Looking for a good 100 mile hike

"Originally I was thinking about the 100-mile wilderness, but am not sure of what the hiking conditions would be up in Maine at that time of year."

I was once in that area in early June and got eaten alive by black flies. Sorry I don't have any suggestions. It's been a while since I lived in New England.

I'm also not sure of the conditions that time of year, but if I were to rehike one section of the AT in the northeast, it would be from the NH-ME border north to Caratunk, ME. That section includes part of the Mahoosuc Range, Mahoosuc Notch, Bemis Range, Saddleback Mtn., Bigelow Range, and some picturesque little ponds. You finish with a canoe ride across the Kennebec River (if the ferry service is running that time of year) and Northern Outdoors just up the road is a nice spot to catch a shower, a microbrew, and a ride home. It's slighty longer than your hundred mile request, but it's easily one of my favorite stretches of the AT. The 100-mile wilderness might the most remote part of the trail, but IMHO, it's not as scenic or challenging as this first section of Maine.

The AT in Maine is always a good choice, although the worst of bug season is in June. I'll second the NH border to Caratunk, and you can also do the 45ish mile Grafton Loop trail as part of that, which is a gorgeous and relatively new trail that goes along the AT from Old Speck to Bald Pate, and loops south over a couple other very nice mountains.

The Cohos Trail is another possibility, although there is a bunch of roadwalking because it's a relatively new trail, and you probably won't run into too many people out there, from what I hear. http://www.cohostrail.org

The northern end of the Long Trail or a White Mountains traverse could be good, too. Hard to go wrong with most of the mountains in the area.

If you want to do an actual thru-hike you could do the M-M trail. (Metacomet to Monadnock). It's CT to NH. 117 miles. Sort of a low key trail, nothing too crazy you could definitely pull some higher mileage days. Nice and homey, some easy resupply places your only issue will be fording two rivers. I'm actually doing it the 2nd week of May. There is a guidebook.

http://john.klebes.googlepages.com/thru-hikeofthem-mtrail

edit: in terms of scenery/challenge I definitely second the ME/NH border nomination… but I know a thru-hiker last year who hit the Whites at the end of May (he was at the Kennebec River by May 21st) and was postholing constantly. It was definitely a challenge.

I'm planning on hitting the M-M trail in October, so let me know how it goes, Angela. I'm especially wondering about those two river crossings. Also, if the M-M isn't long enough for you, you can keep going another 45 or so miles on the Monadnock Sunapee Greenway.

Hey Ryan, thanks for the tip. I've hit up Monadnock before but never ventured beyond it.

I'm doing it with my uncle and we are both using a week's vacation time… I guess it will depend on our mileage.

I can't say I know what the rivers will be like in the fall (you picked a GREAT time to go, by the way) but I've kayaked the CT river before and I live about 20 minutes from there so I'll definitely keep you updated if you like (drop me a PM to remind me if I forget as the months go by) and odds are, I could even manage to snag a kayak for you and arrange to meet up/shuttle you across. No promises 'til it gets closer though.

Also, once you hit Mt. Norwottuck in the Amherst/Hadley area… get off the trail and head over to Atkins farm for some AMAZING cider donuts!

I'll keep you posted on how the hike goes, for sure.

Northville – Placid Trail in the Adirondacks is another one you could do. It is a great trail at 133 miles and ending in Lake Placid is an added bonus.

http://www.adk-schenectady.org/northville-placid_trail.html

–scott

Mahoosucs through the Bigelows is a rugged beautiful section the AT. All variety of trail and probably still some snow pack in late May. You really won't be disappointed with any NE 100 mile section of the AT, even NJ/NY are great. You would be amazed at the wilderness found only 30-40 miles north of NYC.

Here is another plan, however. The Long Trail divides nicely into 100 mile or ten day sections. For example, the Mass border to Killington (Route 4) is 104.2 miles. Do a section each year and you will have hiked the Long Trail end-to-end. Then you will remember that the first 100 miles north from MA is also the AT. So, then each summer start filling in 100 mile hikes along the AT. You will be hooked on section hiking the entire AT.

http://www.greenmountainclub.org/page.php?id=60

Be sure to get the Annual edition of the End-to-Ender's Guide. (Long Trail) It has all the trail info (without the maps) and is in pamphlet form to easily carry in your pack.
For the same info on the AT, look for the Thru-hikers handbook
http://www.trailplace.com/
or the guide book found at whiteblaze.net
Another good source for NH is hikethewhites.com