Long Trail in July

[vggalan]

I'm planning on taking advantage of my downtime next summer (yay grad school) to hike the Long Trail. What's the weather/water/black fly situation in mid- to late-July? Anyone else thinking of a midsummer hike on the Long Trail?

[MOWGLI]

I'm planning on taking advantage of my downtime next summer (yay grad school) to hike the Long Trail. What's the weather/water/black fly situation in mid- to late-July? Anyone else thinking of a midsummer hike on the Long Trail?

All of those things you asked about are variable. I hiked VT during the first half of July (2000) and black flies were not an issue, water was plentiful, and the weather was great. Mosquitoes were an issue. Depending on the amount of snow received this winter, and the amount of precip in the spring, 2006 could be different.

I suggest you pick up the guide to the Long Trail from the Green Mountain Club. That should answer many of your questions.

[celt]

Late July through mid August is usually the warmest part of the summer in New England. Normal highs and lows are between 60 and 80 degrees but it can get up into the 90's and cooler weather in the 40 happens too. Black flies vary but usually the worst of the bug season is over. I always seem to see the buggers at Goddard Shelter (still a great place to stay). You should ask the water question again closer to your start date. www.greenmountainclub.org, the website of the GMC will post warnings if large numbers of shelter water sources start drying up, the last time that happened was two years ago. The GMC is a great source for info. I recommend the End To Ender Guide for lots of specific and up to date info on the trail and the towns around the trail. The guide is updated annually and comes out in April.

[stranger]

I hiked the LT starting July 10th going north and the bugs were still out. You may not have blackflies but the skeeters will chomp ya! We stayed at shelters every night but only slept in the shelters 3-4 times due to bugs. Kid Gore, Goddard, Lost Pond were very buggy when I was there. During the day the bugs were fine, as long as you were moving.

I had no problems with water, the rain still falls hard, and you will have plenty of mud and mud along the LT. It's a great trip and I am psyched for you, I've made two myself. Have a blast!

[Pencil Pusher]

Got a message from Rick the Lone Wolf after he got back from his walk on this trail. He said it was a bunch of rain and walking on chossy ledges. He still sounded happy about the trip. He was on the trail from July 5th to August 7th and mentioned seeing a couple of folks he met while on the AT in 2003.

[latebloomer]

My sister and I are planning to hike the LT in July 2005. It will be the first backpacking trip for both of us. I'm very excited! I have read and re-read the guide book and supplement, but any advice or help would be appreciated. Also, any company would be nice since we're novices.

[stranger]

Hey Latebloomer...I would recommend looking into resupplying between Sherburne Pass and Jonesville. We hitched into Bristol, there may be other options these days. That's a long stretch from Rte 4 - Jonesville and the trail gets a lot rougher in that area. Look into it. Have a great trip, it's awesome.

[Shadrach]

I'm hoping to do it this summer as well, but didn't know what the best month was.

Hopefully my boss won't have a problem with me using 100% of my vacation days in a lump!

[bartender]

Did the LT this August and had no real problems with bugs, the mud and rain were another issue. I am thinking of doing it again next year since I missed many of the best views due to weather. Went over Killington, Mt. Abe, Camels Hump, and Jay in fog/rain. Had an amazing time and it was my first real long distance hike. I would be happy to answer any questions, I learned lots of things the hard way!