Section Hiking the AT

[Wingfield]

Hey Guys,

my brother and I would like to do a section hike of the AT next year. we're looking for suggestions. I've seen some posts here that suggest that the poster did not give sufficient information for an answer to be provided. as such, I've provided some thoughts below.

(a) we're thinking May or June time frame; but this is flexible.
(b) we'd like to ease into this as we'd like to do the entire AT upon retirement. for our first section hike we'd like to minimize elevation change. I realize this may be very limiting as the AT has significant elevation change over most of it's length. if you feel this is limiting, ignore this item.
(c) we don't want to start at Springer Mountain. we're just thinking that emotionally, it'd be difficult to just stop after a week if we start at the beginning.
(d) we'd need to be close to an airport on either end of the hike.
(e) we'd prefer not to have to be mandated into a shelter like in the Smokies.

thank you for any thoughts folks have.

[MuddyWaters]

Depends on what you think close means.

If you want easy terrain for a first hike, Id say Shenandoah National Park

[Walkintom]

I can't think of a good section that allows you to come in from one airport and head back out of another airport so you're going to have to do some shuttling or otherwise find a way to travel at one end of your section or the other.

But, here's where I would start: Fly into DC. Take the train out to Harper's Ferry. Go either North or South for as far as you can go and still have fun. Catch a shuttle, bus, rental car or train back to DC and fly home.

If doing a section starting at Harper's Ferry, I'd go South. That was prettier to me, but opinions vary.

[Nimbus]

I agree that hiking the Shenandoah National Park meets your requirements better than any other section. Reasonable access to airports, well graded trail with access to plenty of water. Additionally, the Skyline Drive is never too far from the trail if there is need to stop. I am nearing the end of hiking the trail by section now that I have retired. Virginia is not too steep, rocky, dry, or isolated…yet still with beautiful scenery and wildlife.

[Rain Man]

You didn't say how long you want to hike.

However, I agree, the Shenandoah National Park fulfills the rest of your preferences and is a great place to hike, with all the services available, good huts and lodges, good views, good water, lots of bears and deer, and so forth.

Warning: you will run into plenty of ticks and gnats, so be prepared.

[Turtle-2013]

I'm a section hiker, and thus far have done everything from southern NC to 501 shelter in central PA. I'm not speaking as it regards airports ... but the southern part of PA has less elevation change (by a wide margin) than anything south of that.

Based on your "parameters" (e) I would not agree with the Shenandoah National Park recommendations. While technically you don't have to camp at the shelters, there are very specific rules about distance from roads, building, etc. Because of this, in reality, because the trail parallels the road so closely, there are very few GOOD camping locations. After one trip where we back-county camped one night, camped in a regular campground another, and then slack packed. I ended up slack-packing the rest so that I wouldn't have to worry about where to camp.

IF however you like the security of having a road nearly spitting distance away most of the time ... go for it, the Shenandoah National Park is the place for you!!!!

[shelb]

I have only section hiked. Sometimes, I have gone for a 5 day hike, and other times for a 12 day hike...

SNP (Shenandoah) is a great place - nice way to acclimate to the mountains with groomed trails...and the occasional Waysides (never need more than 3 days of food in your backpack!)

If you have a shorter time-frame, consider the state of Maryland - about 55 miles. Start in Harpers Ferry (spend a day there if you have time) and hike north through MD, ending at Penn Mar Park in Pennsylvalian. This provides the opportunity to see a lot of history and hike across a state! This was my first AT hike - with my 9 and 11 year old sons - still a treasured time!

[Alligator]

You can get into Delaware Water Gap by bus. Any point north of there up to at least Pinkham Notch in NH there are options to utilize mass transit. Think planes, trains, and buses and automobiles can get you a shuttle. The ATC maintains a shuttle list that can fill in gaps where mass transit is lacking.

New York City can serve as triangulation point. You can leave the city one way and then arrive back by alternate route. Boston can work too but it does not sound like you want to do the Whites right yet. DC is possible but its further out so the travel is longer and I don't think quite as many endpoint combinations.

Roanoke can get you into VA and there are some bus routes that might work out for you, Greyhound (along I81) and Megabus (Christiansburg).

You mentioned a week, but what's your time frame?

[illabelle]

Shenandoah (SNP) is relatively easy, as others have said. However, there's an annual party, Trail Days, in Damascus, VA in mid-May. So be advised that if you choose to hike SNP, it may be full of thru-hikers in the late May/early June time frame. It can be fun meeting some of the thru-hikers, but it's not so fun if you have competition for shelter space, tent sites, etc.
Maryland and Pennsylvania are also good options with minimal elevation gain. Also there's a stretch in TN from Hampton north to Damascus that is almost flat - it will be full of thru-hikers in early-mid May.
Some places with moderate elevation change include New Jersey, southern Vermont, most of Massachusetts, parts of Virginia, and probably other areas I haven't been to yet.
Other things to consider:
You indicated you plan to do the whole trail after retirement, and implied that you'll do it in sections. Not sure how long before you will retire, but I'd suggest to tackle the hardest stuff while you're younger. Don't do it first, but don't save it for last either.
Navigating the Smokies regulations can be a nuisance, but it's not that big a deal. The views through the park are really quite nice, and the only serious climbs are at each end.
There are some special places on the trail that have nothing to do with easy or convenient. For one person it's a mountaintop, for another it's a waterfall, for another it's the side of some nameless ridge. Enjoy the special places, and enjoy the journey.
A few resources you may not already have:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiki...transportation
www.theatguide.com
www.atdist.com

[Nimbus]

Southern PA is a benign hike and should be greening well at your time frame..northern PA is just too rocky for beginners to do a week of sectioning. SNP is still my recommendation, but is crowded at the time of your hike. You should avoid New England during Black Fly season if you want to enjoy your trip. With all this advice, consider adding to your thread any refinements to your thoughts/plans.

[bigcranky]

You didn't say how long, which affects the section suggestions you'll get. (It doesn't affect the airports at all -- you can hike for a couple of weeks and still be close enough to the airport you flew into.)

Shenandoah isn't bad, you can fly into DC and rent a car to drive the hour or so out to the park. The trail through the park is very nice, not too steep (not for the AT, anyway). You'd need to arrange a shuttle to get you back to your car, or be willing to hitchhike, which is pretty easy.

If you start hiking in Damascus and head south, you get several days of relatively flat trail (again, for the AT). Then you hit some steeper stuff, and finally break into the bald mountains in the Roan Highlands, which are spectacular in late May or early June. They are steep, though. If you had two weeks you could hike from Damascus to Erwin -- easy enough to get a shuttle on both ends back to the Tri Cities airport. This would be a terrific hike.

[Just Tom]

To shift it a bit more north and address the not-to-steep and near an airport: You can fly in to JFK, get yourself via shuttle or taxi to Grand Central, hop on the metro and get off on the AT in eastern NY. It doesn't get much more convenient then that. CT is a pretty easy state to hike.

[Lyle]

I haven't read all of the replies, sorry if someone already suggested this:

Roan/Hump mountain area of TN. Especially in June. Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, Flame Azalea and even the Greys Lilly (quite rare and can be found in this area) are all blooming in June. The climb from Overmountain Shelter north across Hump and Little Hump mountains was one of my favorite Appalachian hikes when done in June. Roan Mountain has the spectacular flower displays. Plus at the north end of this section is the Mountain Harbour B&B/Hostle. Excellent facilities and the best, most impressive breakfast available on the AT (if there are enough guests present).

An advantage for section hikers is choosing when to hike what sections of the trail. This stretch of trail is done much earlier or later on a thru hike from either direction, as a result, thru hikers never see it in it's absolute spectacular glory.

[Wingfield]

Wow! I'm a first time poster and I didn't have the check box that sends me an email when I get a response. I posted yesterday and figured I check back just to see what might have happened; and I find 13 response in one day. you guys are fantastic! thank you for all the thoughts.

so, a few things.

sorry, a few of you pointed out I didn't mention a time frame. we're thinking one week (fly out saturday, hike 7 days, fly back sunday). that's about all we can manage as we both have kids still in the house. I'm 49 (living Houston) and my brother is 47 (living Austin). we're both in reasonably good condition. my brother has been a hiker for about 20 years now. I've been on the occasional scout campout, so I'm nowhere near my brother in terms of experience.

as to when we'll retire. tougher question. let's say 60 plus or minus.

also, I combined two sentences and confused folks. we're not wanting to section hike the AT upon retirement. we want to thru hike the entire thing upon retirement. we've been talking about section hiking in advance maybe a week a year. apologies for the confusion.

one of you mentioned black flies. I've read about those in some of the books I've been reading. will those be on the trail in May / June?

appreciate the heads up on "trail days". I read about that as well in AWOL; but it slipped my mind.

thank you all. any further comments welcome; but what you all have offered up to this point is a lot of info to ponder. if no more thoughts, I'm perfectly fine with that.

[Siestita]

Your brother is an experienced "hiker". Is he also a backpacker? If not, that's OK, but it could increase the amount of preparation (including perhaps gear purchases and try outs) that the two of you could profitably do before embarking on this adventure. The Sam Houston National Forest, with which you are probably already familiar, is not exactly a backpacking nirvana, but it could potentially provide you with places to try out new gear during a weekend backpack or two, preferably doing so soon before East Texas heats up.

"I realize this may be very limiting as the AT has significant elevation change over most of it's length. if you feel this is limiting, ignore this item."

I think you should welcome the opportunity to experience "significant elevation change", but take care to reasonably limit both your pack weight and also the number of miles that you plan to cover per day. Elevation change is a challenge to be welcomed, provided a person, provided he or she is in reasonably good health, is willing to take it slow, adjusting the pace to one's physical condition. The purpose of backpacking is enjoying the outdoors, not setting mileage records.

Unfortunately, for some people, their first backpacking trip becomes the last one they'll ever undertake. So, its critical that you, a new backpacker, thoroughly enjoy being introduced to this pursuit. One way to increase the odds of that happening would be for you to take your first trip (other than perhaps a one or two night shake down hike on the Lone Star Trail there near Houston) somewhere that is exceptionally beautiful. In all honesty, much of the AT, which is appropriately known as "the long green tunnel" is not extraordinarily scenic. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, including the Roan Mountain area that Lyle, above, recommends. Another extraordinary section of the AT, thus afar my favorite, is the Damascus/GraysonHighlands areas in southwestern Virginia. Yes, you would need to slowly cover some significant "ups and and downs" at either the Roan Highlands or the Grayson Highlands, and neither is close to a major "hub" airport. But, you would probably find the views you experience worth the hassle.

The AT is not the only attractive place in the USA where one can spend a week backpacking. So, for this trip, consider possibly going instead to either the Colorado Rockies (fly to Denver, perhaps then Greyhound several hours to Frisco, in Summit County) or California's Sierra Nevada range (fly to Reno, Nevada, ESTA van to town of Mammoth Lakes; hike in Ansel Adams wilderness). Those areas (Colorado, California's Sierras) are better a bit later in year, perhaps sometime between late July and early September.

[Namtrag]

I would not be deterred by elevation change...just go slower. The goal is to enjoy the miles you do hike, not to just hike x miles per day. Just make the trip a little shorter than you might otherwise do. For example I am planning a trip of about 50 miles in the Roan Mountain section mentioned above. We are giving ourselves 6 days to do the trip, slightly over 8 miles per day. Starting around Erwin TN and ending at the Mountain Harbor Hostel.

Not saying you should necessarily do the same exact hike, but maybe plan your hike by what you'd like to see, not elevation change or miles covered!

For example. maybe start 60 miles north of Damascus by being shuttled, then hike back to Damascus. You'd get to cover a great little section that includes the Grayson Highlands area. And you'd have a great little trail town as your end point!

[shelb]

Roan/Hump mountain area of TN. ,,, June. Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel, Flame Azalea and even the Greys Lilly (quite rare and can be found in this area) are all blooming in June. ...one of my favorite Appalachian hikes when done in June. Roan Mountain ..spectacular flower displays. .

Is this true for the middle of June??? I am asking because I section hike when I am not teaching (mid-June until mid-August).

[bigcranky]

Is this true for the middle of June??? I am asking because I section hike when I am not teaching (mid-June until mid-August).

Mid June in the Roan Highlands is pretty freaking spectacular. You might miss the rhododendrons depending on the year, but there are still plenty of wildflowers.

[Roanmtnman]

Mid June in the Roan Highlands is pretty freaking spectacular. You might miss the rhododendrons depending on the year, but there are still plenty of wildflowers.

I agree its great in june, the rhodos are hard to predict but if anyone wants a real time update send me a pm and ill drive up and check Just a few miles from my house.

[shelb]

Thank you both! I think we are slated to finish PA and complete NJ this year due to a later June start; however, in the next year or two, that will be an area to consider. I am excited that we can see the blossoms!!!