When Should I Start?

Deciding when and where to start your hike is one of the toughest you will have to make in your planning. Northbound, southbound, a little of both—only you can decide what is best for you. Remember: The northern end of the Trail at Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine is closed to overnight hikers from mid-October to mid-May, and bad weather may close Katahdin earlier in the fall and delay opening in the spring.

Northbound—Georgia to Maine

Most thru-hikers start their trips in early March or April at Springer Mountain in Georgia and finish at Katahdin in September. Starting at Springer in March guarantees hiking in winter conditions for much of the first several weeks and also guarantees a crowd of fellow northbounders—in 2005, about 1,400 thru-hikers started from Springer.

A typical northbounder, starting in March or April and finishing in September, can expect:

• Starting among crowds of other thru-hikers—thirty or more a day.
• Cold weather to start, with some snow or ice, but occasional warmer weather in Georgia.
• Snow, sometimes deep, at high elevations throughout North Carolina and Tennessee.
• Bare trees and winter conditions at high elevations for the first month or two. Cold-weather gear is usually advised until you have hiked beyond the Mt. Rogers high country in southwest Virginia.
• Hot, humid weather though the mid-Atlantic states.
• Favorable temperatures through most of southern New England.
• Periods of cold weather in New Hampshire and Maine in September and October.
• A dramatic ending: Katahdin.

To avoid crowds, the optimal time to start a northbound thru-hike is after April 15; however, since the average thru-hiker takes six months to finish, this can mean cutting it close: Baxter State Park in Maine is closed from October 15 to May 15, and the Appalachian Trail up Katahdin is closed on any day when the weather makes hiking there dangerous.

If you are hiking northbound and you reach Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, after July 15, you should consider a “leapfrog” or a “flip-flop” hike, unless you have covered the first thousand miles in two months or less. From Harpers Ferry, you still have almost 1,200 miles to go, and, once you reach the White Mountains in New Hampshire, your mileage from there north through most of Maine will drop by a third. If you continue northward from Harpers Ferry after July 15, you may have to hike faster than you'd like or face having to finish your hike another year.

Southbound—Maine To Georgia

Southbound thru-hikers start in June or July at Katahdin and finish in Georgia in November or December. A southbound hike will allow you much more solitude, but you will be “breaking in” on the most rugged part of the Trail. A Maine-to-Georgia hike also requires that you traverse long distances between resupply points in the early part of your trek. In many ways it's a tougher hike than a northbound thru-hike. Fewer than 500 people have reported completion of the A.T. southbound.

A typical southbounder, starting in June or July and finishing in December, can expect:

• A small number of other southbound thru-hikers for companionship.
• Starting with Katahdin, the most difficult climb on the entire A.T., and the two most challenging states of the entire Trail—Maine and New Hampshire.
• Swarms of black flies in Maine in June.
• Muddy trail and difficult stream crossings in Maine in June.
• Four weeks of hot, humid weather in the mid-Atlantic states.
• Fall colors in Virginia.
• Hiking through hunting season from late October onward.
• Cold weather during last month or two of hike, snow likely.

The Maine Appalachian Trail Club and Baxter State Park recommend a start date of no earlier than July 1. Before that time, you'll face a number of obstacles: ferocious bugs, lingering snow at higher elevations, blowdowns, high water at stream crossings, wet and muddy trail. The footpath is also more fragile and sustains more damage when you hike under these conditions.

Flip-flops, leapfrogs, and other alternatives

How can you avoid the crowds and still hike the entire Trail? Increasingly, hikers are choosing to start somewhere in the middle of the Trail. These alternatives to an end-to-end thru-hike are commonly known as "flip-flop" or "leapfrog" hikes. ATC encourages these alternative hikes as a way to even out the flow of hikers and minimize resource damage to the Trail. Review sample alternative itineraries that optimize terrain, weather, and crowd avoidance.

Advantages of an alternative hike include favorable terrain and weather, and crowd avoidance:

• Terrain. The easiest terrain on the A.T. is not at either end of the Trail, where thru-hikers normally start, but in the middle of the Trail (from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia north through southern Pennsylvania). In both directions, the Trail gradually gets more difficult as you head north or south. If you want to break in gradually to the rigors of long-distance backpacking, avoid starting south of Virginia, and especially avoid starting in New Hampshire and Maine, the two most difficult states on the Trail. Review sample alternative itineraries with starting points located in moderate terrain.
• Weather. In predicting weather on the Trail, time of year, elevation, and latitude are the most important variables to consider. Of these, the most frequently overlooked is elevation. For example, Blood Mountain, Georgia, at 4461 feet, has colder temperatures and more snow than Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, at about 250 feet, almost a thousand Trail miles to the north.
• Cold. Because the Trail is often at high elevations, the potential for snow lasts into April in Georgia and the mid-Atlantic states, until early May in the highest mountains of the South and much of New England, and until early June in New Hampshire and Maine. The first snows of autumn fall in late September in Maine and New Hampshire and in October through the rest of New England and highest mountains of the South. In November any part of the Trail can receive snow.
• Heat. Weather that is uncomfortably hot and humid for backpacking starts to occur intermittently in June in Georgia, Virginia, and the mid-Atlantic states. July and August can be too hot for comfortable backpacking in much of the mid-Atlantic and South, although above five and six thousand feet the temperatures are often pleasant. High temperatures often linger sporadically into September.
• Avoiding crowds. Leaving Springer in March or early April you will find viewpoints, shelters and campsites crowded, and opportunities for privacy and solitude are substantially reduced. An average of more than 35 thru-hikers a day leave Springer between March 1 and April 1. Northbound thru-hikers create a large, moving group of people, the majority of whom are concentrated over a 300-400 mile stretch of Trail. Georgia especially is crowded, before the attrition process takes its toll. "Spring break" hikers are also drawn to the southern end of the Trail in March and April. Crowded conditions continue well into Virginia. You can avoid these conditions by following any one of the alternative itineraries.

Disadvantages of an alternative hike include psychological factors and logistics:

• Psychological factors. While too many people on the Trail may detract from your experience, so can loneliness. Almost all people find they enjoy their experience more if they have someone with whom they can share both hardships and joys. It also can help to have other thru-hikers around who can encourage you to stick it out when you get bored or discouraged and feel like quitting. For this reason, disadvantages of an alternative hike include psychological factors and logistics. In almost all of these variations you will be ending at a point other than Katahdin, the northern terminus of the A.T. in Maine. Katahdin is a mile-high stand-alone mountain that is hard to beat for a dramatic finish and a powerful draw to spur you on. However, hiking Katahdin earlier in your journey will mean you won't have to race the weather or rush to make Baxter State Park's October 15 deadline. A hiker who is not following the most common approach to thru-hiking is likely to encounter those who insist that the only "right" way to hike the Trail is to walk from Georgia to Maine or vice versa; a few hikers have found this peer pressure has detracted from their ability to enjoy their experience. Some miss the continuity and simplicity of a straight-through trek. On the other hand, you may find satisfaction in knowing that you are not adding to already-crowded conditions caused by the main group of thru-hikers elsewhere on the Trail. By traveling where and when there are fewer people you will minimize your impacts on soils, flora, and fauna, as well as on volunteer-maintained campsites and other Trail resources.
• Logistics. Some additional logistical planning and expense is required to get to the second leg of your journey. Those who plan to leave the Trail for brief hiatus (i.e. graduation, wedding of a family member, etc.) may find this type of hike fits conveniently into their travel plans.

More information

Talk to other hikers who have hiked a schedule similar to the one you are planning, or traveled in the same direction.