On avg how many days to hike through SNP during December?

[saltysack]

Hoping to hike the park in Dec...originally was going to shoot for half but may try and push lil harder and do whole park as one section. How is the terrain compared to Ga/Nc AT? Winter mpd through the park as compared to southern AT sections? I realize shorter days but I enjoy walking at night so not a deal breaker.....traction needed?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tipi Walter]

You're talking about Shenandoah, right? I would probably take my microspikes for a December trip as Shenandoah is pretty far north. One magnificent advantage is that the hateful roaring harley motorcyclists won't be blasting apart the peace and quiet of the mountains on the Skyline Drive with their noise pollution. Too cold for most of them. Therefore a much more peaceful trip.

I backpacked Shenandoahs twice, from south to north, and don't remember a whole lot of nutbusting trail sections although I did get caught in a terrible early March windstorm on Mary's Rock which blew a dead snag tree down onto my North Face dome tent (Windy Pass) and ripped the fly and broke a tent pole. I had to hitch east to Farmville (Yogaville) and spend several days at a yoga commune using a sewing machine to fix the fly etc. A long story but I found some excellent stealth campsites on their land!!)

Once I reached Front Royal I got into town and hung around the town library and then hitched east to a yoga retreat with 600 acres and did some fine bushwacking and stealth camping. The weird part was running up to a long chain-link fence and following it on foot and seeing zebras and giraffes on the other side. Found out later it's a stocking place for the Washington DC zoo.

[MuddyWaters]

South half is a bit more like normal southern at, no big climbs but bunch of smaller. I recall a 21 mile day that tired me out. Tired because it was still 4000+ ft uphill even though they were all 400-800 ft climbs. North part is flatter and easier miles, and more scenic.

Theres some lack of flat areas for camping between shelters thats legal in places, so going hut to hut is common, and limits you to that distance if do that.

It will be great to do it without crowds and cars. But the waysides were nice too.

[Slo-go'en]

December is only 4 days away and right now I'd guess conditions aren't too bad. The week between Christmas and New Years could be a lot more icy/snowy/colder. It's 108 miles between Waynesboro and Front Royal, so I'd budget up to 10 days.

[pilgrimskywheel]

The great part about SNP for an "off-season" hike is the road access. It's like hiking with a net. If you stand still next to a road crossing someone will stop. All road traffic HAS to go to the other end of the park so you can punch out any time in a single hitch if you wanted. If the trail is getting you down walk the road (where safe) to straighten out the walk. They criss cross so often I think folks do naturally after awhile - why not? (Being that Skyline Dr. is the old AT the views are better anyway. Seriously, you see Shenny from the road.) I've gone thru north in June 12, NOV 12, Aquablaze June 13, Hitch/hike return July 13, SOBO OCT 13, NOBO APR 15, SOBO SEP 16. It's a sweet spot. The shelters are a bit snug and the park popular so bring a good tent. It's a soggy place.

[Cookerhiker]

I didn't notice your normal mpd pace - 10, 15, 18? SNP has ups and downs, but not constant like Georgia and no 2,000-3,000' ascents like North Carolina. It's nice that your hike is devoid of the summer tourists and traffic, but all park facilities will be closed. Water will be mostly limited to the shelter areas.

Were it me, I'd allow 8 days for planning purposes but strive for 7. It will depend on snow/ice level which could range from none to knee-deep.

Make sure you carry an extra set of dry clothes and keep them dry. You could experience cold rain, the worse conditions for hypothermia.

[saltysack]

Thx for useful info....I'll likely have only about 5 days so will keep eye on weather and see what works for my schedule...I usually hit the trail doing 18-20 mpd in SE....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hikeandbike5]

no snow or other adverse weather it'd be easy to hit 20s all day every day.