Optimal times to hike the LT?

[Rmcpeak]

Three questions?

What is the best time during the summer months to hike the LT?
What is the best time of year to hike the LT?
When should the LT be avoided?

[FreshStart]

From the research I've done September seems like the best month. June and before is very damp, muddy and the black flies are insane. Later and it gets cold. I'm planning a thru in 2017 and September will be my month!!

[George]

nothing wrong with august

[Rmcpeak]

When do the flies go away?

[peakbagger]

Mosquitoes around dusk can hang around until August but black flies are usually gone early July. Horse flies are most noticeable during hot weather in august, not bad when moving but can be annoying when stopping to pick berries.

There are a lot of camps and groups that use the southern long trail when school is out. The crowds cut down from Maine junction north somewhat until Mansfield. The section north of Mansfield gets far less use as its much more difficult.

[Praha4]

best time of year? - September
best summer month? - August
avoid the LT - during mud & black fly season

I've hiked the LT in August & September...and vastly preferred September....cooler weather & fall colors

[soilman]

I hiked SOBO the last half of August and the first week or so of September. I ran into quite a few college groups in the north half. Spent 3 out of 12 nights with different groups. The south half I ran into quite a few AT NOBO's along with the college groups. Despite all this, I spent 5 out of 19 nights alone.

[Dogwood]

Three questions?

What is the best time during the summer months to hike the LT?
What is the best time of year to hike the LT?
When should the LT be avoided?

All these questions have been answered at the knowledgeable Green Mountain Club's dedicated Long Trail website. http://www.greenmountainclub.org/page.php?id=6

FWIW, I like Oct to thru or long section hike the LT. Vistas are great with the colorful fall foliage. Trails are more open. Weather is coll even crisp ideal for hiking.

[rafe]

You can have killer heat on the LT any time of summer, I got hit with it bad in early August in '02 (southern LT).

This year the it was just the opposite, cold and wet on the northern LT, same exact time of year.

[Jeff]

Our trail town see the most hikers mid July thru mid August...mostly AT thruhikers. September is a great time to hike but be aware it can get very cool at night up on the ridgelines. I have seen some days when its 85 degrees in town and a few days later in September it's 35 degrees and windy at night up in the mountains.

[Slo-go'en]

The last time I did a LT E2E was in August (SOBO). Beastly hot to start, down right chilly at the end.

Mid Sept to Mid October (go SOBO) is the ideal time, but it really depends on how the fall goes. The worst time is anytime before July. But with the tend being for shorter winters where spring starts earlier and winter much later, these rules of thumb might need adjusting.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Best Time: Early or mid September SOBO. Hike with fall. SOBO as trailhead logistics are easier at finish.
Best summer months: Late June and after.
Avoid: April, May, early June. (Mud and then black flies)

[handlebar]

+1 on Mid-Sep to start, but NOBO. Had a couple days with rain at the start and rain the last two days (did the trail in 18 days with no overnight stays in towns but a couple short days in and out of town). We found hitching in and out of towns fairly easy.

I disagree about easier logistics N vs. S. My hiking partner (young guy I met on trail) and I had no issue getting from the Canadian border back down south. We backtracked from the border to VT105 arriving at North Jay Pass at 5:30pm where it was cold, gloomy and rainy. Our hitching strategy was to initially indicate our desire to go to Richford, the first town about 18 miles west where there is a restaurant, The Crossing, that operates a 5-room motel. From there one can catch a bus at about 5am that arrives in St. Albans in time to catch the Amtrak train south, the Vermonter, as far as Springfield, MA, catch the bus from there to Williamstown, MA, about 3 miles west of where I left my car, take a motel in Williamstown for the night since the local bus would have stopped running, then take the local bus to North Adams to retrieve my car. Although there isn't much traffic westbound on VT105, we get a ride just as it was almost totally dark, and the driver was headed all the way to St. Albans. This is one place where a "Hiker to Town" sign might come in handy as the local who drove us to St. Albans said that the trail is also used by drug smugglers. If we hadn't got the ride, the last shelter S of VT 105 is under 2 miles south on the LT. We had contemplated hiking there by headlamp, had the ride not arrived. I had left my car at the Greylock Community Club for a modest contribution which is only a block from the AT just a couple miles south of the MA-VT border.

[mudsocks]

I went North in July 2014 and never felt that the rain, mud and bugs were a problem. It did get hot and humid. There are many opportunities to swim right on the trail in the south, and a some side trails to good swimming in the north. You will likely run into summer camps & college groups right after school lets out and as college starts in the fall. The southern end starts to see AT thru hikers going north in numbers as soon as late June. Not sure when the southern AT bubble drops off, but there are far fewer going south.

Someday I'd like to hike south in the fall as the foliage starts to change. I suspect that's when the LT is at it's best. Maybe others who have done this can comment.

[Dogwood]

+1 on Mid-Sep to start, but NOBO. Had a couple days with rain at the start and rain the last two days (did the trail in 18 days with no overnight stays in towns but a couple short days in and out of town). We found hitching in and out of towns fairly easy.

I disagree about easier logistics N vs. S. My hiking partner (young guy I met on trail) and I had no issue getting from the Canadian border back down south. We backtracked from the border to VT105 arriving at North Jay Pass at 5:30pm where it was cold, gloomy and rainy. Our hitching strategy was to initially indicate our desire to go to Richford, the first town about 18 miles west where there is a restaurant, The Crossing, that operates a 5-room motel. From there one can catch a bus at about 5am that arrives in St. Albans in time to catch the Amtrak train south, the Vermonter, as far as Springfield, MA, catch the bus from there to Williamstown, MA, about 3 miles west of where I left my car, take a motel in Williamstown for the night since the local bus would have stopped running, then take the local bus to North Adams to retrieve my car. Although there isn't much traffic westbound on VT105, we get a ride just as it was almost totally dark, and the driver was headed all the way to St. Albans. This is one place where a "Hiker to Town" sign might come in handy as the local who drove us to St. Albans said that the trail is also used by drug smugglers. If we hadn't got the ride, the last shelter S of VT 105 is under 2 miles south on the LT. We had contemplated hiking there by headlamp, had the ride not arrived. I had left my car at the Greylock Community Club for a modest contribution which is only a block from the AT just a couple miles south of the MA-VT border.

Interesting strategy that I've never attempted. So, how did you get into N Troy from Journeys End at the U.S. Can border? I've hitched on VT 105 with no major issues. I'm glad that you reminded us(me!) about the GMTA bus that goes to St Albans from Richford.

[lemon b]

July.August. September. Oct if your young sure footed and have good cold weather equipment. I'd go SB in Oct. and not at my age. Because the footing is too tricky when the ice factor is added in. Your gonna take tumbles on the LT that is reality.

[North Star]

I did my end to end northbound, from June 14 to July 18. Black flies weren't as bad as I expected, I didn't have too much rain to deal with, and the 2 full days of rain I did have coincided with zero days Worse than the black flies were the deer flies I encountered in the norther part of the hike. When they found you they tended to folow for miles, buzzing and looking for a chance to bite. Normally the only thing that would deter them was death.
That time of year you encounter the speediest AT hikers, since the main bubble hasn't hit yet. North of Maine Junction there were other LT hikers, but it never felt crowded at all.
I hiked it at that time of year because of personal timing requirements, but I feel like I got really lucky, and couldn't have had a better trail experience, although of course I'd really like to do a SOBO during the fall colors some year.

[fastfoxengineering]

If I were to thru hike the LT again.. which may be in order someday. I would go SOBO again, and start the second or third week of September. It would be dry-er (ha!). no bugs (this is actually real), and honestly the foliage just makes the LT that much better. When the weather's good you'll have crisp mornings, warm days, and cool nights. I would without a doubt bring rain gear for warmth, a puffy as well as light fleece, and a warm quilt or bag. I would not be skimping on insulation. You'll have a few nights where it will be COLD. Prob dip in the low 40's or high 30's. And for some reason, prob has to do without the wetness off the LT, but everything seems 10 degrees colder than it actually is.

Fall in the New England mountains is a real treat, and imho I think that the trails are the most beautiful at this time of year.

My most important advice would be go in the fall but be aware that it's really a shoulder season up in Vermont. The northern section is a whole different animal than the southern section. I would rather be in the northern section first and be hiking south as the days go by and the temps get colder and colder. If you were hiking north at that time of the year, I would hope you have some cold weather experience. Anywho, bring the appropriate equipment and you'll have the time of your life. The Long Trail is a fantastic trail.

[bigcranky]

We started July 4, 2014, and had pretty much perfect weather. Very few bugs, cool nights, warm days, blue sky. OK, we did get a fair amount of rain at the end.

[Hikingjim]

Have done an early august hike, and a mid-sept hike (both about 7 days)

There are definite pros for both:

Reasons to do August:
- warmer
- more daylight. If you get into late september, it gets dark 6 or 6:30. Especially if you're on the wrong side of the mountain!
- if you like to talk to other hikers, and AT thru-hikers in the south

Reasons to do September:
- a lot less people and shelter crowding
- less chance of intense daytime heat if you hate the really hot days
- foliage average seems to be late sept/early oct (comes much later in the south part of the state compared to north)

You can finish in October, but I wouldn't start then. Starting to get cold and short days... and I wouldn't want to finish end October (unless my schedule only allowed that)

and before august, it's just worst because of the obvious bugs and mud.