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  1. #1
    Registered User joeboxer's Avatar
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    Default May Section Franconia Notch NH-Kent Falls CT

    Ok I'm new here so ill start off by saying Hello, so Hello!

    But anyway, i'm planning a hike this May to go southbound from Franconia Notch NH to Kent Falls CT. This will be my longest hike yet, and also my first solo hike so I'm really pumped, its gonna be hard waiting for May... But what I was wondering is what can I expect on this hike? Specifically weather, trail conditions, etc. nothing really specific just a general idea so i can know a little of what to expect.

    Thanks!

  2. #2

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    Expect snow in NH above 3500 feet. Maybe just a little or maybe 3 feet on north facing trail. Snow melt will make it wet and slippery.

  3. #3
    AT 4000+, LT, FHT, ALT Blissful's Avatar
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    Lots of mud. Esp Vermont.







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  4. #4
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    Welcome, JoeB. Always nice to see someone else from Fairfield County on Whiteblaze. BTW, just so you know, the AT doesn't go through Kent Falls State Park, which is on the east side of both Rte 7 and the Housatonic between Cornwall Bridge and the town of Kent. But after hiking from Franconia Notch, I doubt you'll care. Good luck!
    OG

  5. #5
    CDT - 2013, PCT - 2009, AT - 1300 miles done burger's Avatar
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    You're going to be fighting off the blackflies from late May/early June on. Blackflies can be absolutely horrendous in MA, VT, and NH. I live in New England, and I love hiking more than anything, but I will not hike during blackfly season. If you can put off your hike until late June (or get through with it before Memorial Day), you might have a better time.

  6. #6
    Registered User joeboxer's Avatar
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    thanks guys, good stuff here. I was hoping to leave by the first week of May, and I was expecting to be in CT by the first week of June so maybe I can beat the blackflies before they get really bad.

  7. #7

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    Early May is not a good time to hike NH/VT due to lingering snow, lots of mud and cold rain storms. A better plan would to be to start in CT and go north. With any luck, it will have dried up, warmed up some by the time you get to VT/NH. But you might hit the beginning of black fly season. Get a head net!
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  8. #8
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    Consider starting south from Glencliff, just south of Mt. Moosilaukee, if it's looking as if there's still a lot of snow out there.

    Also, given the amount of mud you'll be running into, consider going with Gore-tex sock liners. You should also realize that hiking during the mud season is discouraged as a single hiker can have an inordinate impact on the condition of trails.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  9. #9
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    May is mud season in VT and NH and you will very likely be damaging the trails and new vegetation. Some trails will still be officially closed, winter blowdowns still being cleard. Please check Green Mountain Club website for details. All the trail maintainers will give you the stink eye if you go, or thank you if you go further South.

    A couple years ago, while I was doing some trail maintenance, a hiker asked me "what can I do to help the trails?" He had already passed a half-dozen "trail closed for mud season" signs. Ahhh, but it's always the other guy who causes the problems.

  10. #10
    There are 10 types of people: those who understand binary and those who don't.
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    I have hiked slivers of all three in May in various years, and I'm with the above posters on this one. Plenty of mud for sure, maybe some snow, and differing springtime weather from year to year may introduce you to several bazillion new friends in the Culex and Ectemnia genus as soon as early June.

    A few late springs ago I did a section hike of North Adams to Crawford Notch and found the mosquitoes and blackflies to be nearly maddening.

    It's been awhile since I've thought about taxonomy, so I might be a few letters off on the spelling.

    On the bright side, I saw few of the human species, however.

    It will be a nice section for your first solo adventure. And resupply is quite easy at several points along the way. Lots of people wrinkle their nose at Post Office maildrops, but the PO at Glencliff made lots of sense to me. I also had a maildrop at the General Store at VT 103, but in retrospect, it wasn't necessary. Hanover and North Adams are nice towns for hiker needs, and you might get to stay at the Secret Shelter.

    I'd tell you where, but it's a secret.

    Funkmeister/ N1NFG.qrp

  11. #11
    Registered User joeboxer's Avatar
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    Hm, well considering the possibility of snow in farther North NH I was thinking of maybe starting in Hanover instead.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Deadeye View Post
    May is mud season in VT and NH and you will very likely be damaging the trails and new vegetation. Some trails will still be officially closed, winter blowdowns still being cleard. Please check Green Mountain Club website for details. All the trail maintainers will give you the stink eye if you go, or thank you if you go further South.

    A couple years ago, while I was doing some trail maintenance, a hiker asked me "what can I do to help the trails?" He had already passed a half-dozen "trail closed for mud season" signs. Ahhh, but it's always the other guy who causes the problems.
    Quote Originally Posted by joeboxer View Post
    Hm, well considering the possibility of snow in farther North NH I was thinking of maybe starting in Hanover instead.
    Well, you go do what you like, but consider Deadeye's note above. MA-NJ would not be a bad section to do. VT-NH-ME are best from mid-July to end of Sept.

  13. #13
    Registered User joeboxer's Avatar
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    Well I just checked Green Mountain Club, and apparently they really don't want anyone hiking in VT during mud season! I don't want to cause any damage to the trails, and it seems that many of them would be closed anyway, this is kind of a bummer! I'll probably end up hiking to CT from much further south in VT, closer to the MA/VT border, if not at the border itself.

  14. #14

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    You haven't said what your backpacking experience is, but if you haven't hiked long distances before, MA is an excellent place to get some experience. Nice hiking and town stops for resupply are very easy.

  15. #15
    Registered User joeboxer's Avatar
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    Well i've done a lot of weekend trips and couple week long hikes in CT and Southern MA. So I'll probably end up doing MA-NY.

  16. #16

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    Okay, well maybe we will see you out there. Look for a small group of whining scouts and confused adult leaders in Northern CT on a weekend in April.

  17. #17
    Registered User joeboxer's Avatar
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    haha i think i am familiar with this group from the register at Riga shelter...

  18. #18
    AT 4000+, LT, FHT, ALT Blissful's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by joeboxer View Post
    Well i've done a lot of weekend trips and couple week long hikes in CT and Southern MA. So I'll probably end up doing MA-NY.

    Good idea!







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  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by joeboxer View Post
    haha i think i am familiar with this group from the register at Riga shelter...
    not us, but perhaps all scout groups look and sound the same

    funny you should mention Riga - that is where I spent my first night on my first AT section

  20. #20

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    I was going to add that MA/CT is nice in may - so is NY and NJ. You may just run in to me and my husband as well. finishing up CT and NY for my section hiking DH

    our first weekend out this year will be april but we are doing 2 long weekends in May on this section.
    ~Christy

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