Northern Tier September

[hem]

I was wondering what to expect weather wise starting in Bar Harbor in early September. I would end some place around Minneapolis that year.
The following year I would again start in early September from the west and finish in East Glacier. Again with an early September start.
Appreciate any comments and information.

[indyfabz]

Weather is not the only consideration when talking about getting to East Glacier if you plan to go over Logan Pass rather than Marias. There is an ongoing project to rehab Going to the Sun Road. The last several years, the NPS has been closing the road for extended periods in September to permit work to go on uninterrupted. Depending on the schedule for the year you plan to ride it, you may get shut out. For example, the park's web site notes this:

"This year road construction in September 2012 will make a portion of the Going-to-the-Sun Road inaccessible. The last day to drive to Logan Pass from the west side from West Glacier is September 16. Beginning on September 17th, the section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road between Avalanche and Logan Pass will be inaccessible to vehicles to accommodate accelerated road rehabilitation. There will be vehicle access to Logan Pass from the east side of the park in St. Mary until October 14, weather permitting."

As a frame of reference, the two times I did the western most section of the NT I started in Seattle and joined the route just east of Anacortes on day 3, staying at Bay View State Park. In total, I took 18 days to get to W. Glacier. That included rest days at Winthrop, WA and Sand Point, ID and a short day from Rockport, WA to Colonial Creek Campground just before the climb over the Cascades starts in earnest.

If you are looking for historic weather averages, try here:

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USWA9670

But understand that you could get snowed on the mountains.

On the eastern end, you could get some chilly, wet weather in the Adirondaks. Got just that finishing the NT in August. I am pretty sure I would prefer September/early October in OH, IN, IL and IA to the searing heat and massive humidity we had during the height of the summer.

[hem]

Thanks for the info especially about the closure of Going-to-the-Sun road. For some reason I had got the impression from the Chuck Haney article in the ACA magazine that they were done with the construction.

I am totally clueless about is the Northeast weather on the Northern Tier. All the journals I have found going east to west start in the spring or early summer. Maybe I should pay more attention to those journals going west to east and their endings as you suggest.

Thanks

[adventurepdx]

hem, I never rode the NT in the East in September, but I spent many a September in the Northeast, and toured from New Haven to Montreal in late Sept-early Oct. The weather in that part of the country is pretty summerlike at least through mid-September. You can still get a hot day or two, but as the month continues things start to moderate and you can see some cooler nights and days as you get into October. In short, I think it would be doable, and a bit better than riding in July or August though the days are shorter.

[RussSeaton]

Maine to Minneapolis.  Riding early September to mid-late October.  For the most part it does not freeze or get cold until November.  On average the days should be pretty pleasant for riding.  Nights can get cool, but with a quality sleeping bag and tent you are fine.  Obviously you can have extremes of weather and who knows what you will get.  But on average September and October are good riding months.  Not too hot, not too cold.