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orangebullet
12-23-2013, 13:29
I hiked from GA to NY (near Bear Mtn) in 2013. I want to finish in 2014 with thru-hikers. When do you think would be the best time to go back to NY to finish and meet the first wave of thru-hikers?

bert304
12-23-2013, 13:59
Most likely in mid to late June or first 2 weeks of July

4eyedbuzzard
12-23-2013, 14:01
Depends on how early they all start and weather in the south. The pack will be spread out by then and you'll have thru's all the way from May to July.

Slo-go'en
12-23-2013, 14:01
Most likey about the same time as when you got off, assuming you started in April and had a typical pace. I'd guess the real early/fast ones start to show up in mid June, with the rest staggering through during July.

max patch
12-23-2013, 14:17
I'd do one of two things if I was in your position; 1. I'd start on just about the same date as I left the trail, so to experience a thru hiking season at my pace, or 2. I'd decide what date I'd want to finish, and since I knew my pace from last year, calculate the appropriate starting date.

RED-DOG
12-23-2013, 16:10
I would do what Max suggest forget about hiking with thru-hikers, by the time they reach NY they will be in hiker mode and Flying, if you try and hike with them Straight from your couch they would just hike you right in to the ground, and that would be no fun al all.

moldy
12-23-2013, 16:36
I would have 2 hikes. The first one would start about April 15 and would when end in mid May when the bugs start to get bad perhaps Southern Vermont. Then I would come back and finish the trail in Mid August with some of the thru-hikers.

Alligator
12-23-2013, 17:33
It sounds like you want to insert yourself at the lead edge of the hiker bubble and try to keep up. Just factor in how many miles you hiked before your trail legs kicked in (estimate the days too). Plan on intercepting the hiker bubble roughly that many miles from NY. Or even slightly less and the bubble may overtake you for a bit. Whatever the date for the bubble to start to pass through that point ahead of NY, subtract out the days to get there for your start date in NY.

In other words, you will be building up your trail legs while the pack is hurtling along at full speed. Your speeds will be similar somewhere past your NY starting point.