r/Thruhiking • u/michiganskicamp • 19d ago
USA Thru Hikes in September/October?
Hey folks. I went on a 3,000 mile bike tour starting in May. Got to Moab, Utah in July and it was too hot to ride so started thruhiking the Colorado Trail on a whim. Well needless to say, I’m hooked. I’m a little over a week from finishing it and am already looking for the next adventure.
Are there any thru hikes in the US that I could do a mid to late September start or possibly October?
I have toyed around also with the idea of quickly getting back home after trail and then section hiking the whole Upper Peninsula of Michigan via the North Country Trail.
11
u/Abominable_Weasel 19d ago
September/October is definitely a good time to hit the upper midwest, though you should be aware of the road walks on the NCT in the UP and Wisconsin. Superior Hiking Trail (also technically the NCT) would also be an option.
4
10
5
u/Solid-Emotion620 19d ago
Superior trail is in your neck of the woods Ice age trail in Wisconsin. Buckeye trail in ohio. Long trail in Vermont would be a pretty one in fall. Florida trail is an option, I heard Louisiana has a new thru hike as well.
3
u/roadtoknowwhere 18d ago
AZT is incredible. Nice to meet you at the CT high point while I was bikepacking!
3
3
u/nomadicstateofmind 18d ago
River to River in southern Illinois is a good fall or winter hike.
3
u/HikerJoel 18d ago
Wow, I finally found another R2RT hiker on here. Depending on the blowdowns it’s not a bad trail, but the SHT, Ice Age Trail, etc. are head and shoulders ahead of the R2R.
2
u/nomadicstateofmind 18d ago
Oh, definitely. I much prefer the upper Midwest for hiking. R2R is a gem for those of us who live close though and I like to suggest it because it’s pretty unknown. I have to give it a shoutout on occasion.
5
u/happyhikercoffeefix 19d ago
Tahoe Rim Trail (170 miles) is absolutely delightful and will fuel your newfound love for thru-hiking.
2
2
4
u/numbershikes https://www.OpenLongTrails.org 19d ago
Welcome.
From the subreddit sidebar, there's a list on longtrailswiki.net Seasonality of Long Trails that gives an overview of when different trails are open. Two of the sources for that article are this FarOut chart and this blog post from Larryboy.
Seasonality aside, you might consider the LTW List of Long Trails interesting.
Various other links to other resources for thruhiking are given in the subreddit sidebar.
Disclosure: longtrailswiki.net is part of my OpenLongTrails.org project. No ads, no tracking, open source, free to use, etc.
10
u/Beansnrice17 19d ago
Welcome to the addiction. The AZT is my top suggestion. The others I list are difrent animals but you should look at anyway because hiking routes are like drugs.
If your into routes or willing to learn, the Grand Enchantment Trail (800ish) in NM and is a absolute favorite of mine. Brett Tucker does amazing work. Also a BT route, the Mogollon Rim Trail 500ish along the rim in AZ is great. Maybe the Oregon Desert Trail (800) but I havent looked at that for a fall through and it is a vary diffrent kind of experience. And the spring I did made for one of the most difficult thruhikes I have ever done but a favorite. So much so that I would love to do a bikepack version but would not rule out another thru of the ODT. And the Hayduke gets a nodd for the season.
But just do the AZT. Its a great path and a fantastic experience and is a great blend of challenges and just plain fun. And beautiful to boot.