Early March seems more sensible to me because it would give me a better time frame to finish before it gets quite cold in New England, but I'm just paranoid because when I did a section hike (MA - NY) last year, I met someone near the border of New York, and Connecticut who said he had been hiking in near knee deep snow throughout much of his time spent in the Smoky's.
I think we have to wait and see how this winter develops. It's just guessing until a few weeks before the actual date.
Exactly.
I'm planning for a first week of March departure---with a slow and easy start. But like magneto said, I'll keep an eye on next winter's weather trend in the few weeks prior. I can adjust my departure date by several weeks, and still jump off before most of the crowds. The rest of you will have to read all my goofy shelter log entries. I'm spammin' the lot of you!
"DANGER WAS HERE!"
AKA "DANGER" AT Thru-Hiker Class of 2015
April 15 - May 10
I've been playing with NOBO starting dates using Map Man's average time to hike data. I'm wondering about a May 1st starting time.
05/01/14 05/09/14 8.0 days 8.0 Springer Georgia Border 05/09/14 05/16/14 7.9 days 15.9 Georgia Border Fontana 05/16/14 06/10/14 24.4 days 40.3 Fontana Damascus 06/10/14 07/09/14 28.7 days 69.0 Damascus Waynesboro 07/09/14 07/20/14 11.2 days 80.2 Waynesboro Harpers Ferry 07/20/14 08/08/14 19.2 days 99.4 Harpers Ferry DWG 08/08/14 08/20/14 12.6 days 112.0 DWG Kent 08/20/14 09/13/14 23.5 days 135.5 Kent Glencliff 09/13/14 09/23/14 9.7 days 145.2 Glencliff Gorham 09/23/14 10/03/14 9.9 days 155.1 Gorham Stratton 10/03/14 10/16/14 13.7 days 168.8 Stratton Katahdin
Aside from facing the deadline of Baxter State Park closing, are there any serious issues with this schedule? Granted its based on 'average' days to complete various sections and mileage may vary based on individual variances.
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Hike Safe.
aim for mid to late March. Leave much later and you'll find crowds.
I started my hike on 3/21/13. I wished I had started later. Snow & icy conditions at times. Some very cold nights. Tested my 15 deg bag's limits. Saw some people get hurt in the Smokies (bobsled run coming down from Clingman's Dome on 4/6/13). I met a hiker that started 9-10 days after me. He missed all that bad stuff that I hit. Each year can be different.
For me i find starting early is better ( Mid FEB ) but i also like hiking in winter, if you really don't like the cold and snow i would recomend you start some time from the end of march to the first of may, but if you start that time of year prepare yourself to hike with and around HORDS of people.
I keep waffling over my start date mainly because I want to enjoy this journey as much as I can. I'm good in crowds---people don't bother me---or all by my lonesome. I'm going to hike from Georgia to Maine, alone or with others, regardless.
Given the right equipment, enough food and water, and keeping myself safe, all I have to decide how much personal interaction I want with others along the way. I may only get one chance at this in my lifetime. I don't want to come to Katahdin and think I missed out on a lot of the experience. Maybe I want to much from this: the events, the hostels, the hikers, the locals, the woods, the wildlife, the weather, the comradery, the solitude, the trail magic, and the triumphant finish!
Is that too much to ask?
AKA "DANGER" AT Thru-Hiker Class of 2015
How MUCH snow would I reasonably expect, though, starting in February? That's my main concern. I'm very schizophrenic when it comes to winter. I love winter, and love the cold, but you know what? I hate winter, and I hate the cold. If I was prepared for it, I wouldn't care much, because winter is outrageously gorgeous, but if I'm hiking in waist deep snow for an entire state, I would be absolutely miserable, and that's not what I want out of a thru-hike.
Well, the GSMNP is where you encounter the start of the high mountains. A February start puts you in the Smokies early March. If you check the GSMNP web cam for the 1st day of March, you can see that half the time, there is light snow on the ground, half the time there is no snow to be seen. 2010 was the only year that it looks at all like the snow was deep.
on a tuesday
2nd week in April. Just keep the 0's down.
Hi there Joy. If you start on May 1, 2015, I will see ya at the first blaze, as that is my starting time. Plus, its pretty cool that May 1 (....51515...) is also a numeric palindrome
First week of May.
1. Gives you 5 months with a ~2 week buffer
2. Less rain - miss rains-every-day April
3. Don't have to carry winter gear.
4. Miss mud season in New England
5. More daylight from day 1
6. Don't have to deal with a thru-bubble. Shelters won't look like Woodstock in the evening.