LT NOBO starting 9/2!

Hello,

Starting my NOBO hike on 9/2. I'm 31. I've been hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering most of my life. I've read thru a lot on this forum recently, have been reading the guide book / E2E guide, as well as a lot of the journals available. Just kind of looking for some Beta / input. I'm hiking the majority of this alone. I think thats my biggest reservation right now.

How likely will it be to see others in shelters during September? will the southern AT portion still be pretty well populated? What shelters are more popular? I'd like to plan to stay at popular spots as much as I can. I have friends / family meeting me along the way at certain points to resupply and hang out with. I'm expecting to be alone for most of the time in the northern section. Should I expect to spend most of the trip alone or do you think I'll see others going E2E?

Any places along the way that are must-do stop points? any shelters that I should definitely try and hit? I've planed to stop at Manchester center, The Inn at LT, Waitsfield, and Stowe. Any other towns along the way that are easily accessible, or spots close to road crossings that I should consider?

Thank you!

I commend you for starting late in the year. That would be my preferred time. I am a loner and such a late start allows one to avoid, for the most part, crowds on the trail, which is good, especially when those crowds involve an abundance of entitled, disrespectful, know-it-alls. Well planned, Sir.

OkeefenokeeJoe

I think that time of year you'll meet enough people to keep things interesting but it wont be over crowded. The north will be a bit emptier, But its a beautiful time to hike so others will be there.

There will still be a fair amount of traffic until the Maine Junction and then all the AT thru hikes take a right. After that you might end up more or less paced with a few other people the rest of the way.
A resupply at Johnson and stay at Nye's B+B in Jefferson is logistically easier then Stowe, but is a day or two farther.
There are so many great place to stay on the LT. Some of my favorites are:
Goddard shelter (fire tower near-by)
Stratton pond
Little Rock pond
Pico Camp (technically no longer on the AT/LT, but I'll never accept the pointless relo they did there).
Skyline Lodge
Taft Lodge ( my home for 2 months one fall)
Whiteface shelter

Definitely the Inn. How long have you budgeted for the whole thing?

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Originally Posted by AllDownhillFromHere

Definitely the Inn. How long have you budgeted for the whole thing?

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I have the whole month

Places we loved staying on the LT (or wished we had):
Story Spring Shelter (tented well behind the shelter; great spring)
Little Rock Pond - got there mid morning, would have loved to spend the night
Inn at Long Trail, just way too many great things about this place
Emily Proctor Shelter, just a nice little place
The Hyde Away Inn in Waitsfield
Whiteface Shelter, the only night we spent alone on the whole trail, just wonderful
Nye's Green Valley Farm in Johnson
Tillotson Camp, nice view and a very cool place

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Originally Posted by mark schofield

I think that time of year you'll meet enough people to keep things interesting but it wont be over crowded. The north will be a bit emptier, But its a beautiful time to hike so others will be there.

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That's about right. The southern (AT)section will have plenty of people, and the further north you go, especially once past Smuggler's Notch, you will likely spend most weeknights alone.

my favorite campsite is Puffer Shelter - beautiful sunrise, and usually have the place to myself. Water is not so great, but no big deal

Skip Stowe and head to Johnson to stay at Nye's. I enjoyed staying at Goddard, Peru and Taft. I would've loved to stay at Skyline and Lost Pond (or little rock, can't remember now lol). There will be plenty of people still on the first 100 miles. I did my e2e 8/13-9/2 and didn't have a shelter to myself until Jay

Early Sept. is Freshman time on the trail; several colleges bring their Freshman out on the trail in groups of 10-12. There are adult chaperones, but some of these groups can be noisy, staying up well past hiker midnight with the chaperones ignoring the problem. You will also find many AT hikers, both NOBO and SOBO. I didn't have a night to myself until Lost Pond Shelter, about 7 days into the trip. Some nights I had one person with me in a shelter, other nights I had four with a group of Freshman tenting outside.

North of Maine Jct. is quieter, but I didn't find it significantly so.

You are aware of the fees charged at some of the shelters and tent sites? Many hikers squawk at this, but these are nice places that would be trashed if they didn't have a caretaker. It's $5.00, last I knew and the caretakers do a lot of trailwork.

Take a tent.

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Originally Posted by Slo-go'en

There will still be a fair amount of traffic until the Maine Junction and then all the AT thru hikes take a right. After that you might end up more or less paced with a few other people the rest of the way.
A resupply at Johnson and stay at Nye's B+B in Jefferson is logistically easier then Stowe, but is a day or two farther.
There are so many great place to stay on the LT. Some of my favorites are:
Goddard shelter (fire tower near-by)
Stratton pond
Little Rock pond
Pico Camp (technically no longer on the AT/LT, but I'll never accept the pointless relo they did there).
Skyline Lodge
Taft Lodge ( my home for 2 months one fall)
Whiteface shelter

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I stayed at the Stratton pond tent sites because everyone said oh Stratton Pond is so nice. And the pond itself is really nice to look at BUT the tent sites are .6 off the trail AND the water source is on the LT and wasn't flowing all that well AND the tent sites were mobbed with overnight hikers even in the middle of the week AND those tent sites don't have a view of the pond. So it wasn't one of my favorite nights in a tent on the LT but perhaps Slo-go'en is talking about the Stratton Pond shelter. Still my take on Stratton Pond is a little over-rated. : )

Not listed in Slo-go'en list is Butler Lodge which was my favorite lodge on the trip, but I agree Skyline Lodge looked nice when I hiked by it.

Whiteface shelter has a nice view and a good reliable water source but there are a lot of LT shelters that meet that description. Consider staying instead on nearby Madonna peak. You'll have to hike your water up as there is no water at the peak but the views at sunrise and sunset will make it worth it. Just my 2 cents!

All those spots are great, and many of the shelters I stayed at with my Dad were great, but are no longer there. I guess my point is you make the trip what it is - every day & night on the trail is as good as you make it.