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I am undecided to travel northbound or southbound. Any suggestions
Southbound... or if you had to, Northbound. Both are nice. :-)
NOBO = traveling with much of the traffic, may meet others at shelters and the occasional SOBO; may be in a gap where you don't see many people all day.
SOBO = you get to cross paths with lots of people - even if it's just a friendly smile and "Hi" as they pass by.
snail2010
12-04-2013, 14:08
Are you talking about a thru-hike? If so then the direction you go really depends on your preferrences and fitness level. If you don't mind waiting until June and you are in great hiking shape then SOBO might be for you. new Hampshire and Maine are the most difficult states. I considerer parts of them downright scary! lol! You will probably not see a lot of other thru-hikers SOBO. If you like the frequent company of other hikers, want to start before June, or aren't in top shape then NOBO might be better. The southern trail isn't exactly easy, but there is a lot more company and less expensive places to get off trail if you need a break. Folks jdown south really seem to love the hikers.
I think he's asking about the CDT not the AT...
Sun in your face can be a significant factor for the CDT or PCT... if you can't think of any reason to go one way or another, NOBO will keep the sun at your back.
Spirit Walker
12-04-2013, 14:23
There are advantages and disadvantages to both directions. We have done it both ways, and both were great hikes.
NOBO allows an early start (late April) but in a high snow year you will probably have to deal with a lot of snow in Colorado in early-mid-June. Southern NM is easy walking for the most part, which allows you to break your body in gently. Some folks roadwalk a good portion of southern Colorado, others jump to Wyoming to avoid snow, some get off the trail for a couple of weeks to allow the snow to melt. In a good year, if you've timed it right, then snow is only an issue for a couple of weeks. But then you end up pushing to finish the trail before the north becomes snow-bound in September or October. Glacier NP mostly closes in mid-September, and the border closes Sept. 30 or so, so you need to bear that in mind when you hike. (We flip-flopped.) NOBO is more likely to be affected by fires - either forest closures or detours because of fires. When we were in NM, there were fire restrictions and a forest closure near Grants, then we ran into five fires on the trail. One year all of Montana was closed by late summer. This is usually not a problem for SOBOs. Water availability in NM is usually more of an issue for NOBOs since the rainy season in NM is late summer. If it has been a dry winter, many of the wells will be shut off and the water tanks can get pretty disgusting.
SOBO means a later start (June), and it means starting the hike with snow issues for the first few weeks. Water in the rivers can be high in Montana, which may require detours. Glacier may not have the bridges up yet and they may not be willing to give you a permit if there is a lot of snow still. However, it also means there will be water in some of the dryer parts of Montana. SOBO means less pressure to push miles to finish before winter. While you are likely to run into snow in Colorado, it doesn't usually mean having to get off the trail for good, you just need to wait out the September storms for a few days. There are a lot of folks who finished southbound hikes in late November or December. It can be cold, even in NM, but it's doable. A few have finished NOBO hikes in November, but it's very rare.
SOBO seemed to me to be a colder hike overall, but that may just have been a difference in the years we hiked. We also saw fewer people on our SOBO hike generally because when we were hiking through Montana we were too early for most summer backpackers to be out and when we were hiking through Colorado in September-October we were too late for most hikers to be out. That wasn't the case NOBO, where we met a lot of hikers and bikers as we traveled through Colorado and a lot of hunters in Montana.
Some hikers wait to see whether there is more snow in the north or the south to determine their direction. El Nino years tend to mean more snow in the southern mountains, La Nina years may mean more snow in Montana, but some years there is a lot of snow on both ends. Many hikers who have hiked the AT and PCT are impatient to start hiking, so they'll start at the southern border in April, and then when they reach Colorado decide whether to continue northbound or jump north and hike south. Flexibility is required on the CDT, even more than the other trails.
Thanks for everyones input
fiddlehead
12-04-2013, 19:19
Depends on when you can start.
For me, I always get the itchin to get going and could never wait until July for a SOBO CDT hike start.
I'd have to either do a piece in the middle first or something like that.
That's why I went NOBO for both of mine.
handlebar
12-04-2013, 19:44
Nobo was my choice for the following reasons: sun at back; got to start at end of April (couldn't wait until Jun 15-Jul 1 for sobo); finish at Glacier National Park vs. desert at Mex border.
Often, however, the choice is based on what mother nature lays down for the year's snow pack. You can check snow pack at the Postholer.com web site for both the CDT and PCT. The Colorado Trail website also has snow depth data for the portion of the CDT that is on common tread with the CT.
Son Driven
12-04-2013, 19:50
Depends, do you want to run with the crowd?
I am undecided to travel northbound or southbound. Any suggestions
You can always do as I did. Plan for 1.5 yrs to start the CDT at the Mexican border, getting into a NOBO CDT state of mind, and then less than 2 months before departing to the southern terminus, find out you have to delay your start by 6 wks and decide to go SOBO. :D
I went from starting a 3000 mile hike in the desert in April to a Winter Wonderland start in the last wk of June at Waterton/Glacier NP. I hiked w/ no trail the first four days. It was under many ft of snow. All my resupply logistics and town stops got fracked up too. Loved every minute of it though! :)
Son Driven
12-04-2013, 20:11
If you enjoy solitude I would start north bound at Rock Fish Gap late April. Then after my Katahdin summit, travel back to Rock Fish Gap and head South to Springer. This way you will be out of the bubble for most of your journey. The other advantage of this hike, you avoid the need for winter gear all together.
SCRUB HIKER
12-04-2013, 21:09
Depends, do you want to run with the crowd?
Crowds? There aren't crowds on the CDT. Is this some kind of ....
If you enjoy solitude I would start north bound at Rock Fish Gap late April. Then after my Katahdin summit, travel back to Rock Fish Gap and head South to Springer. This way you will be out of the bubble for most of your journey. The other advantage of this hike, you avoid the need for winter gear all together.
Ohhh.
A lot of great thoughts here (at least those specific to the CDT). To this comment, however:
"Sun in your face can be a significant factor for the CDT or PCT... if you can't think of any reason to go one way or another, NOBO will keep the sun at your back."
I would say that while I was a little concerned about this, friends who had SOBO'd previously told me that it was no big deal and indeed --- I too found it no big deal. I would factor that little or (I suggest) none into your decision.
I went SOBO because my initial hiking partner thought it gave a better chance of not short-cutting the San Juans. But everything that Spirit Walker said resounds with what I know. I finished in November and New Mexico was just fine then. And especially ditto Handlebars comment about deciding based on what the snowpack seems to be doing for your current year, assuming you have schedule flexibility to start whenever you want.