[at-l] Maybe a through hike for me

[krk@mail.speakeasy.org (Kenneth Knight)]

I'm actually considering a through hike for this year. I'm going to help Belcher's day by turning
from a seciton hiker (big sections) to a through hiker. If I go this year it would make far more
sense to go south bound than north bound.

Just how bad are the black flies in ME, VT, in June? I really would rather start such a hike earlier
in June rather than later.

My biggest concern would by the rocks and steep slopes I'd encounter. That boils down to Katadin and
the Whites I suppose. Of course, I'd have that concern going either way. But, I hate rocks. They
slow me down tremendously and are a real mental challenge (thanks to my low vision).

So, I'm giving this serious thought. It's funny in that I've considered NOBO hikes before but a SOBO
would in many ways make more sense if I do it this year. I expect a amildrop schedule would look a
little different for a SOBO hike as far as which towns to pick and overall times between them. Is
this a fair assumption (I've got a good schedule worked out for a NOBO hike up through PA - past
research, planning, and hiking).

  ** Ken **
  

**  Kenneth Knight    Web Design, IT Consultant, Software Engineer  **
**       krk@speakeasy.org        http://www.speakeasy.org/~krk     **