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Autumn
12-23-2012, 19:31
My husband and I have finally decided to section hike the whole trail. We have been doing weekend chunks over the years but we finally have decided to complete the whole trail. :D We have 3 years to do it in so I want to do a bit of planning.

Since section hiking is a bit more flexible in timing than through hiking I was wondering when the best and worst times are to hike each state/section? We want a bit of solitude during our hike so we are going to avoid the crowd of northbounders as much as possible.

Rasty
12-23-2012, 19:39
North Carolina for me is best in September to November. The same is probably good for Virginia.

Slo-go'en
12-23-2012, 20:32
I like April/May for the southern Apps, but it is a little busy. August/September/early October for New England. Not sure if there is a good time of year to do the mid-altantic states. June/July/August sure isn't...

Autumn
12-23-2012, 21:36
Not sure if there is a good time of year to do the mid-altantic states. June/July/August sure isn't...

Lol I figured this was the case :)

aficion
12-23-2012, 21:58
Do New England NOBO after black fly season, which is usually after mid to late June. Do mid Atlantic in spring or fall.
Do Southern states any time but winter.

Cookerhiker
12-23-2012, 22:34
... Not sure if there is a good time of year to do the mid-altantic states. June/July/August sure isn't...


Lol I figured this was the case :)

That's right, avoid the Mid-Atlantic states in summer. But they're pretty nice in April, May, September, October, and early November.

fiddlehead
12-24-2012, 00:48
The best time is when you can get the time.
The worst is when you force it and have problems at home and can't focus on the adventure of your hike 100%.

Agree on wait till after black fly season in northern New England and avoid the heat in the south in summer.
The rest is all good. (except the crowds during March/April in GA/NC/TN.

Have fun.

snowblind
12-24-2012, 13:16
Do New England NOBO after black fly season, which is usually after mid to late June. Do mid Atlantic in spring or fall.
Do Southern states any time but winter.

For Southern states, define winter exactly. When to when, or just conditions? Everything south of HF I take it..

Jeff
12-24-2012, 13:29
That's right, avoid the Mid-Atlantic states in summer. But they're pretty nice in April, May, September, October, and early November.

This is good advise. I hiked NJ, NY, CT and MA mid to late April and never got a mosquito bite !!

peakbagger
12-24-2012, 14:13
I did a lot of my sections in spring and fall. I will take fall anytime. The only caveat is water sources, we found that a lot of the sources at shelters were dry or marginal in September and October. The trail could still be done but it would sometimes require carrying water to an official campsite. Alternatively if you dont want campsite or shleter ammenities, just camp where the water is. As for New England, July through Early October, you really dont want to be out in the woods in most of Me, NH and VT in May or June as its real buggy.

We met an accountant once who had sectioned the AT and PCT in one month sections in September, he highly recomended it.

The Snowman
12-24-2012, 16:33
southern new England you want to do in the spring when wildflowers and waterfalls are at there best.

Cookerhiker
12-25-2012, 09:54
southern new England you want to do in the spring when wildflowers and waterfalls are at there best.

Amen to this. I section-hiked the southern half of Massachusetts (44 miles, Rt. 20/Lee to Sages Ravine) April 18-20 (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=94197) and had perfect conditions.

Astro
12-25-2012, 14:21
While some may not enjoy the crowds, I personally have enjoyed my section hikes more when with the NOBO bubble in GA/NC/TN. Gives you a little more insight into the thru-hikers. Also interesting to see which ones which appear they will make and which ones are already getting off the trail.



The best time is when you can get the time.
The worst is when you force it and have problems at home and can't focus on the adventure of your hike 100%.
.

Appreciate Fiddlehead's comment since most of my remaining sections are going to be the entire month of July over the next few years. Maybe not ideal weather, but it is when I can get off work each year.

1234
12-25-2012, 14:39
April and May and Oct and Nov. the latter being the best!
I will say my coldest hike on the AT was the 1 week of April, 15 degrees and 40mph wind IN Georgia to NC Hiwassee to winding stair gap. June can be great in the high country, cool nights and sometimes to warm daytime. I do not like bugs so I prefer cooler weather. Thats 4 months of the best weather, of course the most northern must be during summer, I did the whites in Aug and still froze and also was very hot. I would not worry about crowds, if you plan on tenting you can still use shelters to cook and such just retreat to your tent for the night. You will still not see to many folks during the day.