Well if your two summer dates will always be early June, you will be dealing with heat.

It would be nice to start in Maine going south but I don't think Baxter SP is open for overnight camping until mid-June. Perhaps you could shuttle in when they open in the early morning. Hike up with day pack (leaving most of your pack with the rangers), back down to camp or to grab your pack and hike on. Not sure you could then hike out of the park to camp outside of it. Others here will chime in.

You could start at Harpers Ferry and hike north. It will be warm. See how far north you get.
You could start at Springer and it will be warm. You'd be a month behind most anyone else but services should still be available (shuttles, hostels).
Others on here with a LOT more first hand knowledge will offer better advice.

Best of luck.

Hello Stinkfinker. Welcome to the Café! New members get a dancing banana.

Before getting to your question, let me suggest you go to the General Hiking forum and introduce yourself on the Introduce Yourself thread. We have other teachers here (I'm a nearly retired chemistry professor). Perhaps you could explain your name. Is that a trail name? On second thought, maybe we don't want to know what you may have done to earn the name Stinkfinger

As for where to LASH on the AT starting in early June, I may not be the best one to answer as my AT miles are limited. I can guarantee that more experience people will chime in.

Yes, it can be hot down South, but the elevations are higher than the mid Atlantic section (North of SNP) so heat an humidity may be worse up there. I did a couple summer section in central VA and didn't find the heat too bad up in the mountains.

Early June is probably too soon to start at Katahdin and hike south. Flip flop thru hikers often hike north from HF, but are probably starting earlier to finish on time. But you do have the advantage of starting on some of the easier sections in MD to MA, getting you trail legs before getting to the bigger climbs further north (ignoring the rocks of eastern Rocksylvania). Getting to VT too soon is problematic due to spring mud in Vermud. I think they say to get there after Memorial Day, so that shouldn't be something you need to plan around. So doing the north half NOBO from HF one year and the southern half SOBO from HF another is not a bad plan, I think. That should put you in higher elevations at the peak of the summer heat.

What you could do is a Coin Flip Flop hike. That's a flip flop hike where you start somewhere near the middle (HF, eg). When you get to the trail you flip a coin. Heads you hike north, tails south. Adds a bit of adventure. I'm not sure its ever been done. You can be the first!

And also, happy Saint Lucia Day. I a big holiday in Sweden (BTW, thread drift here is encouraged).

What's you hiking experience and gear set up? Doing half the trail in that period would require 17 miles per day. That would take a pretty strong hiker. A typical thru hike is at a pace of something like 13 mpd (that includes time for resupply stops). So at that pace, you could hike about 900 miles from June 3 to mid Aug. If you wanted to hike the north "half" and end at Katahdin, that would have you starting at Delaware Water Gap (PA/NJ line). Goung south, you could start at Swift Run Gap in SNP (910 miles from Springer).

Welcome Stinkfinger.
As a section hiker who has done the northern half of the AT all in summer months, I can tell you it can be hot and humid from West Virginia to Maine during the summer months.

My wife and I are planning to do the southern half in 2024 so maybe we'll meet, depending on the where and whens.

Springer start will work. Most of the trail south of HF allows dispersed camping, which is especially nice as you don't have to coordinate your unknown hiking pace with shelter locations. That's why I chose VA for my first sections.

I have a 40 deg quilt for summer and has always been enough. I might bring a fleece for chilly night, but no puffy.

You're planning on 2 years of hiking 60 days which works out to roughly a 4 month thru hike. I think it is much more likely your hike will take 3 years, not 2.

If you start in the middle, say Harpers Ferry or somewhere in Pennsylvania, you run the risk of leaving an orphan section of 200 (plus or minus) miles. This would suggest starting at either Springer or Katahdin.

I would suggest Springer as I'd hike Maine as late in the season as your schedule permits. Additionally, starting at Katahdin in June will put you in black fly season. You've already noted that the start date at Katahdin is dependent on trail conditions (usually open by Memorial Day but no guarantees).

Springer will be hot, but no hotter than Pennsylvania was for me on my thru. You'll be missing the best hiking months in Spring and Fall, but it is what it is.

If having an orphan section doesn't bother you, or you want to hike in the bubble of thru hikers, then ignore much of what I've said.

You asked about cold weather gear. No, you won't need what we consider cold weather gear, but you will want to carry a fleece for those chilly evenings.

You might not want to use your screen as your trail name.

Start at N Adams in Mass and head north to Katahdin. It's unlikely you'll do half the trail in just 2 months, and it will give you some time to get your trail legs before you hit the Whites and Maine. It will also keep you out of some of the heat. In the South it will be hot, muggy and buggy, and you may have some water issues by mid summer.

In the summer, many sources listed as "intermittent" will dry up all the way up through the mid atlantic. It just means you may be forced to carry a bit more water between reliable sources.It means a bit more weight, but your summer pack is lighter than if you were starting in March or early April. Get the FarOut app, as it can give you real time updates from other hikers about the water situation.

Other than a few days in November, March, and October, I hiked the entire AT over 10 years in June and July (and a few days in early August). The worst weather I ever experienced by far was a few days in March doing the Southern half of GSMNP. My father dropped me off at Newfound Gap with the weather in the teens with snow and ice. The one time I didn't mind shelters and really appreciated the fireplaces.

I never minded walking in the summer and that was over 90% of my hike. Like Hikerboy mentions sometimes you do need to focus on water conditions, but I will take that over the cold any day. But full disclosure I grew up in South Florida and have done assignments in Brazil, Singapore, and Southern China, along working in Houston 18 years.

Unless you are young, great shape, and walk really fast I would mentally prepare for it might take 3 years instead of 2. Please note starting out too fast is one of the biggest risk of jeopardizing your hike. I would start at Springer and knock out what you can. Then pick up from there the next summer. To me the first 12 states was hiking/backpacking. NH and ME is totally different animal. Some beautiful views, but a lot more rock scrambling, steep up and downs, slick rocks, etc.., along with weather being a much larger factor (regardless of what time of year). They do occasionally have rebar and ladders, but not near enough from my perspective.

Enjoying 3 summers of hiking the AT instead of pushing yourself thru 2 is not a bad thing. Some say "the last one to Katahdin wins".

Hello Stinkfinger,

I'm going to go with starting at Springer Mtn. If you want to complete a through hike, you are going to have to face the south in the summer at some point anyways. It might as well be now. (And trust me, me all have our gripes, but the mosquitoes in the Maine woods in June is not something I would enjoy).

I think OMO is correct, this is more likely to be a three year adventure. But so what? Start with your two-year plan and see how it goes. Adaptability is the key to success.

As a teacher, you might want to share the progress of your journey with your students. I know that would keep me going when the times get tough. Not wanting to disappoint the kids

Good luck.

You might find these 2023 AT Hiker survey results by the Trek useful.

thetrek.co/appalachian-trail/t…44dd9a5&mc_eid=cadf4e0762

That was interesting.
It seems there are very few hikers in my age bracket, 70s. That's too bad, those "old" people are missing out on something great.

Sometimes the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Oh don't I know that, considering the physical problems I've had this year. Torn tendons and a broken bone in my leg have reduced my hiking miles this this year.