View Full Version : Best time of year to hike 100 mile wilderness
earlyriser26
04-08-2008, 11:14
If you could pick any time of year what would be the best? I attempted this section in early June once and was eaten alive by bugs so other than the dead of winter when is a the best low bug time?
Time To Fly 97
04-08-2008, 11:23
Mid-October - no bugs and full foliage. See my pics for one of hiking in full foliage.
Happy hiking!
TTF
i like may lots of snow and mud
WalkingStick75
04-08-2008, 12:58
I hiked it last year mid August, bugs not bad at all but with all the snow this year the bug season might be extended.
4eyedbuzzard
04-08-2008, 13:18
I'd go with mid-August through mid-October. Drier and warmer and more bugs towards August - wetter and cooler and less bugs towards October. Foliage probably peaks in late Sept/very early Oct depnding on weather, and I think if I were planning a hike I would shoot for the last week in Sept as a start date and be out of there by the end of the first week of Oct.
Lone Wolf
04-08-2008, 13:48
If you could pick any time of year what would be the best? I attempted this section in early June once and was eaten alive by bugs so other than the dead of winter when is a the best low bug time?
mid-september
Blissful
04-08-2008, 15:36
When we went through in September, it was great. But I would say the height of autumn would be spectacular.
My vote if for the last week of September through the first weekof October.
Weary
Hands down September. No bugs, colors good or getting good, weather as good as it gets. October could be already getting rather chilly.
David
hammock engineer
04-08-2008, 19:52
I would like to see the snow in that area. Then again, there were so many great swimming spots I would be hard pressed to turn down good weather.
dessertrat
04-08-2008, 21:44
Another vote for September. Very little chance of snow or being too cold, and very little chance of bugs.
fiddlehead
04-09-2008, 00:21
September is the best time to hike almost everywhere. teachers and kids are back in school and the weather are the main reasons.
Kerosene
04-09-2008, 11:05
September is the best time to hike almost everywhere. teachers and kids are back in school and the weather are the main reasons.Those are two of the reasons I try to section after Labor Day, plus a distinct lack of bugs and the possibility of great colors if I catch it right. I enjoy hiking in cooler weather also.
The drawbacks include scarcer water sources, the possibility of wide temperature swings (and the equipment to accommodate), and perhaps the lack of readily available services or foodstuffs.
September is the best time to hike almost everywhere. teachers and kids are back in school and the weather are the main reasons.
Plus swimming can be worth talking about.
cravj1988
04-09-2008, 11:45
I did this section last year beginning Aug 5th, no bugs. The locals told me I missed the flies by one week.
Doughnut
04-09-2008, 12:11
I am going around July 4th because I teach school, and that's when I am off. Also, last year I sectioned GA and part of NC and it was HOT!!! When I go t home the high temperature in Maine was 75 degrees (It's been 98 degrees in Franklin).
So to save 20 degrees, see a state I've yet to visit, and enjoy my time off, I am going in July.
I have chatted with a couple people in Maine and they all suggest a later start due to heavy snowfall and black flies.
HEY, We now have spell check - there goes all my excuses!
DoughNut
September is the best time to hike almost everywhere. teachers and kids are back in school and the weather are the main reasons.
HEY!! I resemble that remark...;):D
what's so bad about teachers??? I don't get it.....
Bluebearee
04-12-2008, 19:55
My vote if for the last week of September through the first weekof October.
Weary
I agree completely. Though depending on the year into mid-October can be nice (like last year's Fall up here). September in my book seems to be one of the best months to hike almost anywhere... I consider it a sacred month and savor it every year.
fiddlehead
04-12-2008, 22:58
HEY!! I resemble that remark...;):D
what's so bad about teachers??? I don't get it.....
Really? ever go through the whites when all the ivy league schools are doing their orientation or whatever they call it? I remember one night I counted 82 people trying to camp at one shelter. I moved on and stealth camped. The next few nights were similar.
If you like crowds, there's nothing wrong with school being out and the woods full of kids and vacationers. If you prefer the woods more natural, it's better to wait until they are back in school.
Mid september to late october. July was nice last year though
NorthCountryWoods
04-15-2008, 18:30
Really? ever go through the whites when all the ivy league schools are doing their orientation or whatever they call it? I remember one night I counted 82 people trying to camp at one shelter. I moved on and stealth camped. The next few nights were similar.
If you like crowds, there's nothing wrong with school being out and the woods full of kids and vacationers. If you prefer the woods more natural, it's better to wait until they are back in school.
They do the same thing on the LT. It's usually just the first 2 weekends after school starts.
Another vote for October on the 100 mile or anywhere in the north. Frosty mornings and clear skies.
Really? ever go through the whites when all the ivy league schools are doing their orientation or whatever they call it? I remember one night I counted 82 people trying to camp at one shelter. I moved on and stealth camped. The next few nights were similar.
If you like crowds, there's nothing wrong with school being out and the woods full of kids and vacationers. If you prefer the woods more natural, it's better to wait until they are back in school.
Ohhh ok, I get it, you're talking about teachers that bring the kids out. Gotcha ;). I know I run into a lot of teachers section hiking and thought there was a connection somehow there. oops, sorry.... lolol:o