section hike opinions

[wi11ow]

I am preparing to start hiking sections of the AT one to three months at a time. Realistically, I will only visit each section of the trail once; and am not sure what month to be where? I know from hiking in the Adirondacks that I can tolerate 80 degree weather much better than temperatures below 40 degrees. I would love to visit sections when trees and flowers are in bloom vs when everything is bare. I do realize that weather and such can surprise you; but I'd like to give myself the best chance of being in each section when trees are in bloom and temperatures tend to be on the milder side. I tend to do most of my NY hiking mid August through October; but I don't know if this would be best for sections of the AT? I would love to hear opinions!

[ChuckT]

Haven't you answered your own question? With "when trees and flowers are in bloom"? That would be middle to late Spring.

Me-self I vastly prefer Autum with the leaves turning. Water can be a problem then so that's to be considered.

Cvt

[Kerosene]

I, too, prefer autumn hiking (October down south; September up north), although ChuckT notes that water availability can frequently be an issue, and it is difficult to accurately time the height of fall colors.

I found mid-May to be quite pleasant in the south, moving into early June as you progress north into the mid-Atlantic states.

[MuddyWaters]

The ATC site lists the best times to hike each state
They just dont tell you why

[Cookerhiker]

You can't go wrong hiking any part of the trail south of Vermont in May.

[wi11ow]

I appreciate the input. I'm really unfamiliar with southern seasons so this helps.

[fredmugs]

My favorite AT section hike was James River to Pearisburg in Oct '08. Colors were peaked out and when I got to Tinker Cliffs and McAfee Knob the views were some of the best I had for the entire trail. Seems like the highs were in the upper 50s and the lows got down close to but not below freezing which is about as cold as I want to stand it.