Dwill1000, awesome that you are considering starting in Harpers Ferry!
April 1 is definitely on the early side to start from Harpers Ferry. Although there will be some people on the Trail (spring breakers, weekenders, day-hikers), you'll be ahead of the nobos and most flip-floppers won't have started yet. It's good to have a few long-distance hikers around you for companionship, moral support, and advice. You don't have to hike together during the day, but it's nice to chew the fat with at the end of the day, share your successes and woes and food fantasies, high and low points of the day. You have your areas of expertise and you'll have done a lot of research, but there are always more tips you can learn from others.
Here's info about Mud Season in Vermont greenmountainclub.org/page.php?id=60
Mud Season
Early spring through Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend
Please help protect the fragile alpine tundra and prevent soil erosion by staying off susceptible trails during Mud Season! This will allow the trails to dry out and reduce the amount of maintenance required each year to keep them safe and enjoyable. We know everyone is just itching to get out and enjoy the wonders of spring - we are too!
Rain and melting snow at higher elevations are keeping many of Vermont's hiking trails wet and muddy. When hikers tramp on saturated soils, they cause irreversible erosion and damage to the trail and surrounding vegetation. The Green Mountain Club, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, and Green Mountain National Forest advocate responsible use of the state's hiking trails during mud season (usually between sugaring season and Memorial Day weekend).
Some of the Long Trail has been worn down to bedrock by soil erosion over the years. Higher elevation soils take longer to dry out, and their higher content of organic material slows the drying process. A trail may be dry at the trailhead, but it will get muddy if you climb very high this time of year.
The GMC thanks hikers for their cooperation to help preserve one of Vermont's finest recreational resources.
Mud Season Hiking Guidelines
- Walk through the mud, not around it! If a trail is so muddy that you need to walk on the vegetation beside it, turn back, and seek an alternative area to hike.
- Hike in the lower-elevation hardwood forest (unless it is muddy!) with southern exposure (south facing slopes dry out first in Spring).
- Avoid the spruce-fir (conifer) forests at higher elevations.
- The State of Vermont closes all trails on state land including those on Camel's Hump and Mount Mansfield from mid-April until Memorial Day weekend. Please do not hike in these fragile areas. [Note from Laurie: most of the A.T. is on U.S. Forest Service lands, so the state closure doesn't apply, but the USFS is still asking hikers to stay away. The A.T. follows the ridge line of the Green Mountains, and many parts are in spruce-fir forests.]
If you're really itching for an early start, then how about a little compromise and starting at Rockfish Gap, near Waynesboro, Virginia (at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park, 160 miles south of Harpers Ferry) or Swift Run Gap/US 33 (45 miles north of Rockfish Gap). where you'll reach some services in a few days) around April 15? Perhaps you could time it to reach Harpers Ferry May 1?
Most services in Shenandoah National Park start to open at the beginning of April. Here's the schedule for 2014: nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/facilities-opening-schedule.htm. It theory it shouldn't be much different in 2015. Although the camp stores in the park don't have fancy hiker food and they are expensive, they do have a lot of staples. If you're not choosy, you can completely resupply there. Another option is staying at Skyland Resort and having a drop box sent there (only guests can do that). Or, you could go into Luray, 5 miles west, which has all major services. There are some shuttlers in Luray who could pick you up and take you back (see the shuttle list at appalachiantrail.org/transportation).
When you're just starting out, it's good to resupply frequently to keep your pack weight as low as possible. Whatever you're doing before your thru-hike, it probably won't equate to the rigors of carrying a pack for 8 hours a day up and down mountains.
Many former thru-hikers will tell you Shenandoah is easy. True, it's easy compared to just about everything on the A.T. to the south of it, but it's not easy if you're just starting out. Eight to ten miles a day is plenty to start (ignore thru-hikers who can tell you that it's easy to do twenties in Shenanodah, just because after 2 months of hiking and pushing full-tilt for 2 months they found it easy). It's a little harder than Maryland (though not as rocky). The Roller Coaster in northern Virginia is tougher than either--not difficult or seriously steep, just grueling with unrelenting ups and downs.
This may be more information than you wanted or were asking for, but if so, it may be helpful to others.
Mud season and Shenandoah tips
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Originally Posted by Dwill1000
