View Full Version : two week hike
cantfoolthequeen
06-26-2006, 13:55
hello! i was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what part of the trail i should do if i have a 2 week period of time. i live in massachusetts so new england is what i'm looking for, but i just dont know where i should start and how far i should expect to get. i'm going to be going mid-august. i've never really been backpacking before so i dont know how far people generally walk per day, i'm an 18 year old female in good shape, so if anyone could give me an estimate that would be great too.
thanks! :)
If it's your first time out, figure maybe 10-14 miles a day max. Maybe less if you want to take it easy, more if you're out there to challenge yourself. Since it's your first time though, I'd suggest (and of course, feel free to ignore all advice I give) aiming for lower miles so you can really just enjoy being out there. 10 miles a day is a very doable distance while still being very enjoyable.
As for where... well, you really just can't go wrong in New England. I'd say start at Mt. Greylock and just head north till your time runs out. It's a very pretty stretch.
Welcome to WB
Footslogger
06-26-2006, 14:12
You might not want to go this far north but ...on 7/1 we're hiking between Rangeley and Gorham. For a hiker who's been out on the trail this isn't a 2 week hike but we're coming straight out from behind a desk so our plan is to allow 2 weeks and see what happens. If we get to the end and still have time we might push on a bit.
'Slogger
A few years ago I did the stretch from Baker Peak in VT to Sherburne Pass (just after Killington). This was my first (and so far only) real backpacking trip. We took it easy most days since we were in no hurry. The shortest day was about 3.5 miles and the longest was 11 or so (up Killington from Clarendon). It was a beautiful hike. We started around Labor day and we were out for about five days.
I agree that if you have two weeks, you might want to start at Greylock and head north. Depending on how much you hike each day, you can probably make it to Sherburne Pass in this amount of time (this would mean hiking about 10-12 miles per day for all 14 days). No matter what, that stretch of trail is great! I'm certainly jealous!
cantfoolthequeen
06-26-2006, 16:02
yeah i'm probably going to start at greylock and heaad north from there, thank you so much for all your help!
Actually, come to think of it, you should start at the southern foot of Greylock and hike north up to the top. Maybe leave your bags on top at the lodge to make it an easy first couple miles and pick them up once you get there. The reason I suggest this is that it's a very pretty hike up the southern side of Greylock, with a cool little pond 3/4 of the way up with an old shack . Makes for great photos.
In any case, take it slow and steady and have a great time!
Kerosene
06-26-2006, 17:11
Think about starting at Greylock and hiking north into Vermont, staying on the Long Trail past US-4. It's about 115 miles from Greylock to Killington/US-4. Stay at the Inn at Long Trail and then keep hiking northbound on the Long Trail until your time runs out. I really liked the walk between US-4 and Brandon Gap.