All the solitude you could ever want

[10-K]

Just got back from hiking Erwin to Damascus and passed exactly 2 backpackers the entire trip.

I have to say, going over the Roan Highlands was about the worse weather I've ever hiked in - the wind was blowing so hard I could hardly stay on the trail (got blown off several times) and the sleet was hitting me so hard it felt like I was being pelted with nails.

So... if you're wanting some alone time the trail between Erwin and Damascus is wide open.

[Tipi Walter]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I just got back from a 19 day November trip and didn't see a single backpacker the whole time.

[Another Kevin]

Going to the Catskills for a day or two after Christmas, and expecting to see nobody but my hiking partner. (Winter solo on Northeast high peaks is beyond my personal level of risk tolerance.) But I could be surprised. In the Catskills, you can always run into the party of twenty Korean tourists, even in deep winter. God knows where they come from. (People who give the obvious answer, 'Korea,' will have an overripe persimmon heaved in their general direction.)

[Many Moons]

How long did this hike take you? I am doing a North GSMNP and then Hot Springs to Watauga Lake area/321.Plan on stopping at Erwin for a Zero around the 19th of April! HIKE ON!!!

Miller

Just got back from hiking Erwin to Damascus and passed exactly 2 backpackers the entire trip.

I have to say, going over the Roan Highlands was about the worse weather I've ever hiked in - the wind was blowing so hard I could hardly stay on the trail (got blown off several times) and the sleet was hitting me so hard it felt like I was being pelted with nails.

So... if you're wanting some alone time the trail between Erwin and Damascus is wide open.

[10-K]

How long did this hike take you? I am doing a North GSMNP and then Hot Springs to Watauga Lake area/321.Plan on stopping at Erwin for a Zero around the 19th of April! HIKE ON!!!

Miller

6 days, including most of a day spent at Mountain Harbor B&B thawing and drying out.

[Slo-go'en]

I can imagine crossing Jane's bald and "the Humps" in gale force sleet has to make you think to yourself "maybe this wasn't a good idea" and then "I sure hope I live through this" :)

[Marta]

When I was SOBOing through there in December 2006, we were passing over the Humps in a wild wind storm, with the temperatures dropping towards a predicted coldest night of the year. (It went down to zero.) My crazy young hiking partner turned to me at one point, snow collecting in his beard and hair and shouted over the gale, "I feel sorry for anyone who isn't me!"

That sums it up.

[garlic08]

...I have to say, going over the Roan Highlands was about the worse weather I've ever hiked in - the wind was blowing so hard I could hardly stay on the trail (got blown off several times) and the sleet was hitting me so hard it felt like I was being pelted with nails.

It sounds like you're not the only one with this story. I spend a lot of time above treeline in winter in the Rockies, and thought I could handle cold wind and blowing snow, but this section on my AT hike in April really got my attention, too. I like Marta's partner's exclamation. My partner said, "Well, it's not for everyone."

[Marta]

...My partner said, "Well, it's not for everyone."

Also quite true!

Those couple of days of zero temperatures and wind are the only time in my life I envied the ability to grow a bushy beard.

PS--Here in NW Montana we are entering another period of cold and snow. (Forecasted low for tonight is 7 degrees F.) I guess a beard would come in handy now. I'll make do with scarves.

[Mags]

The cold and wet winter weather in the southern Apps is, IMO, harder to deal with than the cold and dry Rockies weather.

I'll take the fluffy snow here over sleet/rain/slushy snow any day. Mid 30s to mid 40s with precip is among the hardest weather to dress for overall I think.

[Marta]

The cold and wet winter weather in the southern Apps is, IMO, harder to deal with than the cold and dry Rockies weather.

I'll take the fluffy snow here over sleet/rain/slushy snow any day. Mid 30s to mid 40s with precip is among the hardest weather to dress for overall I think.

Totally agree with that. One thing about NW Montana is that 30s and raining is typical in spring and fall (with snow at higher elevations)…such as when late CDT NOBOs are wrapping things up.

Day after cold wet day are tough to deal with when your clothes get soaked and your tent gets wetted out. The AT shelters, nasty as some of them are, are truly a refuge then.

Speaking to 10K's original point--I always found plenty of solitude off season along the southern AT. I love it when there's rime ice on every twig.

[wornoutboots]

It's awesome isn't it!! A few years ago I hiked into SoRuck from Springer & enjoyed a wonderful Winter Wonderland for a few weeks not seeing many people, it was great though spending a night a Cold Spring Shelter with Sabi & Ripple a few Sobo's who'd been out for 9 months. This year I'm planning o hiking into SoRuck fro Newfound Gap & I don't expect to see too many folks.

[colorado_rob]

The cold and wet winter weather in the southern Apps is, IMO, harder to deal with than the cold and dry Rockies weather.

I'll take the fluffy snow here over sleet/rain/slushy snow any day. Mid 30s to mid 40s with precip is among the hardest weather to dress for overall I think. Yup, 100% agree. I tip my hat to the hearty souls back east. Couple weekends ago in the Lost Creek Wilderness, zero degree temps overnight, piece of cake out here (but didn't see a soul). Climbed Mount Bierstadt (14,100-ish feet high) yesterday; almost shirt sleeve weather, owned it.

[dmax]

Dec. 1st I headed southbound from Sams Gap for three days. In three days I saw only one hiker, and that was one hour before my hike was over.

[10-K]

It was really something going over the balds. I had on a wool toboggan and it was frozen solid on the outside shaped like a top hat.

Had I known what was ahead I'd probably stopped at Overmountain shelter but when I passed the shelter there was nothing indicating the bottom was fixing to fall out. I can't remember a more fierce storm I've hiked in.

I did enjoy having the hostel at Mountain Harbor all to myself and a wood stove stocked with plenty of seasoned firewood. :)

[Kerosene]

I can imagine crossing Jane's bald and "the Humps" in gale force sleet has to make you think to yourself "maybe this wasn't a good idea" and then "I sure hope I live through this" :)Been there, done that, although there was 6" of snow instead of sleet in late October 2008.

[Kerosene]

I love it when there's rime ice on every twig.Between Round and Janes Balds on the morning of October 29, 2008 (15F, 40 mph sustained, 70 mph gusts, 6" new snow...but clear!)

25360

[Mags]

Speaking to 10K's original point--I always found plenty of solitude off season along the southern AT. I love it when there's rime ice on every twig.

I did the BMT in late February to early March. There was no rime ice, but one very clear and cold night (low teens according to locals; may have been colder up higher), I had one of my favorite sunsets ever.

25361



Lots of beauty in the southeast Apps.

This work thing just gets in the way! :)

re: Short sleeve weather on Bierstadt

Sounds cool. Be you had it all to yourself too. Lucky!

-10F last week, 60s this week, snow on the way tonight. What an odd couple of weeks in Colorado! :D

re: Cold and rainy in Glacier

Being on the cusp of the PNW, I can only imagine how cold and wet in can get in late Fall. Another place I need to get back to. Sigh....

[handlebar]

If solitude is your thing, I can recommend a thru-hike of the Tuscarora Trail in PA, MD, WV, and VA. Saw only 2 other people, one a day hiker the other headed north, on my sobo thru in October. Other trails with solitude include the Mid-State and Donut Hole Trails in PA and the Allegheny Trail in WV and VA.

[Marta]

25363

Standing on the shore of Lake McDonald this evening. 12 degrees. Not a tourist in sight.

Nice photos, Mags and Kerosene!

[Tipi Walter]

The cold and wet winter weather in the southern Apps is, IMO, harder to deal with than the cold and dry Rockies weather.

I'll take the fluffy snow here over sleet/rain/slushy snow any day. Mid 30s to mid 40s with precip is among the hardest weather to dress for overall I think.

The Southeast winter mountains go thru a fairly predictable storm cycle---It starts with a cold rain at between 35--45F for a day or two and then after the rain comes the cold, sometimes drastically. What this means is the shelter and the guylines (and poles) and webbing (and god forbid the pack if you leave it outside) turn from wet to frozen rock solid, a real bummer when packing up.

The funny thing is, rarely do the two meet---heavy precip at 10F---in other words, a blizzard. We can get 96 hours or 150 hours of rain in January but not the same amount of precip as snow for as long a time. When it does happen like in March '93 we call it the Storm of the Century. Of course, above 5,000 feet what falls everywhere else as rain or sleet is falling as snow, so the ridges can get impassable.

Beyond this, I make a point of holing up tent-bound and pulling zero days when the temps are 35F and it rains all day. One campsite is as good as any other when conditions turn south.

[1azarus]

I love these uphill both ways stories... and, yes, the AT is a great place to be in the winter.

[Kerosene]

25363

Standing on the shore of Lake McDonald this evening. 12 degrees. Not a tourist in sight.
Wow...simply wow!

[Mags]

Wow...simply wow!

YEah..that about sums it up. :)

[nickgann]

Starting the AT mid Jan of next year... Gonna be all kinds of beautiful winter hiking weather, can feel it in my bones.

[Marta]

25379

Around noon on December 15th. I was heading out to go snowshoeing.

Winter is awesome. The solitude is one of the side benefits. Good luck on your hike, Nickgann!

[juma]

It was really something going over the balds. I had on a wool toboggan and it was frozen solid on the outside shaped like a top hat.

Had I known what was ahead I'd probably stopped at Overmountain shelter but when I passed the shelter there was nothing indicating the bottom was fixing to fall out. I can't remember a more fierce storm I've hiked in.

I did enjoy having the hostel at Mountain Harbor all to myself and a wood stove stocked with plenty of seasoned firewood. :)

you loved the whole trip.

[saltysack]

How many miles? I'm wanting to hike roan area for 40 +\~ miles with my dog this winter. Any suggestions ?


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[Dogwood]

But I don't want to hike in the cold.....or the rain.....or when it's too hot..... or...... or.....

[illabelle]

Monday through Wednesday this week we backpacked from RipRap in SNP to a bit north of Reeds Gap (didn't feel good, had to bail). We saw a handful of dayhikers, but NO BACKPACKERS AT ALL! Don't understand why. Mid-20s at night... Cold wind slicing through your body during the day... Water bottle slushy and refreshing...

[Dogwood]

Where's the nearest diner?...Do they have a buffet?... Are we there yet?...I can't feel my hands and feet...Are we there yet?....How far to the car?...I hate this...This sucks...Are we there yet?....How much further?...I hate you for making me do this....This really sucks....Does that look like rain in the sky?...Was that a raindrop I felt?.... I'm never doing this again....How much further?......I waaannna go home.

[nickgann]

Heading out NOBO in 7 days man... I am sure solitude is in the cards!

[nickgann]

Marta, thanks!!!! To be sure it will be awesome in its own set of ways.