January 1st, 2014. Our departure day!

[Hot Flash]

I don't get the whole "it's so competitive" thing, either. It's only a competition if YOU make it that way. If someone else wants to go faster or farther than you, so what? Hike to please yourself, not some other hiker on the trail. Ridiculous.

[Danl]

Competitiveness is Human nature. Trying to get to the shelter first while there is room, getting the best spot to camp, making it to the Hostel before they fill up. Then you add the amount of people that are out there, but I am not leaving January 1st for any reason. Too old to snow camp. There are going to be a lot of places not open also...

[squeezebox]

In the trail journals, i read about a couple of cases of hypothermia, scares the hell out of me. eat well, drink well, be safe.

[Del Q]

TREK used to leave each or most years on January 1st, awesome hiker, learned a lot from him. Think that he hiked the AT like 10 years in a row. Yes, cold, snowy and lonely this early in the year.