Last year our AT NOBO quest ended at Highpoint NJ (~mile 1333), hoping to make it as far north as possible next late spring (and finish to Katadin in late Summer/early fall). I was wondering how the trail conditions were at that time. Our start date is very flexible, but my question for folks familiar with AT conditions in this section:
Would a very-late April start be reasonable in NJ/NY/CT/MA and maybe 360 miles later, call it 3+ weeks, heading into Vermont in mid-late May? We're willing to call it quits whenever/wherever VT gets bad (muddy or whatever), wherever that happens to be. My main (Maine?) question is the typical conditions in NY/CT/MA in late April or mid-May. I do not care about cold weather or moderate snow, only very muddy trail conditions & black flies, that kind of thing.
I of course realize that late-spring conditions can vary quite a lot, just asking about "typical" average trends.
Any info appreciated!