Latest start date for NOBO...earliest for SOBO!?

[Popnfrsh24]

So I am still torn between which hike I want to do, NOBO or SOBO. It all depends on my new position at work. If work turns out to be more exciting than I expected, I plan on working a few more months than going SOBO. If not, I will quit in about 2 mos and go NOBO instead.

Im just wondering, does anyone have any suggestions on whens the latest I should start NOBO? I have heard there might be some logisitics that are important (parks close after a certain month, I will encouter days of snow in late october, etc.)

Also, if I choose the SOBO route, whats the earliest I can go? When does it get warm enough up north so that I won't be hiking in snow/very cold weather at the beginning?

And yes, if you think I'm crazy for just asking this a few months before I could possibly go, don't worry I have done lots of planning already. My life is flexible enough that I can drop everything in a matter of weeks and head out on this journey.

[Popnfrsh24]

I don't know if I am allowed to edit my post above so Ill just post here...

Let me rephrase....whens the latest I CAN start NOBO. "Should" can depend on the person a lot.

[Lumberjack2003]

I started April 9th and finished. If you are a fast hiker (I'm not) you could start later.

[map man]

I'll just address the SOBO question. The good folks at Baxter State Park don't open the Hunt Trail to the top of Katahdin until they feel it is safe (from too much snow and ice). This date varies from year to year -- over the last decade it has been as early as the third week in May and as late as the first week in June. But even when that path is open there are reasons why some wait until July to start a SOBO, and it has little to do with cold weather. In a typical year from late May through June is when you will see the worst of the black flies and mosquitos. Also, at this time of year fording streams in Maine can be more difficult because stream levels can be high from snow melt and spring rains. So deciding on how early to start a SOBO depends on your tolerance for certain insects and stream levels.

[Popnfrsh24]

I'll just address the SOBO question. The good folks at Baxter State Park don't open the Hunt Trail to the top of Katahdin until they feel it is safe (from too much snow and ice). This date varies from year to year -- over the last decade it has been as early as the third week in May and as late as the first week in June. But even when that path is open there are reasons why some wait until July to start a SOBO, and it has little to do with cold weather. In a typical year from late May through June is when you will see the worst of the black flies and mosquitos. Also, at this time of year fording streams in Maine can be more difficult because stream levels are high from snow melt and spring rains. So deciding on how early to start a SOBO depends on your tolerance for certain insects and stream levels.

Hmmm, thanks for the advice, I didn't even think about considering bugs...maybe call me crazy, but could you just wear bug repellent during those days? I realize that probably having a spray on your body + plus sweat would not be too enjoyable for long periods of time. What about possibly wearing some kind of clothing that kinda mimics what beekeepers wear? Only much more lighter?

Also, for the stream levels, what is determining about stream levels that makes them safe to pass or not? Can they be very dangerous if the water level is high? Or would it most likely be that if you got swepped away...when you finally swam to the shorline, you would be far away from your start point?

[Popnfrsh24]

I started April 9th and finished. If you are a fast hiker (I'm not) you could start later.

do you have a rough estimate on how many days you hiked? I'm 25, non-smoker, skinny, and in average shape ( I rollerblade a lot during the warmer months...but in cold weather I don't really do jack s%*$). Got a rough estimate on someone like me could hike/day?

[Popnfrsh24]

CORRECTION: do you have a rough estimate on how many miles you walked in a day?

[evyck da fleet]

Have you considered flip flopping? In case you quit too late to complete a NOBO and/or too early to start a SOBO you could hike to Harpers Ferry or another point, head up to Maine and hike south to where you flipped.

[Popnfrsh24]

the thought has crossed my mind, but not much more than that. I guess I just think it will feel more 'authentic' in one extreme and finish in the next. Finishing in the middle of the trail just doesn't have the excitement as finishing at one of the start or end points

[Hosaphone]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLBXb1kgMo

[Lumberjack2003]

Including my zero days it was about 13 miles a day.

[max patch]

NOBO: May 1

SOBO: Katahdin s/b open Memorial Day weekend (date varies), but I wouldn't start until late June because of black flies.

[fredmugs]

Two years I was doing a section hike in Maine and two hikers came into the Stratton Motel who were so chewed up by flies that I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it personally. I shave my head and the flies like hitting me in the back of the neck but really nowhere else (lucky?).

You've been warned.

[Popnfrsh24]

If I started NOBO around the late start time (May 1st), will I hit bad black flies too?

[Pressure D]

No the black flies are only in the North in May and June. When you reach New England it will be beautiful.

[bear bag hanger]

The thing that makes it hard to give you advice is you don't tell us how fast a hiker you are. I go about 12 to 13 miles per day, when I try to go faster, I miss a lot and, more importantly, fall down a lot. But I know quite a few hikers who feel going any slower than 20 miles per day is way too slow and don't understand people like me who can't really go much faster than the 12.5 miles a day I average. For someone my speed, a late Feb or early March NOBO start is almost mandatory. For SOBO, I'd have to start as early as possible, usually around Jun 1st. But then you have to deal with a lot of bugs and I can tell you from experience, bug repellent doesn't really help much. I've done one successful thru hike NOBO in 2004. I've tried to start a SOBO hike a couple times, but each time have failed for one reason or another.

[Arius]

In 2006 - NOBO. Start - May 14th. Did not finished because of injury (broken ankle) on August 29th. 1825 miles. In 2012 - NOBO. Start April 14. Finished on August 12th. So, 4 - 4.5 month it is pretty confortable timetable, for me. Good luck, be safe!

[Sue_Bird]

In 2006 - NOBO. Start - May 14th. Did not finished because of injury (broken ankle) on August 29th. 1825 miles. In 2012 - NOBO. Start April 14. Finished on August 12th. So, 4 - 4.5 month it is pretty confortable timetable, for me. Good luck, be safe!

man....1825 miles!! that sucks. I had knee issues in the Wilderness that made me have to skip some of it and go back the next year, but missin all of maine would be the worst