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View Full Version : Best bang-for-your-buck 500 mile section hike?



TeamGorp
05-30-2010, 17:44
Hey all. I know this is a huge, open, and probably contentious question but I'm looking for some advice about a great section hike on the AT. I've got the whole month of August (getting late in the season!) and I think 500 miles is a reasonable guess. I did a similar trip through the Sierra Nevada section of the PCT a few years ago and it was so incredible, I'm hoping to find a similarly stand-out section. This is my last hurrah before grad school, so I'd like to push it and really see some great trail!

If I'm being picky, I'd love to get some big views and see some of the famous switchbackless passes, as well as maybe some good peaks or side trips. It would also be nice to be in a section where there'd still at least be some thru-hikers! But I'm open to anything and I'd really, really appreciate anyone's advice. Thanks!

Lone Wolf
05-30-2010, 18:05
Springer mtn. to Fox Creek/ Va. 603. a diverse 500 miles.

burger
05-30-2010, 18:34
I'd do Great Barrington, MA to Caratunk ME.

Why?

- Great scenery, which gets better and better as you go north
- Many big peaks to bag
- Some of the most beautiful and challenging parts of the trail (the Whites, southern Maine)
- You'll be hiking with plenty of NOBO thru-hikers excited to be near the finish
- Bugs on the wane by August in New England
- Easy bus access to Great Barrington (via Hartford), easy hitch from Caratunk down to Watertown, ME which has bus access

Really, the stretch from Great Barrington to Cheshire is nothing special, so you could start at Williamstown if you want, but I really enjoyed Goose Pond, Dalton, and Mt. Greylock, so I'd start at Great Barrington.

bigcranky
05-30-2010, 19:32
In August? Maine. Cooler, great views.

fiddlehead
05-30-2010, 20:27
Glencliff NH to Katahdin (if you're in shape)
It's a tough one but the most scenic part of the AT.

weary
05-30-2010, 20:35
Start in Hanover, NH, or a bit earlier or later, depending on your ability, and go north to Katahdin. There are easier sections, but no sections as wild, challenging or more beautiful. But don't plan on big miles, plan on maximum enjoyment. It is a mistake to rush through northern New England. There is so much to experience that, sadly, so many miss.

Weary

Tinker
05-30-2010, 22:33
Start in Hanover, NH, or a bit earlier or later, depending on your ability, and go north to Katahdin. There are easier sections, but no sections as wild, challenging or more beautiful. But don't plan on big miles, plan on maximum enjoyment. It is a mistake to rush through northern New England. There is so much to experience that, sadly, so many miss.

Weary

Having done only Penn/NJ border to Katahdin I'd have to agree with Weary. I enjoyed Georgia, too, but that was mostly because I was surrounded by hopeful thruhikers and lots of them were newbies much younger than myself.

max patch
05-30-2010, 23:10
Easy. Start at Katahdin and hike til you have to stop.