What do I need for the first few weeks (aka snow and cold)

[RedwoodRoots]

I'm from the coast of California, and while I've done lots of backpacking and hiking, I have never backpacked (or hiked) in anything deeper than a few inches of snow. Do I need gaiters? what kinds of clothes should I wear while hiking? Do I want bookts, or should I use trail runners the whole time (trail runners in the snow sounds soooo cold)

Thanks!

(Hoping to head out mid March 2016)

[Slo-go'en]

Gaiters are worth while in the spring for both snow and mud. I'd go with a GTX boot for the early spring (more like late winter) then switch to a lighter, non-water proof shoe when it warms up and dries out. Otherwise you'll suffer with wet feet for a couple of months. Unlike California, it still rains a lot in the east.

[RedwoodRoots]

Gaiters are worth while in the spring for both snow and mud. I'd go with a GTX boot for the early spring (more like late winter) then switch to a lighter, non-water proof shoe when it warms up and dries out. Otherwise you'll suffer with wet feet for a couple of months. Unlike California, it still rains a lot in the east.

Thanks! After a few summer working trails/conducting watershed research and being required to wear boots, I have been stoked to get into the "lighter weight footwear" category, but man oh man, you easterners have gotten more snow in the last week (from what I can tell) than we got all winter. Might be a bit hyperbolic but not by much!

[bigcranky]

I wear trail runners even in the winter, though in snow I switch to Goretex lined trail runners. In deep snow I wear gaiters.

For mid March in the Southern AT, I bring the following clothing:

150-wt merino wool base layers -- long sleeve top, short sleeve top, boxer briefs, long johns.
"100 weight" microfleece pullover, currently a Capilene 4 zip neck
Ultralight single layer wind shirt, currently a Patagonia Houdini
Ultralight down parka with hood, something in the 12 ounce range total weight
2 pair of medium weight wool socks for hiking, one pair heavier wool socks for sleeping
Nylon hiking shorts
Waterproof breatheable rain shell and rain pants, waterproof rain mitts, currently Zpacks
very light windbloc fleece gloves, very light microfleece beanie
heavier fleece gloves or mitts, heavier fleece hat of some sort, currently a Powerstretch balaclava
Trail runners
eVent gaiters if there is a lot of snow

I can mix and match these items and be comfortable hiking and sitting in a wide range of temperatures and weather conditions. Which is good, because in mid March is can range from single digits to 70F. Sometimes on the same day You can also get sun, snow, freezing rain, sleet, and the dreaded "35 and raining" -- also on the same day, sometimes at the same time. So the waterproof stuff is useful - it won't really keep you "dry" in the normal sense of the word (you know, "dry"), but it will keep your body heat in and prevent bad things like imminent death.

Oh, bring some sunscreen or a wide brimmed hat. No leaves on the trees = good sunburn potential.

[mattjv89]

Well I started March 26 and although it's hard to say what temps you will get they are likely to vary a lot. For most of the past week there has been 40-50 degrees of temperature swing between day and night though it is trending steadily warmer now, makes for a constant dance of layers on, layers off rinse repeat. Definitely the sunscreen too, I would have never thought so and currently have a serious case of lobster neck. I tend to run cold since there's not much to me (6'2" and 160 soaking wet). I started with a 150 wt. merino short sleeve, two 100 wt. fleeces to layer one form fitting the other loose, and a montbell alpine light puffy. I have worn all of that about half the nights out and it worked fine, based on some of the shelter log entries I saw a few weeks ago it would have been barely adequate. I didn't bring gaiters and don't miss them but I've had no snow and tend not to mind muddy legs so that's a personal call. Mid march I probably would have brought them.