November hiking????

[rafe]

I don't know how you can claim, with a straight face, that winter hiking/climbing is easier than summer. But my experience is mainly in New England and DAKs and the White Mountains.

Days are shorter. Nights are longer. Temperatures far lower. You are surrounded by, and walking in, frozen water. So how can the odds of hypothermia be lower than in summer? This is nonsensical.

The trail is harder to find. Blazes are covered over. The footpath disappears. You're carrying far more weight in traction gear, sleep gear, insulation.

Read the news each winter in New England, there are often one or two hikers who pay the ultimate price for their hubris.

[TexasBob]

We don't get much in the way of snow here so the risk of slippery conditions is near zero unless it rains. Ice is more prevalent in N. GA than snow. I'm not concerned with the hiking or even preparing. It's getting little sleep because I'm just cold. Even if I can bed down and keep warm you gotta get up in the morning and get moving. Something I have a hard time doing when chilled!

It is about expectations. If you expect to be cozy warm at all times then you will be miserable camping in the winter. If you don't expect to be warm all the time then you can enjoy camping in the winter.

[Tipi Walter]

Nice sleeping bag Tipi... looks like a Western Mountaineering Puma perhaps? (I own and use one in the deepest winter backpack trips).

Righto, correctamundo. Love me some Puma. Love me some microfiber. Good gear recognition.

It is about expectations. If you expect to be cozy warm at all times then you will be miserable camping in the winter. If you don't expect to be warm all the time then you can enjoy camping in the winter.

Winter backpacking is tougher in many ways---
** You're always attacked by cold temps onto and into human flesh. It's a nonstop battle to stay warm and it's all about the HANDS AND FEET.

** It's harder to prepare a tent site in deep snow. I like to have my tent on bare ground without snow lumps so I often bring a light Voile snow shovel.

** Creek crossings at 0F are ALWAYS hellish.

** Keeping your sleeping pad(s) alive is vital---no in-field failures allowed!! And so backup is needed. CCF, etc.

** Frozen boots always suck.

** Keeping liquid water can be a challenge.

** Packing up a frozen ice-encrusted tent and getting it stuffed into its sack can sometimes be a Cursing Event.

** The Worst part of winter backpacking in the Southeast?? See this pic---


Southeast backpacking trails are known as Green Tunnels and in the right kind of snow these tunnels collapse on themselves with snow load---I call it Snowdowns---and it's a hell slog to get thru except by belly crawling with a 75 lb pack on my back. This pic doesn't do it justice. Imagine a 1 mile long rhododendron tunnel all collapsed on itself and now imagine yourself crawling under it with a 2-3 foot space.

** Postholing is deadly, especially on 3,000 foot mountain climbs. Ergo:

** Any trail is impossible to find in deep snow.

BUT THE BEST REASON TO GO BACKPACKING IN THE WINTER????

[LIhikers]

For the OP...skip hiking in November and start again in December, problem solved.

[Tipi Walter]

For the OP...skip hiking in November and start again in December, problem solved.

And certainly plan elaborate 2 week trips in January and February. It was the best of times . . .

[chknfngrs]

Did PenMar to HF yesterday and LOTSA folk out there, OP.

[redseal]

November just means adding some orange to my outfit. One of my favorite months to explore trails!

[LittleRock]

But then you are only accepting one half of Miss Nature's beauty. Why sleep with her 5 or 6 months out of the year and miss the other 6 months? She expects more.

Winter is only 3-4 months down South. I can go that long without backpacking.

[Jim Adams]

No bugs, better views, more wildlife sightings, better water, no sweating, LESS PEOPLE, although you will probably be surprised how many people will be out there. I put my hiking boots in the closet in June and get them back out in October. Summer is just to hot, too crowded and too uncomfortable.

[rafe]

No bugs, better views, more wildlife sightings, better water, no sweating, LESS PEOPLE, although you will probably be surprised how many people will be out there. I put my hiking boots in the closet in June and get them back out in October. Summer is just to hot, too crowded and too uncomfortable.

August and September are great months to be on the AT. Crowds won't be a problem except in the "beauty spots." By mid-August the worst of the summer heat is gone and so are the bugs.

[saltysack]

No bugs, better views, more wildlife sightings, better water, no sweating, LESS PEOPLE, although you will probably be surprised how many people will be out there. I put my hiking boots in the closet in June and get them back out in October. Summer is just to hot, too crowded and too uncomfortable.

+1......I did my first mid summer hike this June....not again!!! I'll take the cool weather any day...heat & sweat = chafing, blisters and swamp crotch.....From May to September I'll stick to water sports....


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[Rmcpeak]

Did Swift Run Gap to Chester Gap this weekend. Met Sobo thru hikers Disciple and then later Rookie. There was at least one other guy who had the "thru look." but he didn't want to stop and chat. Here's by little trip report. This was an excellent NOVEMBER hike!

[wdskinner77]

I'm going hiking from Springer Mountain to Neels Gap on Thanksgiving break... weather looks awesome... I love it when it gets cooler... I've lived in Orlando practically all of my life where it is miserable hot most the time... I love to hike in the Fall/Winter because summer is awful here.

[Tipi Walter]

Winter is only 3-4 months down South. I can go that long without backpacking.

Maybe in Raleigh but not in the mountains of TN or NC. We see 6 months of cold weather camping a year. Last night it was 20F near my location.

[dudeijuststarted]

I can think of nothing more peaceful than the AT in a snowfall. Pond Mountain / Laurel Falls area is one of my all-time favorites after a snowfall.

[rafe]

We're getting consistent overnight frosts just about now (Nov. 24) here in southern New England. From this point on, microspikes and crampons are definitely recommended, if not on your feet then in your kit ready for quick deployment.

It also means ski season is just about here. Yay!

[evyck da fleet]

NZ1788 coast pic.jpg My idea of November hiking.

Sure I'll go for a few hour day hike on the weekend around home as long as is not raining but if I'm taking a hiking trip its going to be someplace where the sun rises around six and sets at nine. That gives me more time to hike and explore and less time in my tent and in the dark.

[KY MISTWALKER]

Anyday is a good day to hike or just get out and enjoy the day.
The world is your play ground go live in it.

[Dogwood]

It's mid or late November. The days are short with sunset near or before 5 pm. The skies are grey. it's breezy, the trees are bare, and temps are in 30's or 40's at best. So it's chilly, probably quite breezy and there is little or no snow.

Are you hitting the trail or putting the hiking boots in the closet?

If you ARE going hiking this time of year.. one I've got one question for you. WHY? wouldn't not be best to wait for brighter days?

This sums it up for me,

Hiking is great in any season, it offers a whole new element to hike in the late fall and into winter, heck I'll even do day(multi wks for me) hikes in the snow, its amazing to hike some of the same locations you hike in warmer months and see the change its like being in a brand new place.

and,

I hike year round. I don't just go out for the nice sun basking between the trees. A night out in the cold and wet rainy woods can be a blast! In fact, just last night I went to a small mountain in NH where it poured all night but I had myself a great time with a clean shelter all to myself.

Its actually a great time behind a front. Cold nights, clear skies... Bare trees mean more light.

...Putting the hiking boots in the closet? No,...

Let's get sarcastic: "If you ARE going to stay home and indoors this time of year, I have to ask one nagging question: WHY??? Wouldn't it be best to get the heck out of the house and flee the indoor thermostat and the death-dealing couch and the TV nut-box and the cyber finger hiking and embrace pretty Miss Nature as she sports thru her variety of moods? Sleep with her when it's hot, sleep with her when it's cold. As long as we have a Nature to go out into, there's no other choice.

- The food will stay fresh.
- It is more beautiful.
- It is enough light during the day.
- No bugs.
- The bears are taking a nap.
- Less creepy people.

Yup, I too bring trail food along on winter hikes that I wouldn't on fairer weather hikes because I'm doing less daily total mileage so wt is less of an an issue since I'm not usually doing super fast and light winter hikes and the food doesn't spoil as quickly.

SOLITUDE!!!!! ...

...Bring a book.

Or, switch to car camping. Get into camp early, have lots of warm gear, some good food, a nice lantern perhaps a fire..and enjoy being outside.

It is what we are doing over Thanksgiving.

"The days are short with sunset near or before 5 pm."

So! One of the experiences I so appreciate is hiking into the winter night! The sounds are so enhanced. When camp is set up I know I'm in tune with Nature and the seasons rather than hiding from them! With snow and ice underfoot and hanging from the trees the crunch crunch under my feet and the drooping snow covered evergreens and heavy wind driven rime are so other worldly architectural like a Disney animation. I feel like I'm on another planet. Experiencing hikes in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate New York in such conditions I've pinched myself knowing how fortunate these experiences are. How soul fulfilling.

Animals are more inquisitive and easier to see. Seeing the breath of foxes, coyotes, wolves, Bison, Owls, elk, Bald Eagles, moose, whitetail deer, pronghorn antelope, mountain goats, Big Horn Sheep , etc in winter is National Geographic at its best. Track and sign are easier to find in some ways too.

Hikes in Yellowstone NP in winter seeing the Bison near the hot springs and seeing/hearing the wolves, moose and Snowy Owls and other wintering birds in New Hampshire/Vermont in winter, herds of panting elk near Grand Teton NP, howling coyotes in Grand Canyon NP in winter, frozen waterfalls/escarpments in Yosemite NP and in Ouray CO, etc are all vividly etched in my memory. I'm better for it!

"The skies are grey. It's breezy."

That's OK too. Good hiking weather! Skies aren't always grey in winter. Winter sunsets can be every bit as breathtaking and colorful as fair season sunsets! OMG, the oranges, purples, magentas, etc of winter sunsets! The cool/cold crisp night is AWESOME for clarity of viewing the night sky. I always see more "falling stars" in winter. I can recall so many a wintery night atop summits that I feel blessed to have experienced just for the night sky and solitude. In winter from these summits before snow has covered the mountains I can hear for long distance rocks and ice crashing down the mountain and occasionally the tell tale squeaks of pikas or dislodged rocks from from Big Horn Sheep and Mountain Goats.

Breezy means I'm usually not sweltering. Breezes chilling my cheeks rosy makes me know I'm ALIVE!

"The trees are bare."

NOT all trees. There are vast evergreen forests even in the Northeast, even in New Hampshire, and even with hiking opportunities!

I appreciate the greater line of distinction I can notice between the deciduous and evergreen forests in late fall through winter. Sometimes, we forget the beauty of evergreens in summer taking them for granted. In the shoulder seasons and winter they come into a greater glory.

Besides, leaves of deciduous tree species aren't all there is to appreciate about deciduous trees! I've taken up deciduous winter tree identification which has opened up me appreciating vast new characteristics of trees that even I as a Horticulturalist and treehugger never fully appreciated.

After the deciduous trees drop most/all of their leaves views open up that aren't there in summer. Those wintering raptors, squirrels, owls, small mammals, other birds(cardinals, blued jays, woodpeckers, waterfowl, late migratory birds, etc), lynx, Bobcat, fox, and occasional moose or bear are easier to glimpse.


Whether it was doing a day hike through Delaware Water Gap, sleeping on the beach in SC or in NC on a Mountains to Sea Tr hike, or in Olympic NP on the coast, or seeing a mountain lion in the snow at Zion NP on Thanksgiving Day or spending Christmas at Phantom Ranch in AZ, trudging through frozen Buckskin Gulch in UT or snowshoeing in Yellowstone NP in WY, etc on New Yrs Day I consider it all a blessing. I consider gratitude a virtue. Consider that when you let winter pass you by while being a depressed and depressing couch potato you are letting your LIFE pass you by.

Hike on...whenever!

[Puddlefish]

It's mid or late November. The days are short with sunset near or before 5 pm. The skies are grey. it's breezy, the trees are bare, and temps are in 30's or 40's at best. So it's chilly, probably quite breezy and there is little or no snow. Are you hitting the trail or putting the hiking boots in the closet? If you ARE going hiking this time of year.. one I've got one question for you. WHY? wouldn't not be best to wait for brighter days?

I don't have winter gear for camping, but I'm still day hiking in the New London area, which is not too far from you. I wait until the air temp gets above freezing late morning and plan to be back before the 4:15 sunset. This might be the most treacherous season for hiking, as sections of trails are icy and covered by 4 inches of dead leaves, so it helps me to stay on trails I'm familiar with and know where the wet spots are likely to be. I'm also far more attentive to safety concerns, proper layering and letting someone know my plans, and check in with them on return. I'm also carrying a whole lot more cold weather survival gear in a full sized pack, but that's partially because I'm training for a late spring AT thru/section (We'll see how it goes) hike. The cold is annoying for the first ten minutes of the hike, but that quickly fades into the background and it's a great time to hike. I need to get a pair of micro crampons so I can extend the season even further, I hate the gym.