jeneralist 

Two of my goals for this year are to ride the C&O/GAP, and to do an English Century. I've just gotten my list of weekends my boss is asking me to work for the rest of the year, so I'm looking at my calendar and seeing what I can do when.

My question for the assembled advisors: when to do the C&O/GAP?

I'm assuming that high summer -- July and August -- is not the best time for riding near DC. Words like "humid" and "muggy" come to mind, trailed closely by "sweltering." Am I correct in that?

If that's the case, my choices are:
Sept 4 - Sept 12 -- includes Labor Day weekend; would give me a chance to use the tour as prep for the as-yet-to-be-chosen century

or,

Sept 25 - Oct 3. Later in the season, cooler, less crowded; but I'd probably wind up doing the century first, which seems a bit odd.

So -- how crowded does the trail get during Labor Day weekend? Would I be OK if I planned on camping? Is August actually tolerable (say,14-22)?

Thanks for your help!