Good place to start

imported
#1 
									I'm looking for a good place to do a brief section of the AT, maybe 200 miles.  I will have my wife, two teen-agers, and one pre-teen with me.  If you could offer any suggestions, I would appreciate it.  We will be starting in early August and plan to stay on the trail for a month or so.  We can get on the trail anywhere.

These are my priorities:
1.) Good weather, i.e. minimal rain, not too hot…prefer cold to hot.
2.) Flexibility in the distance that we can travel each day. Might be starting out pretty slow.
3.) Places to eat something other than trail food.
4.) Minimal hills.
5.) Minimal insects
Very Last: Natural Beauty. Mostly worried about everyone having a good experience.

									_Spencer_
#2 
									From what I read in all of the journals, I think it will be difficult to find cooler temps except in the most northern sections of the trail, which are mountainous.  Virgina is known for modest elevation changes, but it too will be hot in August.

									_CatLuvsGolf_
#3 
									You don't say where you live but I'm thinking the Shenandoahs or possibly CT/MA sections. Long Trail is pretty rugged and further south may be quite hot.  Can't guarantee no rain though.  You should come across eating establishments that will minimalize trail foods in either sections (esp. the Shenandoahs). 

									_Marti /Swannee_
#4 
									It may be virtually impossible to find "ALL the right conditions", you are backpacking you know. i would suggest Shenandoah national Park

									_Scatman_
#5 
									I expected to be made redundant in July, but it looks like I will get laid off in December.  But don't cry for me...maybe I will go earlier than August.

If I’m looking to find the average weather at different times of the year on different parts of the trail, can I find it in the guide books? When I look on the internet, they’re just giving me the names of towns, but I don’t know if the elevation on the trail will be the same as in the towns or different. Any thoughts?

									_Spencer_
#6 
									The AT is a pretty long trail.  Where do you currently live?  If you are in New England, then it's a short jaunt to parts of the trail that will probably be in the 70s.  But if you're living in Florida, for example, do you really want to drive all the way to Vermont or New Hampshire just to go on a 200 mile hike?

									_Loup_
#7 
									Well, I live in Shanghai right now, but I'm from Texas.  I've only been up East twice, so I'm not quite sure what the weather is like.  So you think that the highs in August will be in the 70s in New England?

I’m happy to drive to any part of the trail, since my kids have never really seen the US. And, to be honest, I’ve only seen Washington, D.C., Virginia, and NYC.

									_Spencer_
#8 
									Well, here's a link for the weather during August 2012 in Rutland, Vermont which is the town closest to where the AT and the LT diverge.  The average daytime high was 79F in town, but you could probably safely subtract 3-5 degrees for the trail because you're normally a thousand or two thousand feet higher and your normally in the shaded woods:

And the following link is the August 2013 weather for Hanover, New Hampshire, which is up the trail a bit from Rutland. Again, daytime high averages 80F in town, but probably it was a bit cooler on the trail:

									_Loup_