Just a bit of a stream of consciousness here and then a couple of questions if anyone can help with.

I'm planning on hiking the AT once again in 2013. I've previously done 3 AT and a PCT thru. 2013 will be the 10th anniversary of my first thru. Plus, I wanted to celebrate the life of two of my hiking friends from 2003 that have passed away. I've always done a Northbound thru but I've always thought about doing a Southbound. The biggest problem I've faced in doing a Southbound hike is my work schedule. I'm sort of semi-retired but work winters at a ski resort. The earliest I can be on the trail is April 20. I have to be back in Utah to start my winter job by Nov 5. As I said, I've always gone North but I've seriously started thinking about the possibility of going south. I am struggling with two factors though. Those are the what is the earliest I could start at Katahdin and the amount of time I'd have to complete the hike.

I know the start date at Kathadin is totally dependent on the past winter and the spring weather. If I could start at Katahdin June 1, that would give me about 155 days to finish at Springer (6/1 - 11/3). The fastest of my three trips was 2007 when I finished in 161 days. I have no doubt I could have finished earlier without any difficulty. Cutting a week, for me, shouldn't be any problem. However if I have to cut 2 or 3 or 4 weeks out of the schedule, I'm not sure I can do that. I'm not as young as I was way back in 2003!

The other thing that bothers me is the possibility of having to hike with a hard "drop dead" date hanging over my head. That's not totally new. The Oct 15 camping closure of Baxter is always there every year when going North. I've never worried too much about it but I've always been aware of it and worked it into my planning. If I could go southbound with 155 days, I think I'd feel OK about the amount of time I have and not obsess about it. On the other hand if I have to cut off 2, 3, or 4 weeks, I'm sure that would affect my thinking and the amount of pressure I would feel every day.

OK...that's the venting part! Here are the questions I have. I'll admit I've never really paid a lot of attention to the opening dates for Katahdin. It just hasn't been something on my radar so I haven't followed it. What is the traditional date Katahdin opens? Is there somewhere that shows a history of those dates?

Thanks!