Flip Flop Questions

[mrkhakipants]

Hello All,

My girlfriend and I will be starting our thru hike May 2016 and we have decided we will flip flop the trail. We will start in Harpers Ferry, hike north to Katahdin, return to Harpers Ferry, and then hike south to Springer. I have a couple of questions for anybody who has taken this route.



What gear should we plan to start with, cold or warm?
What is the best travel option to return to Harpers Ferry?
Do you feel you were conditioned for the northern section?


I appreciate all of your insight!

~MrKhakiPants

[bigcranky]

It'll be warm. Not really hot, but it'll get hot soon.

Lots of travel options. Bus or hitch to Portland or Boston, fly to DC, train to HF. Or just train to DC from Boston.

We hiked with several nobo folks last summer in VT who had started at Harper's, and they were certainly in excellent hiking shape by that point. (This is anecdotal, of course, with lots of selection bias.)

My plan for a thru-hike when I retire is to start at Harper's Ferry in May. It's a good plan for all sorts of reasons -- you get to "finish" twice, hike the South in the fall, get through the mid-Atlantic before it gets too hot, hit Maine in mid to late summer, etc.

[Cotton Terry]

I'm thinking about a flip-flop next year, too, starting in HF. When is a good time to start?

[squeezebox]

I would think another Flip Flop kick off would be possible, You'll have several journals to check out this summer.
Mega bus is another option getting to DC. dirt cheap.

[bigcranky]

I'm thinking about a flip-flop next year, too, starting in HF. When is a good time to start?

I would start mid to late May. If you are a very strong hiker you could start mid summer, but bleh, too hot in the mid Atlantic.

[Cotton Terry]

I would start mid to late May. If you are a very strong hiker you could start mid summer, but bleh, too hot in the mid Atlantic.

Mid-May works for me, bigcranky. Thanks!

[bigcranky]

Lots of info at the ATC page here (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/thru-section-hiking/when-where-to-start), and magazine story here. (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/docs/default-document-library/alternative_thru-hikes_atjourneysmarapr_2014.pdf?sfvrsn=0)

[joshuasdad]

I think the May 2nd NOBO kickoff is the best time, as it puts you in NH and ME at the perfect times. If you go much later, it will be hot in the mid-Atlantic, and you will have more NOBOs blowing past you.

[Singto]

Someone suggested starting a flip flop in Waynesboro instead of HF. This allows for getting into "trail shape" through SNP and you could time it for hitting the flip flop kick-off in HF, whenever that might be. I'm considering this for 2016 or 2017.