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japhyryder
07-15-2011, 17:00
hello fellow nature lovers ,
I have decided to head out on the trail from here in ny and aim myself for maine in the middle of august, thinking about a 6 week hike
so my question is what kind of weather should i expect going into the upper states in say later sept -early october should i be preparing for snow,and if so what precautions should i be taking ,i have a 30 degree bag, will this be warm enough for that time of year or should i buy a new one or just get a liner ?
also one more question will the trail be empty that time of year or should i expect to meet some folks ?

peace love nature -japhy

hikerboy57
07-15-2011, 17:21
it can get below freezing in the whites above treeline. A winter bag would be too warm until then. I would consider starting from Katahdin and hiking south from there. Your 30 deg w/liner should suffice.

Snowleopard
07-15-2011, 17:39
It will go below freezing up north below treeline by October. Still, a bag that's good to 30F will probably be OK with warm clothes on and a fleece liner. The question is do you have enough room inside the bag to wear the clothes and have a warm liner without compressing loft.

It can get quite cold and windy above treeline, but you won't be sleeping there. Be prepared to carry extra warm clothes and rain gear above tree line. Depending on the weather forecasts, you might consider carrying Kahtoola microspikes (sometimes you need them in August in the Presidentials). If you need real crampons, iceaxe, etc., stay in a motel till things improve -- which might be May :)

Katahdin closes at some point, I think sometime in Oct.

hikerboy57
07-15-2011, 17:53
If I remember correctly, baxter state park closes oct 15th.If you SOBO, you'll meet a lot of NOBOS on their last leg of the jpourney, and probably wont find the trails as crowded as if you headed north.