru hikers and 2 had only me. The 100 mile wilderness is a complete myth. It has not been a wilderness in 40 years. It has roads, nearby neighbors, food drops, trail magic and plenty of people. You can hear cars, trucks, chain saws, dogs barking. From any mountain top you can see lights from nearby homes that are connected to the electric grid. The 100 mile wilderness is part of the lore of the trail that was. Not the trail that is.

[rafe]

I made this hike this year from Sept 21 to Sept 28. In the first 30 miles from Monson North I encountered about 10 day hikers per day. After chairback Mountain I never saw another day hiker. The Thru hikers were all in groups of 6 or 8. I slept in 5 shelters, 3 were full with thru hikers and 2 had only me. The 100 mile wilderness is a complete myth. It has not been a wilderness in 40 years. It has roads, nearby neighbors, food drops, trail magic and plenty of people. You can hear cars, trucks, chain saws, dogs barking. From any mountain top you can see lights from nearby homes that are connected to the electric grid. The 100 mile wilderness is part of the lore of the trail that was. Not the trail that is.

I've hiked it twice now, once in 1990 and again in 2010. The first time, it really felt like wilderness. There were no cars at any of the road crossings. I met thru-hikers coming north, but no day hikers or short-section hikers.

2nd time thru, in 2010, it was a whole different experience, and felt much less like wilderness. Even the terrain was different. Eg. the area around Sydney Tappan campsite was a bald. In 2010 it was overgrown and lush, no views at all.

[dcdennis]

I would like to section the 100MW around that time as well. It's my most desired section and I'm super excited!