View Full Version : Hiking through the southern spring... A New Englander wants to know....!!
Hi,
I will be thru hiking the AT northbound this Spring starting March 22 at Springer Mountain.
When can i expect to see the best of the "southern Spring?" I understand that in the south, ie GA, NC and VA and TN the spring flowers are really something. I don't expect to see any blossoms in Georgia..after all I will be there late March..a bit early for spring at least at elevation!
So how good is it? presumably better than up here in northern new England where the blossoms arent all that impressive..
and when does the spring climax (early april? May?)? I want to adjust my pace so I dont miss it!!
I have never hiked in the south before (by this i mean anything south of NYC!). I am hoping for lots of wild flowers and a whole lot less mud than I would see in late spring in VT or NH! Mud season has gotta be the worst possible time of year!!!
DavidNH
Lone Wolf
01-04-2006, 20:55
Around Hot Springs stuff will be blooming like crazy.
Skidsteer
01-04-2006, 21:27
You''ll see plenty of blooms in N. GA in late March. Just keep your eyes peeled!
Well, I left Springer in mid-April. I saw what I figured were blood root or something like it on the access trail. I moved slowly for the first month and was increasingly amazed at the variety of flowers I sAW.
Your experience will be different with an earlier start and faster pace. But the flowers will come as you work north and you remain alert. I experienced scores of springs as the trail looped into the springtime valleys and back to the winter-bound ridges.
You'll probably miss ther splendors of early spring in Georgia, but may find it in the Smokies and beyond. Good luck, and keep alert.
Weary
Prepare yourself to be amazed...if flowers amaze you. My mother-in-law gave me a lovely book for Christmas, "Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail." The photos might whet your appetite. In the southern Appalachians, there are frequent treats where a single huge trillium or a stem of fire pinks or bee balm or some other outstanding blossom stands out against the green and brown forest background. Other times you'll get into carpets of yellow trout lilies or some of the many kinds of small white-flowered plants. There are some amazing vines, too. Not to mention the rhodies and mountain laurels and some fantastic fungi, too. Keep your camera handy.
Chickety
01-05-2006, 08:16
We left Springer March 20 (05) and didn't see any flowers until we dropped down out of the Smokies. (about a week into April) It was amazing, we were walking along a small stream and I looked up and realized that there were GREEN buds on the trees and grass and little purple flowers on a tree, it was like instant spring!! Before that everything was either brown and dead or covered in snow!
First time I saw rhodedendrons and lady slipper's in bloom was right around Dragon's Tooth
One thing to keep in mind: as you hike north from Springer, there are of course tons of ups and downs, but you're generally going UP in altitude all the way to the Smokies (3-4 thousand feet in GA, 4-5 thousand feet in southern NC, 5-6,000 ft in the Smokies). The mountains get increasingly higher all the way to Clingman's Dome, then drop off. What this means in terms of seeing the (fabulous) southern Springtime is that you're generally going BACK in seasons as you gain altitude.
This can be frustrating, walking thru drab woods, not a hint of green or a flower to be seen, on and on, wondering when Spring is finally going to arrive. (You'll see tantalizing glimpses of Spring from high outlooks and when you descend into gaps).
It's worth the wait, and the anticipation makes it all the better. Generally, (it depends on the year) you can expect to see full blown Springtime north of the Smokies.
There is green even now on the Trail in GA; they may not yet be flowering, but you will be amazed at the small pockets or little tucked-in areas of greenery waiting out the winter.
A friend and I hiked up the Approach Trail this weekend and from Dick's Creek to Plumorchard Shleter in late November, and we saw all sorts of little shoots hanging out - small enough to hide under the snow if it comes, but gaining strength with each good day. She is a master herbalist, and it was so much fin to hike with her - I saw things I'd normally just kinda buzz past. And I am not a fast hiker; I love to take in the scenery and take photos when I can.
Copy off some pages from an herb book - you'll be amazed at what you will find in NoGA in winter before the flowers start up! :) Sue
Folks start out too soon!!!!!!!!! Wait a while and you want miss spring for the first few hundred miles.
Hi,
I will be thru hiking the AT northbound this Spring starting March 22 at Springer Mountain.
When can i expect to see the best of the "southern Spring?" I understand that in the south, ie GA, NC and VA and TN the spring flowers are really something. I don't expect to see any blossoms in Georgia..after all I will be there late March..a bit early for spring at least at elevation!
So how good is it? presumably better than up here in northern new England where the blossoms arent all that impressive..
clip
DavidNH
Hi, David. The feedback so far is generally on target, but it also "just depends." I'm in Atlana. In 2005 we had a late, cold (for us) spring that delayed flowers, dogwood blossoms, etc. We then had a hot September that delayed fall... In 2004 we had an early spring that brought the flowers out early.... Bottom line - watch the long-range weather forecasts for the area and you'll have a better idea as it gets closer!
Have fun! I envy you your trip!
Steve
I started hiking in early March. For this New England native (RI), was a bit surpised to see snow in the south. I though the south was suppose to be sunny. :)
Thus it goes... the trail can be a tough teacher!
I started hiking in early March. For this New England native (RI), was a bit surpised to see snow in the south. I though the south was suppose to be sunny. :)Thus it goes... the trail can be a tough teacher!
I started in mid-April believing April in Georgia would be like Miami in January. I was wrong. Those southern mountains proved closer to midcoast Maine in April. The same flowers emerged on the same dates I would have expected in the woods of home. Trees began leafing on the same dates. Except for the wild laurels and other such warmer climate species, I found Georgia remarkably like hiking in April on the Maine coast -- cold, but beautiful.
I've been waiting for someone like Weary and Mags to make a post like they did.
Yes, to us New Englanders, we think of the south as being warm and sunny. I was surprized as to how high and rugged the mountains really are down south, and how the weather can be extreme. While it may be mild along the coast, it sure isn't in the mountains where the AT is.
Some of the best advice I heeded was to hang onto my cold weather gear and sleeping bag until after Mt. Rodgers and after Memorial Day.
While it may be mild along the coast, it sure isn't in the mountains where the AT is.
Aint' that the truth. Experience is a tough, but excellent teacher!
What I saw one day in the "sunny south":
http://gallery.backcountry.net/magsAT98/aja
(My AT photos are not as good as later photos for a variety reasons [camera used, skill level, scanning technology at the time], but you get the idea)
Some of the best advice I heeded was to hang onto my cold weather gear and sleeping bag until after Mt. Rodgers and after Memorial Day.
Yep. In fact, the last snow I saw was on the Grayson Highlands/Mt. Rogers area. The Highlands are quite exposed, so if a snow storm comes in, you are SOL. I forget what the next town is after Damascus, but I would advise *NOT* sending cold weather gear home from Damascus - logical place it may seem.
Pick up your cold weather gear again in Hanover or Glencliff, NH.
The weather can also be VERY changeable. On March 7,8 & 9 of 2000, it was upwards of 80+ degrees. The night of March 10 there was a hellacious storm with 50-60 MPH winds. It poured rain all day on March 11, and that night temps dropped to the high teens, so everything froze solid. It was even colder the next night atop Tray Mountain.
So.... don't be fooled by a couple of days of mountain weather. As they say, if you're tired of the weather, try waiting a day.
Jack Tarlin
01-06-2006, 18:51
Mags is 100 per cent right. I've been snowed on in the Mt. Rogers area as late as the 23rd of May. Even if you start your hike well into April, I'd keep some cold-weather gear as late as Bland and maybe even Pearisburg. (This also includes your warm sleeping bag). Every year, there are folks who "switch stuff out" in Damascus and they very much come to regret it.
The weather can also be VERY changeable. On March 7,8 & 9 of 2000, it was upwards of 80+ degrees. The night of March 10 there was a hellacious storm with 50-60 MPH winds. It poured rain all day on March 11, and that night temps dropped to the high teens, so everything froze solid. It was even colder the next night atop Tray Mountain.
So.... don't be fooled by a couple of days of mountain weather. As they say, if you're tired of the weather, try waiting a day.
As can the coast of Maine. I've planted my peas on some Patriot's Days. (Mid-April) And shoveled snow in other years.