Question - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

If I wanted to hike the AT in chunks (because I can’t take off of work) does anyone have suggestions? Or which end to start at?

Thank you!!

Molly

#2

The trail is such, that you can do just about what ever you want to do when it comes to taking “Section Hikes” on it.
Either end or in the middle, the choice is yours.
Just have fun and enjoy it. :smile:

Gorp Gobbler

#3

One great advantage of section hiking on the AT is you can hike a section at the optimal time of year. We hiked Roan Mountain when the Rhododendron were blooming, Shenendoah with Mountain Laurel, and New England in the fall. Choose your season and then choose your section.

Turtle Walking

#4

Another advantage is being able to avoid the large “Bubbles” of Thru-Hikers. And to go along with what Turtle Walking said, you also have the advantage of avoiding the “real bad” rainy season up in Maine, with it’s mud and bugs.
Don’t take me wrong, because Maine is a beautiful state, and I’ve section hiked up there in all seasons.:smiley:

Gorp Gobbler

#5

I’ve hiked most of the AT twice in sections and the southern portions even more times. In section hiking, another consideration is transportation to and from the AT. If you live near a section, you can easily drive. For example I live in Gainesville and can drive easily to much of the AT short of Harper’s Ferry, but when I do Maine, New Hampshire- the drive is long and I often fly to start those segments. I do love the spring flowers and thus often do my large sections in the spring/early summer when the flowers are most spectacular. And water sources are generally flowing during that period (unlike now when most everything is dry!) Section hiking also gives you a new set of trail friends each year which is quite a blessing. Have fun. Happy hiking.
Pastor John from Georgia

pastorjohn

#6

This can be an age issue. If you want to do the entire trail and you are over age 60 I say start in Maine and New Hampshire.

Francis

#7

I received other advice for an over 60 attempting a thru hike and mosquito adverse: SOBO Harpers Ferry to Ga then SOBO Maine to Harpers Ferry. With that plan I thought to start 3/1/17. La Niña should make it warmer and dryer than normal. However long it takes to get to GA, then start back in Maine Aug 1 after the black flies are over.

But despite that making sense to me, I get no info on others doing it . So, shoot holes. Please.

Lawnchair

#8

In general it sounds OK, with a few potential issues:

  • You could run into winter weather in March & April but those starting in GA have that same issue.

  • You will lose the convenience of Shenandoah (since it’s only about 50 miles south of your start point, and most of the facilities in the park don’t open until late April or later) - not a big issue, but something to plan for (either doing the whole 100+ miles or figuring out which of the couple crossroads allows an easy exit for a stop off for supplies).

  • The second part sounds reasonable - still warm enough (though it might get cool occasionally in the higher areas) and you should still be back to WV before it gets too close to wintery season (barring any oddball early storms).

The other thought that comes to mind - depending on how fast you are hiking you may have a fair layover between the two parts (after all if you were taking about 6 months for the whole trail, usually a common estimate, you’d finish the first half end of May or early June, leaving close to 2 months break). Not that that is hard either, but it may be more difficult to start off again (loss of that constant hiking fitness) than if the gap was shorter.
Of course, the offset is that if you waited a bit to start, you wind up in Georgia later, potentially dealing with much higher summery temperatures.

Billy

#9

Thanks! I did not know about the Shenandoah. I am taking a break in the middle. My youngest wants to go to Europe after graduation in June before grad school in August. We do a 1:1 with each child as a graduation presentry. So, Daddy and Daughter are going from Ireland to Finland for 2 weeks in July. This is the last of the 7 kids so I can’t miss this

Lawnchair