How hot is too hot for you to go hiking??

[DavidNH]

At what temperature do you shelve the hiking boots and head for the beach or nearest lake or stay home?

Me, if it gets to 90 +, and even more so if it is humid, I won't hike if I can help it!


DavidNH.

[TNhiker]

it really depends for me....

if im doing a route where there is a good creek to soak in----then it really doesnt matter...

i have however, for the summer, gotten more into doing canoe camping trips..........but that was mainly a result of me buying a canoe three years ago.....

and with the amount of lakes in the southeast-----there's great options...

here's how my summertime years have broken down since i bought the canoe--
2012------a bunch of canoe trips...
2013----no canoe trips..........all hiking...........weather was a touch cooler that summer as well...
2014----a bunch of canoe trips............
2015------not sure yet, but i see myself doing more hiking trips this year.....

[BirdBrain]

Heat has never been a prohibitive factor for me. Of course there are almost always places to dunk myself up here. Cold is another matter. I don't like walking any distance when it is below freezing.

[peakbagger]

I have a few backup hikes for hot hazy and humid hikes. Ice Gulch in Randolph and Mahoosuc Ravine via the Bull Branch bushwhack are both great on a hot day. Drakes Brook Trail off of Sandwich is also another nice one. If I can get a breeze on the summits and get an early start (6AM) it makes a lot of difference. In general 90 deg F is my cutoff.

[Astro]

My AT hikes are determined by my vacation time so I am hiking regardless of how hot it gets.

Once pre-Smart phone in July/August I was out on an open ridge and it looked like 100*on my little Wal-Mart thermometer. I assumed it was cheap and broken until I got into town and some people were getting off due to the extreme heat wave.

[HooKooDooKu]

If the temperatures are too hot, I'm simply not hiking at a high enough elevation.

I hike the GSMNP, where at the highest elevations, the temperature never exceeds 80º (ok, for one day last year, the temperature a LeConte Lodge did reach 81º).
If you look at the climate data for Clingman's Dome, the average summer time hi is 65º (elevation of 6,643'). With much of the AT thru GSMNP above 5,000', temperatures are not much hotter there.

[Slo-go'en]

I'm glad I got home last night from central Virginia. The first two weeks of the hike were pretty hot and humid. Nice in the early morning, but I really struggled in heat of the afternoon. Last week was pleasant, but now it's back to full on summer conditions, even up here in NH (but there is still snow in the ravines!).

If I were to try to do a long term hike in the summer, I think I'd buy the smallest and lightest hammock I could find and string it up in the afternoon for a long nap. I make so little progress in the afternoon heat there really isn't any sense even trying. Get hiking by dawn, stop about noon or 1 and wait until 5 to get going again.

[Ashepabst]

hot days are a good day for a creek hike in Tennessee... still lots of great hemlock-shaded canyons for refuge on the plateau, and lots of wild rivers in the mountains to cool off in.

[rocketsocks]

I much prefer cold to hot to walk in. 90's I'm done.

[The Snowman]

I call it a day at 100

[MuddyWaters]

nights over 70 with humidity

85 F and 90% humidity at 10 pm .....sucks.

[billnchristy]

We used to disc golf and played a lot in the summer so the heat doesn't bother us. Christy's UV allergy makes it difficult, because as it gets hotter the UV levels go up too. Luckily, walking the trail is rather shady so she hasn't been doing too bad, even on overnights.

[Uriah]

The desert, even at 110 degrees (as it was on the Hayduke at times), was more tolerable than the 90 degrees and 40% (+) humidity that the AT dished out. I went into the AT honestly believing I loved heat. I left it thankful I live out west. Brutal trail, brutal conditions.

[kayak karl]

if im on a long hike and it gets hot, oh well.
if its a day hike, nothing over 70

[saltysack]

I'm a cold weather fan...go figure I live in north fl....90% of my trips(just a weekend warrior) are from mid October-April...usually about 6 hikes per year on southern AT..doing my longest to date in sept.....15 day JMT thru...Its easier to warm up than cool down.....keep movin! With this said I did take my 8 year old son on his first AT hike mid August last summer at standing Indian loop. Actually temps were quite pleasant...


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[peakbagger]

I far prefer cold weather. Once the humidity and temps pick up the smog moves into the whites. Generally if its spring later fall or winter, 50 to 100 mile visibility is the norm, in summer its a rarity.

[Rain Man]

I'll hike in heat, but will cut my mileage, or rather the heat does it for me!

[GScout]

I live in Texas, so if I don't hike in heat then I don't hike for several months a year. Slather on the sunblock and drink lots of water, you'll be fine.

[Pumba]

I'll reconsider my plans it it's anywhere near 85. I sweat very easily and quite a bit when it's hot. It's just not enjoyable to me at that point.

[Odd Man Out]

I did a six day section in central VA last July. I was worried about the heat but went for it anyway. The weather that week was average for central VA in mid July (hot and humid, but not a heat wave). But up in the mountains, I found the weather to be pleasant. It was warm, but not oppressive. Between the altitude, shade from the forest, cooling off at night, and cooling afternoon rains, it worked out OK. After a big climb I would take off my sweat soaked shirt, rest a bit, and then carry on. Of course if there had been a heat wave the story might have been different. But what I've come to learn (having lived in MI for 30 years) is that you should never cancel plans because you think the weather might be bad, because if you do, it will always be good and you will be sitting home regretting your decision. Of course you can plan to hike in the UP of MI in August (what I am doing this summer) where it is reliably cool. Now I just have to worry about bugs.