View Full Version : Need scheduling feedback for 2018
Gambit McCrae
12-21-2017, 17:32
Asking for several reasons - New Trail miles for me next year up in new England and would like some first hand experience.
I have pencil'd in To finish PA the week of July 4th & to fly up to Goose Pond to walk north for 16 days starting sept 1st.
Bugs and Heat are my main questions. Now this year I walked in Virginia all the way thru summer months and the heat never even became an issue, neither did the bugs. I would like to just get some feedback on these areas, during these times of the year. If I do not take advantage of the 3 day weekends on both of these dates then I do not have enough vacation to spend 3 weeks on the trail. That is my leading reason for choosing these dates.
On another point of interest - I averaged 17-20 MPD thru CT, NY NJ and PA this October. Can I expect to keep that average up thru Mass and Vermont? I am expecting to have to drop my daily mileage thru most of NH and ME but not sure by how much. I would like to be finished with the AT by the end of 2019 but I have a feeling I am going to have about 150 miles left to finish in 2020.
Mass offers some of the worst bugs of the trail, by September they are on the down side and are not too bad. I would bring some deet and if you are a shelter rat you may want a bug net for sleeping. I hiked Vermont in September and found the temp to be cool at altitude. What I liked was that when it was hot I could sleep higher on the mountains. Whatever speed you make South of there will be very similar to what you do here. Even the bigger climbs like Stratton and Killington are over a good trail with a decent grade. It's the same with Southern New Hampshire right up to the Whites.
PA is almost guaranteed to have temps of 80+ in July. North of Duncannon reliable water may become scarce.
Sept is usually pretty nice in VT, tending toward warmer rather than cooler. The mountains get a little bigger but you should be able to achieve your customary mileage until Mt. Moosilauke. Killington has a lot of collapsed sidehill tread north of Gov. Clement Sh. I found it very annoying last year.
Highland Goat
12-26-2017, 10:44
You should be able to maintain your accustomed pace in Vermont, and perhaps speed up in Massachusetts. As long as the weather is dry, Vermont is mostly slow in the northern reaches of the Long Trail.
You will love Vermont in September. Most NOBO thruhikers will have passed Vermont but there are still plenty of SOBO's as well as Long Trail hikers. Some of the new Long Trail hikers will remind you of your first days hiking on the AT...heavy packs and lots of effort to cover 10 miles. It's great to offer advise and encouragement to folks just starting out.
Slo-go'en
12-26-2017, 15:40
September is a good time for MA/VT. It's still reasonably mild and the wet part of fall comes later in October. You won't see much color though, but there will be a little here and there near the end of the hike.
Fly to Boston and take the bus to Lee, MA. That's the closest you can get to the trail near Upper Goose Pond. It should be reasonably easy to hitch from Lee over to the trail, about 10 miles east on RT 20. I'm pretty sure it's an evening bus from Boston, so making the connection with the airline schedule should be easy enough to arrange.
Mass is easy enough. Only one major climb up to Greylock, but it's just a long, moderate up. Staying at Bascom Lodge at the top of Greylock is a treat. $50 for the bunk room, but you get complementary muffins and coffee in the morning. I asked how many muffins I was allowed to eat and they said "as many as you want", just what I wanted to hear :) Also plan to cook your own dinner. If you opt to eat there, budget at least another $50, but you'll have a gourmet meal.
Stock up at North Adams for the next segment to Manchester Center where Jeff's Green Mt house it located. The supermarket and pizza place is a short walk to the LEFT when you get to RT 2. I think it was like 3/4 mile.
The Rt 9 crossing will get your attention. You don't want to do that towards the end of the day.
There are a lot of nice places to stay along the AT in Vermont. Please plan to stay at shelters or at designated sites. Mostly because it's really hard to find a suitable place to camp anywhere else. Goddard shelter, Stratton pond, and Little Rock pond are the ones to make a point of staying at.
So, your mileage will be greatly affected by shelter spacing. It's starting to get dark early and you'll still have a thick leaf canopy. With any additional cloud cover, it can get real dark in the woods a lot sooner then the actual sunset. The AT through VT insists on staying as close to the top of the ridge as possible and to go up and over every little bump along the way. "Why go around when you can go over?" This can add up to a lot of up and down over the course of the day. And the profile maps lie, they don't really show the full extent of it all. Thankfully, there are a few places here and there where you can cruse along at a decent clip - for a few miles. Given all that, I'd dial back your mileage expectations to 10-12 average, 15 on a good day. It's better to plan conservatively and find you can do more then it is to expect to do more and find you can only do less.
Just noting - there are a couple bus options. It looks like Greyhound stops at a Mobil station in Lee (which is more in town, and if I remember correctly there is a hardware store next to it if that would help you with something needed.) However, there is no longer a grocery store in town (the small Price Chopper there closed recently, similar to the one in North Adams last year, which is why slo-go'en mentions going left at that point where people used to go right as PC was closer to the trail), the only supermarket is the Big Y which is right near the exit from the Mass Pike. Not sure if they would drop you sooner if you asked. The Peter Pan bus company runs buses to the Lee Outlets which are not far from the exit, so that might work as well, and the market is a reasonable short and downhill walk from there.
Slo-go'en
12-26-2017, 22:11
I would just bring enough food to get to the supermarket on RT2. It's only 3-4 days. There are plenty of opportunities to score a meal along the way too. You walk right through Dalton and Cheshire which both have places to eat close to, or along the walk through town.
As for getting the bus to stop anywhere but it's designated station, they won't do it for liability reasons. If he's flying in he'll have to stop at the hardware store in Lee anyway to get fuel.
Gambit McCrae
12-27-2017, 09:59
I would just bring enough food to get to the supermarket on RT2. It's only 3-4 days. There are plenty of opportunities to score a meal along the way too. You walk right through Dalton and Cheshire which both have places to eat close to, or along the walk through town.
As for getting the bus to stop anywhere but it's designated station, they won't do it for liability reasons. If he's flying in he'll have to stop at the hardware store in Lee anyway to get fuel.
Ill be flying into Hartford, CT and it is only 65 miles to Goose Pond Rd from there. Quick shuttle from the airport Saturday morning and I am on the trail worry free of buses and stops etc. The "ride the dog" Thread really gave me a bad, non personal experience, taste and I would like to stay away from it. I enjoy my shuttle rides, I have used the same family in the CT/ MA line area for 2 trips now and they are good people so I don't mind paying them for a quick pain free trip tot he trail.
I am expecting to end my trip at Dartmouth College, about a 202 mile trip.
QuietStorm
12-27-2017, 10:12
FYI— there are college groups out hiking and camping all over Massachusetts the first week or so of September. You’ll have plenty of company at each campground and shelter.
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Gambit McCrae
12-27-2017, 10:26
FYI— there are college groups out hiking and camping all over Massachusetts the first week or so of September. You’ll have plenty of company at each campground and shelter.
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Good to know! I don't mind company on the trail.
CELTIC BUCK
12-27-2017, 10:47
PLEASE watch the Damn rocks in Pennsylvania I was out in Otober for 8 days.Which turned into 2 the grannite was removed with minor surgery but I was done.Also as stated the ridge
springs dry up early & were still dry