Recommendations for 90 days on the trail

[oatsy]

Hello everyone! I’m a first time poster from the United Kingdom. I recently started researching the trail as I’d love to hike some part of it this year. I’ve been reading lots of posts on here. I also have the trail companion and planner books on order. Whilst I wait for those to arrive, I was hoping to ask a question or two as everyone seems so knowledgeable!

I’m going to be free from June to November. However, I believe I will have, as a British citizen, a maximum of ninety days in the USA. Does anyone have any recommendations about where and when to best spend those ninety days on the trail?

Preferably, I’d like to:


Hike in one, or maybe two, season conditions so that I can minimise the equipment I need to bring over and/or buy
Take in a beautiful natural event e.g. the changing of the leaves
Start somewhere that will ease me into the trail, both physically and in terms of resupply logistics. I’ve only done a handful of overnight/3-night hikes before and so I’ll be learning a lot of the planning and resupply stuff for the first time
Meet other hikers on the trail. I might be able to convince the odd friend or two to fly over and join me on the trial for a week or so, but otherwise I’ll be hiking by myself. It’d be great to not to go too many days without running into someone at a shelter to say hi to
Avoid the worst of the bugs :)

Would starting at Harpers Ferry at the beginning of August and heading south tick most of these boxes?

I believe this half of the trail is usually completed in around 85 days. It would mean seeing the Smokies in autumn, which I’ve read is beautiful. It’d also mean spending the first weeks in the Shenandoah National Park, which I believe is both pretty flat and close to towns for resupplying. Weather wise, am I right in thinking it’d be pretty dry and not too much of a range in temperature? Lastly, for company, would the SOBO thru-hikers be passing through around this time?

Does that sound like a good idea or does anyone have a recommendation for a better section and/or time of year to spend those ninety days?

Definitely shout out if you think starting at Harpers Ferry at the start of August and heading south is a bad idea e.g. “The bugs are terrible around Virginia in August!” or “It’ll be very cold in the Smokies in October!” etc :)

Many thanks

[Slo-go'en]

Heading south from Harpers Ferry in August is a really bad idea. Not only will it be hot, but water becomes very scarce in Virginia and what there is you have to go way out of your way to find. Because of this, you won't find too many others on the trail.

It's hard to beat fall in New England. The Delaware Water Gap to Katahdin is about 900 miles which should be doable in 90 days. Start there around mid July and you'd get some fall colors in late Sept and early October up in Maine. You'll be in the middle of the thru hiker bubble too. It will take a while to keep up with them, but you'll eventually start to match their pace. The Delaware Water Gap is also easy to get to by bus from NYC.

The only issue is it can be quite hot and humid in NJ/NY in mid July. Once I started at the DWG in mid July on the first day of what turned into a 10 day heatwave. It was brutal. Thankfully, that was fairly unusual and just my luck. On the plus side, you don't need to carry much to stay warm. But once you get into MA and Vermont, it starts to cool down and become pleasant.

[peakbagger]

Plenty of British citizens have done full thru hikes. I dont know the paperwork involved but your visa can be extended. Your timing lines up with a southbound thruhike. I would suggest starting at Katahdin and heading south. New England is the most scenic part of the trail as you have more sections of above treeline with the views. Yes starting in Maine is harder than GA, but plenty of folks do it. The big thing is you need to get your equipment and experience with it down before you hit the trail as there is a lot longer distance and time before you can hit civilization to make corrections.

[evyck da fleet]

If it were me I’d start August 1 from the AT train stop in NY. If you have time left after reaching Katahdin you could fly down to Atlanta and try and hike through the Smokies.

The problem with starting with easy in the summer is it will probably be in the 90s and humid with gnats at lower elevation.

[moldy]

Boy, you don't want much,do you? Just kidding, of course. Starting on the First of August and heading South from Harpers Ferry is not a terrible idea for your stated goal. Well, some of your goals anyway. In your first month you will hike all of Virginia and you will encounter some bugs but not bad, plenty of other hikers but very few South Bound Thru-hikers. It will be a little easier hiking as far as mountains go but the heat could be a big negative factor. In September you will be in the same green tunnel as Virginia so the view is pretty much the same and the weather will be the same in most years. Again few bugs but some of the faster SOBO's will overtake you, so you may make a few friends that will tag along with you. Don't expect any dramatic color change until after mid October. October will be a bit cooler on a normal year. So going South from Harpers Ferry is not a terrible idea. So if you have made up your mind to do it, stop reading now. If I were an average 36 year old English boy in desperate need for a true adventure I would take the pepsi challenge and the advice of the previous poster and start in New York and go North. It's a little harder but in the end you will be much better for it.

[fluffkitten]

You may want to look at applying for a multi-entry tourist visa (a B2 iirc) as it would give you the time for a full through if you can get away from home that long.

[colorado_rob]

Welcome to the USA oatsy, hope you enjoy this great gem of a trail!

I know nothing about visa requirements and the difficulty of staying longer than 90 days, so I cannot comment, but IF you truly cannot, or simply do not want to stay longer, I'd suggest simply an easy "best of the AT", starting later, rather than earlier in your window, like your thought of early August, then through October.

You won't lack company on the trail, anywhere, anytime in your window, so don't fret that.

I'd think about starting in early August at Delaware Water Gap, the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and head north to Katahdin. Pretty darn nice part of the trail, especially the further north you get. Down right spectacular in NH and Maine, the two best AT states IMHO. It will still be a bit toasty in NJ, NY, CT and MA, but getting cooler as you make your way north and get into September.

You're young certainly, not sure what kind of hiking shape you're in, but chances are you could make Katahdin in 2 months or less. After Katahdin, grab transportation south, plenty of options (trains, planes or automobiles!), and start somewhere in Virginia, wherever that may be to get you to Springer Mtn. at the end of your time window. If you can start at, say, Grayson Highlands State Park, you'll see that gem of an area, plus the Roan highlands, and the smokies, my three favorite ares of the southern AT. If you don't think you have time to get from Grayson Highlands to Springer, then just stop short on the south end, don't skip Grayson.

Just my two shillings!

[chknfngrs]

Start at Katahdin and go as far south as you can.

[colorado_rob]

One little tweek to my suggestion of starting in New Jersey.... international flights to Newark airport should be convenient for you, and possibly you can find some bargain fares from the UK. From Newark airport, you can take an easy and inexpensive train ride to get to Port Jarvis New York, which is only a couple miles from the AT in the "middle" of New Jersey (actually way up north in NJ, but "middle" from an AT mileage standpoint).

[ldsailor]

I’m going to be free from June to November. However, I believe I will have, as a British citizen, a maximum of ninety days in the USA. Does anyone have any recommendations about where and when to best spend those ninety days on the trail?

I talked to many foreign hikers on the trail and tourists in my home state of Florida. They all say they get visas that allow them to stay for 6 months. You should check it out while you still have time. Six months is long enough for a through hike and the best time to leave for a NOBO through hike is sometime in March or early April.

[Berserker]

You won't lack company on the trail, anywhere, anytime in your window, so don't fret that.

I'd think about starting in early August at Delaware Water Gap, the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and head north to Katahdin. Pretty darn nice part of the trail, especially the further north you get. Down right spectacular in NH and Maine, the two best AT states IMHO. It will still be a bit toasty in NJ, NY, CT and MA, but getting cooler as you make your way north and get into September.

You're young certainly, not sure what kind of hiking shape you're in, but chances are you could make Katahdin in 2 months or less. After Katahdin, grab transportation south, plenty of options (trains, planes or automobiles!), and start somewhere in Virginia, wherever that may be to get you to Springer Mtn. at the end of your time window. If you can start at, say, Grayson Highlands State Park, you'll see that gem of an area, plus the Roan highlands, and the smokies, my three favorite ares of the southern AT. If you don't think you have time to get from Grayson Highlands to Springer, then just stop short on the south end, don't skip Grayson.
First off, you should check to see if you can stay here longer than 90 days as others have suggested, and attempt a SOBO if you can. If not, the advice above ^ is spot on. That would be a great itinerary to get you started on some easier trail and work your way up to the hard stuff.

[Berserker]

Heading south from Harpers Ferry in August is a really bad idea. Not only will it be hot, but water becomes very scarce in Virginia and what there is you have to go way out of your way to find. Because of this, you won't find too many others on the trail.
This isn't 100% accurate. It totally depends on the year. Last August/September (2017) here in VA was fairly mild. The year before (2016) was a lot hotter with a drought, but water availability wasn't real challenging until late September/October. Also, no matter what's going on weather-wise there always seems to be a lot of people on the trail at any given time in VA.

[oatsy]

Oh wow, thanks for all the great advice and for the warm welcome!

Everyone has said such amazing things about the trail in the northern states. I’ve been focused on researching the southern states until now, but I’m going to start looking into the northern ones instead.

Specifically, a lot of good things were said about:

- Starting in mid-July/August and heading north from around New Jersey. If there’s time left, cherry picking a couple of places in the south: Grayson Highlands, Roan and the smokies.

- Getting a visa extension and attempting a SOBO thru.

I’m not sure I have the experience to attempt the SOBO thru, but I’m going to research it some more and work out if I’ve the time to get that experience before June. I’ve only a couple of multi-day hikes under my belt. I’m generally fit (although, I’ve spent the last 2 months eating a tonne of mince pies!), but I’m not sure about my hiking fitness. I’m going on a winter hiking skills course in Scotland this weekend, so I’ll know how my hiking fitness is fairing after that.

It sounds like starting in New Jersey is going to ease me into things, so I’ll be ready for the 10 days of wilderness when I reach it?

Thanks again for the all suggestions and advice! :)

[peakbagger]

Things to keep in mind is you really want to go through NH and Maine in September. October is really pushing it for weather and shorter days also creep in.

[illabelle]

If this will be your only trip to hike the AT, then yes, go hike Katahdin. But if you expect to come back for another round, the South could be a good place to start out. And the South includes some pretty awesome places like the Nantahalas, the Smokies, the Roan Mountain area, and Grayson Highlands. Nothing against New Jersey or New York, but my personal opinion is that the southern trail is prettier. :)

August will be warm no matter where you are, with more tolerable temperatures at the higher elevations. If you choose the South, and if you have flexibility on your start date, I'd suggest September-November.