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Ethesis
08-25-2017, 13:29
AT weather makes it look like the weather is 40 to 63 in April heading North on the AT in April.

http://trailquest.net/weather.html

is it really that warm? Those numbers make a March or April start out of Harpers Ferry going north look not so bad.

But it just seems ten degrees or so too warm -- are the numbers accurate?

And is the same stretch about 40-60 in early October?

thanks. I've been reading but I find I'm not getting information that seems reliable enough.

Ethesis
08-25-2017, 13:35
This is what I have (outside of blogs and such) for October

https://m.accuweather.com/en/us/harpers-ferry-wv/25425/october-weather/2175592

And for March:

https://m.accuweather.com/en/us/harpers-ferry-wv/25425/march-weather/2175592?monyr=3/1/2017

Turtle-2013
08-25-2017, 14:27
It case it helps ... I did NY in April of THIS year ... and in the week I was on the trail it never dropped below 50, and daytime highs were rainy and in the 70s ... except for the last day when it hit 85 and sunny. BUT, since I live in the mountains of SW VA ... that every year is different and I didn't make a final decision about doing NY in April until I was less than a month out. It wasn't but a year or so ago that there was still snow on the ground in NY till sometime later in April (at least).

Generally by April however it is pretty nice in MD and PA ... just wet ,)

Slo-go'en
08-25-2017, 14:40
For me leaving HF April 20th, 2015 it started out really warm, then turned cold and rainy for most of May, which was actually a blessing. I could have used a warmer bag and I had serious "loft envy" at times when looking at my companions sleeping bags. We had a spell of good weather for a couple of weeks then it turned rainy again.

I wouldn't go any earlier then 2nd week of April to avoid the worst of late winter/early spring storms which are frequent in March and early April. This year was more typical, with it being cold and rainy into June. Late March/early April is the transition period between winter and spring for the mid Atlantic so it can swing wildly back and forth every few days.

Elaikases
08-25-2017, 19:41
For me leaving HF April 20th, 2015 it started out really warm, then turned cold and rainy for most of May, which was actually a blessing. I could have used a warmer bag and I had serious "loft envy" at times when looking at my companions sleeping bags. We had a spell of good weather for a couple of weeks then it turned rainy again.

I wouldn't go any earlier then 2nd week of April to avoid the worst of late winter/early spring storms which are frequent in March and early April. This year was more typical, with it being cold and rainy into June. Late March/early April is the transition period between winter and spring for the mid Atlantic so it can swing wildly back and forth every few days.

That is excellent to know.

moldy
08-26-2017, 08:37
A few years back I went North starting on tax day. I met with snow on only one day. I used my 20 degree bag and I found the overnight lows in the 40's with only a few in the upper 30's. Highs were in the upper 60's low 70's with almost zero rain. I ended my hike South of the White's. The White's were snowed in.

Lauriep
08-26-2017, 08:37
How far are you going and how fast?

March and even the first half of April are generally too cold, wintry, and lonely for most hikers to find conditions to their liking, especially those who are going as far as Katahdin or even Vermont from Harpers Ferry, and moving fast. If you love cold weather and a lot of solitude (being alone in a shelter / campsite many nights) then it could be right for you.

Sometimes these hikers may not encounter significant snow in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, or Massachusetts, but will in Vermont, New Hampshire, and/or Maine. I just talked to a flip-flopper returning to Harpers Ferry who started early April and encountered 6" of snow in Vermont, and snow again in Maine.

If you have a hiking partner, that can make all the difference in dealing with the lack of other long-distance hikers out there at that time. Not a partner you find online or someone you just met, but a family member, best friend, or school buddy, who is as passionate and excited as you are about the hike, and ideally with a similar level of experience and fitness (or chances are high they will drop out and emotionally it can be harder than if you started alone).

Also, to give some perspective on weather, in Harpers Ferry we've had snow flurries as late as the first week of April. We've learned that scheduling trail work for "alternative spring break" groups is dicey because sometimes snow or ice has prevented crews from being able to work on the A.T. One of our biggest snowstorms (3+ feet of snow) in the last few decades was in early March.

If you want to read about what the conditions are like starting in Harpers Ferry in March, A Child's Walk in the Wilderness by Paul Molyneaux chronicles the thru-hike of a man and his 8-year-old son who start from Harpers Ferry March 9 northbound, walk to Vermont, encounter snow, then head to Georgia for the southern third, and finish the northern piece last.

This year, we had an unusually cold and wet spring. Hikers leaving even mid-late April needed bags at least twenty degrees to be warm starting out. At night, it dipped below freezing in the mountains occasionally a few times after that.

Ethesis
08-26-2017, 10:00
How far are you going and how fast?

March and even the first half of April are generally too cold, wintry, and lonely for most hikers to find conditions to their liking, especially those who are going as far as Katahdin or even Vermont from Harpers Ferry, and moving fast. If you love cold weather and a lot of solitude (being alone in a shelter / campsite many nights) then it could be right for you.

Sometimes these hikers may not encounter significant snow in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, or Massachusetts, but will in Vermont, New Hampshire, and/or Maine. I just talked to a flip-flopper returning to Harpers Ferry who started early April and encountered 6" of snow in Vermont, and snow again in Maine.

If you have a hiking partner, that can make all the difference in dealing with the lack of other long-distance hikers out there at that time. Not a partner you find online or someone you just met, but a family member, best friend, or school buddy, who is as passionate and excited as you are about the hike, and ideally with a similar level of experience and fitness (or chances are high they will drop out and emotionally it can be harder than if you started alone).

Also, to give some perspective on weather, in Harpers Ferry we've had snow flurries as late as the first week of April. We've learned that scheduling trail work for "alternative spring break" groups is dicey because sometimes snow or ice has prevented crews from being able to work on the A.T. One of our biggest snowstorms (3+ feet of snow) in the last few decades was in early March.

If you want to read about what the conditions are like starting in Harpers Ferry in March, A Child's Walk in the Wilderness by Paul Molyneaux chronicles the thru-hike of a man and his 8-year-old son who start from Harpers Ferry March 9 northbound, walk to Vermont, encounter snow, then head to Georgia for the southern third, and finish the northern piece last.

This year, we had an unusually cold and wet spring. Hikers leaving even mid-late April needed bags at least twenty degrees to be warm starting out. At night, it dipped below freezing in the mountains occasionally a few times after that.

Thank you. I hike with my wife who loves it.

We did a section hike from Thorton Gap to Harpers Ferry this spring. We are doing another from Harpers Ferry north in October.

We have been seriously thinking about a through hike in 2019 with a flip flop or two.

And looking at Harpers Ferry to start.

Met a number of people this year who started in Georgia in February or March. They hit some real cold but were ahead of the bubble.

Read registers from last year with people hitting 40 in a campground with the privy failing and the shelter obviously beyond full.

The bubble in Virginia read like a nightmare.

Still thinking. This fall will be our fourth section hike.

Grorgia was fun. Virginia beautiful. The next one we have to go home before the rocks.

I am really looking forward to a longer hike and an early start outside the bubble.

Will take a week off the trail at the start of June in 2019 but will otherwise be retired.

Dreaming keeps me sane at work.

Ethesis
08-26-2017, 10:02
Will read the book. I have it coming in the mail and on Kindle.

Thanks!