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Hi everyone,for a very long time i had a dream of trekking the appalachian; and in 2007 It's happening. unfortuantly i only have 2 months to trekk, september-october. I don't live in the US so all my knowledge of the trail comes off the internet.my main issue is the starting point. i've been advised to start at pinkham notch,new hapshire and finish at harpers ferry, west virginia. a trekk of approximatly 850 miles over 60 days = 14.2 a day which is reasonable.i would much appreciate a second opinion, and also i'm desperate for information on what wethear should i expect on the trail during september-october. I can handle rain, though i prefer to avoid it, but i really do not want to hike in the snow.since i come from the sunny middle east and I have never attempted to hike in snow and sub zero temperatures and think it would be a mistake to attempt extreme weather conditions with which i'm not familiar.also i understand that there are an abundance of pests on the trail during the summer. are they still around as late as semptember?i would like to add that i'm an experienced hiker and i'm not afraid of rugged terrain or the heat (i'm used to hike in temperatures exceeding 100 of your farenhiet degrees) but i'm not happy with snow or bugs.thank you very much in advance.
:welcome You shouldn't have any issues with snow, ice, or sub-zero temps if you start in New Hampshire in September and head southbound. Good luck to you!
TJ aka Teej
10-28-2006, 20:13
:welcome to WhiteBlaze!
September to October? Start in Maine!!
Programbo
10-28-2006, 21:40
Maybe break up your trek into several parts and take a bus or train between stopping and starting that way you can experience a wide variety of the trail and areas you may have heard or read about...Maybe hike for 2-3 weeks up north then ride a bus a day or less down the road and pick up again in the mid-section then hike 2-3 more weeks then another bus and do the final 2-3 weeks down south?
I don't know if you have see the leaves change color in the fall. I suspect that fall foliage is in short supply in Israel.
You can't beat New England and the Mid-Atlantic in the fall. Cool, relatively dry, lower humidity, few bugs. SOBO from New Hampshire sounds like a great idea.
Good Luck!
Jester2000
10-29-2006, 12:09
. . .also i understand that there are an abundance of pests on the trail during the summer. are they still around as late as semptember?
Well, the thru hikers are still gonna be out there, if that's what you mean. I agree with Teej. Maine is rugged, beautiful, and hopefully (and usually) not snowbound in September. If you Southbound from Katahdin, you'll also get to meet a lot of Northbounders who are finishing their hikes, which would, I think, be interesting for you, if only because of all of the new and interesting smells you'll discover.
If the weather looks questionable by the time you get down to the Whites in NH, you can always take a bus from Gorham to points South.
Kerosene
10-29-2006, 12:55
I like the "start at Katahdin and head south" idea, skipping the Whites unless the weather looks great. The colors will start changing in northern Maine in mid-September, but not until late September in the Whites. I met up with a number of multi-month section hikers in the Whites last month who were "hiking south with the fall colors". You should be prepared for temperatures between freezing and 75F, but you're unlikely to get much in the way of snow at that time, at least south of New Hampshire. Bugs shouldn't be a problem after mid-September in the Northeast. I love hiking in the Fall!
TJ aka Teej
10-29-2006, 13:11
If Katahdin is 'too North' for your plans, you can get a nice taste of Maine by starting at Grafton Notch, about 15 miles from the NH border. New Hampshire in September is *almost* is great as Maine! :D
And if AT guides are as hard to get over there as I think they might be, you can view/download the 2006 ALDHA Thru-hiker's Companion at no charge at http://www.aldha.org/companyn.htm
Jack Tarlin
10-29-2006, 15:45
Asher:
It takes most hikers around forty days to hike New Hampshire and Maine (ad another 10-12 if you want to include Vermont).
Several folks have suggested you go Southbound. You'll certaily have more company and comraderie if you go the other way and finish at Katahdin; on the other hand, you'll probably be flying home from Boston or new York, both of which are very easy to get to from Hanover (There's regular daily bus service to bothe cities).
On the other hand, if you start at Katahdin in September and head south, youmay well run into some rough weather in New Hampshire; is there are way you could start your trip a bit earlier? Even starting ten days or two weeks earlier could make a huge difference. Otherwise, I'd consider going North, and finishing your trip in early October.
Lastly, if you follow your original plan, and keep going towards Harpers Ferry in a southbound direction, you'll run into some wet weather, but it shouldn't be too cold. While the hiking season ends in NH and Maine for most folks around mid-October, many folks hike Southern new England and the mid-Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) much later into the fall.
thanks everyone for your input, reading you're posts has just whet my appetite further
Maybe break up your trek into several parts and take a bus or train between stopping and starting that way you can experience a wide variety of the trail and areas you may have heard or read about...Maybe hike for 2-3 weeks up north then ride a bus a day or less down the road and pick up again in the mid-section then hike 2-3 more weeks then another bus and do the final 2-3 weeks down south?
I really like this idea, I would fly to Boston start on Katahdin and hike south for 30 days or so, then hop on a bus, go to southern virginia and hike about 30 days south from there and fly home from Atlanta.