Planning Our Summer Hike

Hello friends!

Me and my two intermediate level hiking buddies are planning our annual summer hike. We've spent time out west on the John Meir trail but decided to go closer to home this summer and spend a week (5-8 days) on the AT this year.

We would like to start somewhere north (Conn/NY) and make our way south to be picked up by friends and family in northern NJ. If we're out for eight days and average (conservative) 8+ difficult miles per day that would land us at roughly the 58-65 mark for total desired mileage. The problem is: I (we) have no idea where to start planning this.

I was under the impression growing up in Bergen County NJ that the AT connected somwhere to a trail that ran through the Ramapo Reservation site, mere miles from our collective families still in NJ and an obvious endpoint for us.

This post is to ask for any and all advice and assistance in planning for our trip, which will take place sometime in July/August. We've got the gear and the survival know-how in spades but maps have always eluded me when it comes to picking the proper trail-head and following the right routes that wont wind us up someplace in Pennsylvania.

Hope to hear back!

Peace and love!

Richard

The AT crosses NY 17A west of Greenwood Lake. First stop in NJ is off NJ 94 near Wawawanda State Park. Not too far from Ramapo, but I don't know of a connecting trail.

Enjoy.

Here's a site selling a variety of trail maps for that area.

The NY/NJ AT Guide also describes a number of connecting trails and shows where they connect on the trail map. That would be an ideal resource for planning your section hike.