View Full Version : Is it too late to start at Springer?
rainlover
05-23-2014, 11:50
Is it too late to start at Springer? I have the option of starting at HF but I would really, really prefer to start at Springer. I think after I get my hiking legs I can maintain a 15-20 mile a day pace. I don't want to blow through it though or be too much alone. Any thoughts?
depends on how fast you hike. You got 5 months
YOu could start a springer and see how far you get. If you see you cant make K you can always decide then to flip flop
bigcranky
05-23-2014, 12:40
20 miles a day is a 110 day thru-hike. If you start, say, Monday, you'll finish in mid-September. 15 miles per day is a 145 day thru-hike. Starting on Monday, you would not make it to Katahdin before October 15.
So if you can maintain 15-20 miles per day on average, then you should be able to finish in time. If you get to, say, HF and it's mid-August, it's probably time to think about heading to Katahdin and flipping back south.
Good luck.
rainlover
05-23-2014, 12:50
They are experimenting with leaving the park open longer this year.
jimmyjam
05-23-2014, 13:08
YOu could start a springer and see how far you get. If you see you cant make K you can always decide then to flip flop
I would do this if it looks like you might be cutting it close, just flipflop. I think not being in the bubble would be ideal.
"They are experimenting with leaving the park open longer this year."
So what are you asking us? divide the total miles by the number of days you have until Oct 15th, or Nov1st, or whenever you think its going to close.... if you can hike that number per day you can make it.
I know someone who left a little over a week ago and plans to make it before September. It all depends on how fast you go. I would recommend starting at Springer, and then by the time you get to Harpers Ferry decide if you are on pace (with plenty of margin), or if you need to flip flop then.
Is it too late to start at Springer? I have the option of starting at HF but I would really, really prefer to start at Springer. I think after I get my hiking legs I can maintain a 15-20 mile a day pace. I don't want to blow through it though or be too much alone. Any thoughts?
Starting from Springer, you will be mostly alone, as the vast majority of nobo thrus are already far ahead of you.
Or you could start in northern VA or HF now, in which case you'd be in sync with the nobo wave.
forrest!
05-23-2014, 13:45
Or you could wait a couple of weeks and go Southbound.
Can you? Yes. Will you enjoy it? Nobody knows. If it were me I would leave out of Springer. But I also know I can easily do a three month solo hike. If I were you with the info you provided, I would start at Harpers Ferry NoBo and flip. You will be in the elongated herd and with some SoBo on the way back with no time constraint.
"I don't want to blow through it though or be too much alone."
I think you just answered your own question.
A SoBo hike may be your best option.
I would do a Flip-Flop, start in Harpers Ferry go NOBO to Katahdan, then back to Harpers Ferry hike SOBO to springer.
when i did my 96 fLIP-fLOP I WENT from Springer to the Delaware Water Gap, then Katahdan back to the DWG, I had an awesome time but the Logistics of it is a little bit harder than a start NOBO or SOBO. Good Luck and Happy Hiking.
Last Call
05-23-2014, 16:38
Yes. Wait until next year and start at the Approach Trail.
Onica Hanby
05-23-2014, 17:16
I would flip flop as well. Start at HF, get your hiking legs on that easy section, be with other NOBO'ers then go back to HF and be with the SOBO'ers. My husband is currently NOBO but we plan on doing a family thru in 5 years and will do a flip flop starting in HF.
Lone Wolf
05-23-2014, 21:14
Is it too late to start at Springer? I have the option of starting at HF but I would really, really prefer to start at Springer. I think after I get my hiking legs I can maintain a 15-20 mile a day pace. I don't want to blow through it though or be too much alone. Any thoughts?
just start . most don't make it.
I'm doing it! Starting around June 1st and doing a flip flop at HF.
fiddlehead
05-23-2014, 21:52
It is possible.
But, probably not too practical.
I started May 9, for a NOBO hike in '95 and took a week off in July and made it to K on Oct 9.
But, I hike fast and already had experience.
A SOBO hike is a much better idea if you want to do a "thru" hike.
Good luck and have fun.
I'm doing it! Starting around June 1st and doing a flip flop at HF.
Good luck!!!
SunnyWalker
06-05-2014, 12:30
It's never too late to start at Springer. Never ever.
Rolls Kanardly
06-05-2014, 12:54
If you started today and lets say you got lucky and the Mountain was open until 10/14/14 that would be 131 days. That is almost 17 miles a day average with no zero's. You would really have to hump it.
I am sure it could be done, but it seems like you would miss so much. After all it is "A Hike in the Wilderness" not a race.
Rolls
colorado_rob
06-05-2014, 17:38
If you started today and lets say you got lucky and the Mountain was open until 10/14/14 that would be 131 days. OP: please thoroughly check the rules for Katadin. Last time I looked it doesn't really "close", despite what everyone seems to say on here, all the time, endlessly.
Camping in Baxter SP closes, and maybe, so what, doesn't affect a thru hiker, but maybe Katadin is closed for some short period of time, but I do know that Katadin is climbable in the winter, and perhaps late fall. Please check if getting to Katadin "in time" is a factor. I don't think it really is (I'd check again now, but heading out).
What is true is that Baxter State Park is heavily regulated and limited access. Even more so, nay much more so than the Smokies, SNP, or the Whites.
From the Baxter park website:
"There is no camping inside BSP after October 15th. Hikers arriving after Oct. 15th must arrange to camp with private establishments outside Baxter State Park and enter the Park for day use only. Remember: After October 15th, opportunities to climb Katahdin will be determined on a day-by-day basis, depending on access and weather conditions. We cannot emphasize it enough—to avoid disappointment, plan to hike Katahdin by October 15th at the very latest and earlier if at all possible."
It would be an extra-long day for anyone trying to summit K after 10/15, since the trail from park boundary to the summit is 14.4 miles each way.
As a side note, the camping closures have been extended this year and 2015 as part of a trial program. In 2014, you have until Oct 24th.
http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/pdf/ExtendedCampingTrial_blog.pdf
As noted by Rafe, though, the rangers decide if the mountain is "open" or not that day for hiking. The later in the month of October, the more likely the mountain will be barred from hiking that day due to weather conditions.
BSP is arguably the most regulated park in the lower 48. If that is good or bad is another ball of wax. :)
colorado_rob
06-06-2014, 09:06
... It would be an extra-long day for anyone trying to summit K after 10/15, since the trail from park boundary to the summit is 14.4 miles each way. Well, at the end of a 2180 mile hike, I would think by then most thru-hikers would not have any problem with this, hence my original statement.
From the BSP web site here:
http://www.baxterstateparkauthority.com/hiking/at.htm
It says:
"There is no camping inside BSP after October 15th. Hikers arriving after Oct. 15th must arrange to camp with private establishments outside Baxter State Park and enter the Park for day use only. Remember: After October 15th, opportunities to climb Katahdin will be determined on a day-by-day basis, depending on access and weather conditions."
But substitute "Oct 24th" apparently as a pilot this year.
So all hope is not at all lost if you get to Baxter after Oct 1, even Oct 15th, or EVEN October 24th. Even in November (or yes, December, January, etc)! There are plenty of days, weather depending, when Katahdin is climbable, legally. Just plan a long day. With a day pack though.
Well, at the end of a 2180 mile hike, I would think by then most thru-hikers would not have any problem with this, hence my original statement.
A 29 mile day with 8000+ feet of vertical is still a rarity for most thru-hikers. They are not all supermen or superwomen. Nor is that necessarily how they'd like to spend the last day of their thru-hike.
Realistically, there are ways it might be accomplished -- one could hike as far as Katahdin Stream campground, but spend the night outside the park (ie., by prior arrangement with a shuttler, etc.) Then return for the climb up & down from KSC, which is the more typical last-day for nobos. The only problem is -- unknown wait time (number of days) before the rangers let you do the final climb.
The easiest solution is to start Apr 15th, hike a steady 15 MPD on average WHILE HIKING and take little time off in town.
With no zero days, you finish on Sept 7th. Add, heck, 14 zero days and you finish on Sept 22nd.
You avoid the nasty cold weather down south for the most part, see the Appalachian wildflowers and finish about the peak of Fall.
A little over 5 months of hiking.
A very reasonable, doable schedule for the average person.
Not fast at all. AND you are well within the typical weather window for Katahdin.
I think I'll call this method of hiking:
Walking with Spring
;)
colorado_rob
06-06-2014, 12:46
The easiest solution is to start Apr 15th, hike a steady 15 MPD on average WHILE HIKING and take little time off in town.
[/I] Yeah, but read the original post, too late for April start, isn't it?
I'm not saying it's in any way ideal or even desirable to finish in mid-late October, I'm just saying it is possible and even realistic, despite what some think.
Yeah, but read the original post, too late for April start, isn't it?
.
Quite correct sir.
Ah, but it now seems we are having a general discussion...as these threads often go. :)
The main (Maine? Ha!) problem with a post-Oct 15th finish is that the closure is too dependent on what the rangers may state. And, unless you are willing to hike 29 miles r/t (with less daylight), going from KSC and back to Millinocket waiting for the mountain to open can be interesting. Mind you people do this every year...
Cheers!
rocketsocks
06-06-2014, 17:35
Quite correct sir.
Ah, but it now seems we are having a general discussion...as these threads often go. :)
The main (Maine? Ha!) problem with a post-Oct 15th finish is that the closure is too dependent on what the rangers may state. And, unless you are willing to hike 29 miles r/t (with less daylight), going from KSC and back to Millinocket waiting for the mountain to open can be interesting. Mind you people do this every year...
Cheers!r/t???
Rough trail, rocky trail, rooted trail, ramshackle trail, rickety trail, rigorous trail, rotten rolling rutted trail.
bamboo bob
06-06-2014, 18:19
Its from Abol bridge ( actually a bit closer) and then up and down but at least you could hitch out. It seems doable by some one other than me.
r/t???
Rough trail, rocky trail, rooted trail, ramshackle trail, rickety trail, rigorous trail, rotten rolling rutted trail.
round trip
Its from Abol bridge ( actually a bit closer) and then up and down but at least you could hitch out. It seems doable by some one other than me.
And this is all academic in any case. Looks like the the Abol bridge trail is shut down this year at least:
http://wagmtv.com/popular-baxter-state-park-trail-closed/