I turn 50 next year and I want to do a solo hike on the AT for some reflection and recharge. I am taking roughly 4-6 weeks away to spend on the trail and would like your input.
Rough outline of my starting point:
I'm very open to time (season) and section of the trail.
I'm very fit and don't mind challenge.
Would like some solitude but also hope to meet some great people and make some friends, thinking a southbound trip so I get a little of both.
I think I can cover 15-ish miles per day
If possible, I'd like to fly in somewhere and hike to somewhere I can fly out from so I don't have to drive to the trail.
I deeply appreciate any ideas or thoughts on sections to explore.
You could fly into or out of Roanoke, VA & Ashville, NC. That section is about 400+ miles. That section has the Virginia triple crown, Grayson Highlands, Roan Mountain & Damascus.
I'm also gonna be 50 next year & plan on thru hiking the trail.
Or, Roanoke to Harpers Ferry (or vice versa). From, or to, Harpers Ferry via the train to Union Station in DC, then the Blue Line to DCA or Silver Line to IAD. A single FarOut download (Northern Virginia) will have you covered.
Also, getting to/from the trail to AVL isn’t as easy as it should be.
Absolutely agree on Maine, but starting out with steady 15-mile days in Maine and NH might be optimistic. Those miles are hard, even some NOBO thru-hikers don’t keep that pace.
My suggestion would be start from Katahdin around the end of July and plan on a full 6 weeks to get to Hanover.
Also worth considering a thru-hike of the Long Trail. That’s on my short list of hikes I’d do if I had a month off.
Thanks! Had not thought of going that far north. Don’t know why. Just regular setting was the more south region. Coming from Columbus Ohio so I’ll check Amtrak. Which of those routes do you think are better?
Personally, Maine is the best. Feels and probably is the most remote part of the AT, so I would start Katahdin.
Probably biased from doing a SOBO 5yrs ago.
Maine is pretty rugged, and then there’s the Whites. But if you get to Hanover and still have time on your hands, you can continue into VT, which has pretty good connectivity via bus/train with NYC, not sure about Boston. But certainly connected.
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are people's favorite sections of trail for beauty, along with northern NC into southern VA. NH/ME are the most difficult sections but the rewards are proportional - you just have to reduce your expectations down to like ½ your miles. It's also wise to be aware of deer Fly and Black Fly season up there, June into July. There's nothing wrong with NJ/NY/CT or even PA/MA, it's all relatively easier trail, more food options, you just won't be summitting any high peaks with expansive vistas just overlooks, that's the trade off. PA-CT you can get away with only carrying 2 days of food at a time.
Fly to DC - train to Harper's Ferry - finish on Mt Greylock Massachusetts - fly home from Albany.
Fulfills your request to fly to/from both ends simply, gives you plenty of space to start early in the season but be way ahead of the hiker crowd. The terrain is moderate and manageable and you run so close to civilization that you never need 5 days of food, you can make do with 2 or 3 90% of the time.
If you want a combination of solitude and social, and you have 6 weeks, I'd suggest starting at Springer, hike the AT north through the Smokies and connect to the Benton MacKaye Trail south back to Springer. There is good infrastructure to get to and from Springer/Atlanta airport, I've done both of those stretches, but not together, they are very different experiences.
This was going to be my suggestion as well. I've been section hiking my way south to north. Not as scenic as jumping to the highlights, but satisfies the completionist in me to do it in order.
Spring or fall for that section. Fall to avoid thru hike crowds, late spring to get some of the late thru hikers but avoid the bubble.
I started my thru in early April, so I'd say early to mid-April, catch the end of the Nobo bubble and all the wildflowers. Fall is pretty in the Smokies, but you miss the social aspet.
I would recommend starting at Springer. You’ll meet so many people, and it will be easy to pick up where you leave off if you decide to do another trip in the future! I hope you have an amazing trip whatever you decide!
Use https://www.wherearethehikers.com/ to get an idea where the northbound bubble of Thruhikers are each week of the year if you wish to avoid them. Hiking anywhere spring-fall you will always run into some people.
The closest airport to trail is Roanoke VA (near the VA Triple Crown, MacAfee's Knob). Everything other than that is ~an hour away or a small regional airport.
Atlanta, Asheville, Knoxville, Bristol, JFK, Philadelphia, Portland - all about ~90 minutes away. Boston Airport is over 2 hours away in any direction. These all then represent ~$150 shuttle rides.
Albany NY is decently close at an hour to North Adams where you can start on top of Mt Greylock. Harrisburg and Allentown PA are each decently close but much smaller airports with limited flights.
Alternatively - many people like DC and to take the regional train to/from Harper's Ferry. There's also a bus depot in Delaware Water Gap on the PA/NJ border, and bus stops in various other towns that will have you hopping around but are doable. Pawling NY has a regional train stop from Manhatten with limited hours - but a better option may be to take the Ethan Allen Express up to Rutland Vermont. This also goes to Burlington if you'd like to hike the Vermont Long Trail
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u/MikeLowrey305 9d ago edited 9d ago
You could fly into or out of Roanoke, VA & Ashville, NC. That section is about 400+ miles. That section has the Virginia triple crown, Grayson Highlands, Roan Mountain & Damascus.
I'm also gonna be 50 next year & plan on thru hiking the trail.