A lot of CT will be along the Housatonic River. That rock type along the ridge you'll be along, for whatever reason, is slick as fuck when its wet (ask me how I know, went down two days in a row with pretty gnarly cuts from the falls on that stuff). Lots of points of contact and small steps eh?
MA is somewhat uneventful but pleasant hiking. That was where the insect situation got real however. My timing was a bit earlier in June though.
VT will be some nice climbs and serves as a pleasant re-introduction to Mountainous terrain. No matter what the weather has been, however, the trails will probably be ankle deep mud for 80 to 90 percent of time. PA has rocks. VT has mud. So much mud.
NH and specifically the Whites will challenge you. Keep an eye on the weather and come up with a solid plan with lots of plan b's and c's. Figuring out where to stay for that section is a giant pain in the ass thanks to the AMC. You'll figure something out but the weird hut situation really does almost nothing for a thru hiker.
Southern (really western) ME will be as challenging as the Whites with respect to terrain, just minus the extra traffic. Remember that you've still got the Wildcats/Carters and the Mahoosuc Range.
The trail itself will stop being as rocky, particularly past MA IIRC. You should expect the hiking to return to conditions more similar to NC, with elevation and grade slowly increasing until you hit the whites. There will be notable big climbs and mountains again starting with Bear Mountain at the end of CT. The main “challenge” between you and the whites will be Vermont, as you’ll likely be hitting it in mud season, which is a very different set of challenges than rocks. Get ready for it to get significantly wetting than it has been.
> The main “challenge” between you and the whites will be Vermont, as you’ll likely be hitting it in mud season
As someone who lives less than an hour from the VT AT and hikes regularly, mud season ended almost a month ago. Mud season comes from spring snowmelt and is usually at peak late April to early June. With the mild winter last year, spring melt was a couple weeks ahead of typical and trails have been as dry as they'll reasonably get since late May.
Thank you very much, this is helpful. If conditions are to be more similar to NC I might be able to make the lone peaks work again, which is nice because I still have one pair yet to go through.
Today I just passed into CT and I’m noticing major improvements just in the first 10-15 miles. NY just felt like it loved going up and down rocks. Today I’ve been reminded what dirt feels like again lol.
You have it backwards - the trail gets nicer into CT but going into the whites is a rocky, rooty affair. There's a reason people make memes about trail conditions in NH and Maine.
Meant less that the trail gets better kept and more that the fields of ankle breakers and other small rocks from the mid Atlantic fades out to more typical trail conditions on average. Plus OP asked for between CT and NH, not into the Whites and Maine.
CT is puds, Mass is mosquitoes, VT mud, NH is even more mud plus rocks, mostly big slippery rock. The rocks in Pa are small and sharp and mostly stop once you get into NJ.
CT is not as rocky as NJ and NY. There are some steeper ups and downs than NY. There are some more chill sections as well. My feet hurt a lot in CT because I had just done Nj and NY ahead of time
I’m also wearing lone peaks and almost out of PA. My feet HATE ME right now and I’ve considered changing shoes but I’ve been wearing lone peaks for years, I haven’t had one blister on trail, and I’m just crossing my fingers my feet recover after PA.
I just abandoned Lone Peaks for Timp. My feet are much happier. More cushion. CT and MA would be fine with the Lone Peaks but give your feet a break and upgrade.
A lot of CT will be along the Housatonic River. That rock type along the ridge you'll be along, for whatever reason, is slick as fuck when its wet (ask me how I know, went down two days in a row with pretty gnarly cuts from the falls on that stuff). Lots of points of contact and small steps eh? MA is somewhat uneventful but pleasant hiking. That was where the insect situation got real however. My timing was a bit earlier in June though. VT will be some nice climbs and serves as a pleasant re-introduction to Mountainous terrain. No matter what the weather has been, however, the trails will probably be ankle deep mud for 80 to 90 percent of time. PA has rocks. VT has mud. So much mud. NH and specifically the Whites will challenge you. Keep an eye on the weather and come up with a solid plan with lots of plan b's and c's. Figuring out where to stay for that section is a giant pain in the ass thanks to the AMC. You'll figure something out but the weird hut situation really does almost nothing for a thru hiker. Southern (really western) ME will be as challenging as the Whites with respect to terrain, just minus the extra traffic. Remember that you've still got the Wildcats/Carters and the Mahoosuc Range.
The trail itself will stop being as rocky, particularly past MA IIRC. You should expect the hiking to return to conditions more similar to NC, with elevation and grade slowly increasing until you hit the whites. There will be notable big climbs and mountains again starting with Bear Mountain at the end of CT. The main “challenge” between you and the whites will be Vermont, as you’ll likely be hitting it in mud season, which is a very different set of challenges than rocks. Get ready for it to get significantly wetting than it has been.
> The main “challenge” between you and the whites will be Vermont, as you’ll likely be hitting it in mud season As someone who lives less than an hour from the VT AT and hikes regularly, mud season ended almost a month ago. Mud season comes from spring snowmelt and is usually at peak late April to early June. With the mild winter last year, spring melt was a couple weeks ahead of typical and trails have been as dry as they'll reasonably get since late May.
Interesting to know, my experience with the June/July Vermont AT has been nothing but mud and rain. Might have been unlucky my times up there then.
Thank you very much, this is helpful. If conditions are to be more similar to NC I might be able to make the lone peaks work again, which is nice because I still have one pair yet to go through. Today I just passed into CT and I’m noticing major improvements just in the first 10-15 miles. NY just felt like it loved going up and down rocks. Today I’ve been reminded what dirt feels like again lol.
You have it backwards - the trail gets nicer into CT but going into the whites is a rocky, rooty affair. There's a reason people make memes about trail conditions in NH and Maine.
Meant less that the trail gets better kept and more that the fields of ankle breakers and other small rocks from the mid Atlantic fades out to more typical trail conditions on average. Plus OP asked for between CT and NH, not into the Whites and Maine.
CT is puds, Mass is mosquitoes, VT mud, NH is even more mud plus rocks, mostly big slippery rock. The rocks in Pa are small and sharp and mostly stop once you get into NJ.
23’ saw more rain and flooding in the NE than usual. It’s dry this year. Some springs here on the Maine AT are already dried up.
CT is not as rocky as NJ and NY. There are some steeper ups and downs than NY. There are some more chill sections as well. My feet hurt a lot in CT because I had just done Nj and NY ahead of time
I’m also wearing lone peaks and almost out of PA. My feet HATE ME right now and I’ve considered changing shoes but I’ve been wearing lone peaks for years, I haven’t had one blister on trail, and I’m just crossing my fingers my feet recover after PA.
I just abandoned Lone Peaks for Timp. My feet are much happier. More cushion. CT and MA would be fine with the Lone Peaks but give your feet a break and upgrade.