View Full Version : Can you suggest a long distance trail for a late Jan or early Feb start?
If someone was nuts enough to dream about doing a long distance trail other than the AT, do you have any favorites to suggest?
Looking for Spring, Summer or Fall conditions.
Thanks!
fiddlehead
10-25-2006, 15:08
New Zealand has some trails that are pretty long.
As for the US, the only long distance trail that can be done fairly easily in the winter is the AT. good luck.
I'll be on the Pinhoti Trail (Alabama) in March. 110 miles. Come on down!
The Long Trail in Vermont (overlaps with the AT for ~100 miles)
http://www.greenmountainclub.org/
The Northville-Placid Trail in New York (~120 miles)
Good Information Here http://www.adkforum.com
If someone was nuts enough to dream about doing a long distance trail other than the AT, do you have any favorites to suggest?
Looking for Spring, Summer or Fall conditions.
Thanks!
The Long Path (http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/longpath/) in New York State. Great trail! I was married on top of Hook Mountain on the trail. It crosses the AT in Harriman State Park. Might be a wee bit nippy in the winter. Brrrr
fiddlehead
10-25-2006, 15:48
I run a business that is very busy at Christmas time. we are so tired of talking to people and dealing with people that we always want to get away in Jan and hike. I've tried: the Grand Canyon 3 times, Zion NP, Josua Tree NP, and a few others that i'm not going to put out in cyberspace cause they are too quiet for that.
Conclusion is that it really depends on the year. Only once out of those 3 times could we get down into the grand canyon because of snow and ice that was dangerous (1000 foot cliffs with an ice slide and no ax makes for a quick turn around) some years it's a beautiful place to be, others it's very difficult to get down.
One year we did a southbound winter hike on the AT that was supported (van) as we didn't want to spend 16 hours a night in a sleeping bag in shelters the whole way. It was a great time and one of my favorite thru hikes of the AT.
That is why i recommended it and NZ (above) I also would recommend Nepal as i've winter hiked there 6 times and it is lovely. (a bit cold that time of year but very clear skies and not so many people)
Some of the other trails mentioned (from others) above may be ok in some winters. (Florida trail possibly any winter) but the Long trail could be deadly that time of year. (IMO, and Wolf 2300 i believe), also the Northville Placid trail is more of a cross country or snowshoe route that time of year usually.
Your question about long distance to me means at least a few hundred miles.
Maybe you could be more specific in what you are prepared to do out there.
Dont walk over the Pyrennes from France in winter but start in Roncesvalles, Spain and hike the Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela and, if you are still adventureous an to Finisterre on the Atlantic ocean. It is very doable for you both and will be the trek of a lifetime. :sun
Google 'The Way of St James' for more info. If you want more info and decide it is a possibility just let me know and I'll be glad to help.
hammock engineer
10-25-2006, 17:02
I did the northern 81 miles of the LT earlier this month. I would not recommed doing it in the winter unless you have a lot of winter experience. Great trail just it is poorly marked unless you are on a tourist area, very rockie/rootie, mudd and tree covered, and not many towns. Way out of my experience level in the winter.
Jan LiteShoe
10-25-2006, 17:32
Do you want a shortie? The Foothills Trail of SC might offer quick relief with a sense of journey, and not at extreme elevation: http://www.foothillstrail.org/
For Spring or Fall, The Grand Enchantment Trail http://www.simblissity.net/grand_enchantment.shtml is a trail I've wanted to hike.
I'll be on the Pinhoti Trail (Alabama) in March. 110 miles. Come on down!
Hey ALHG,
Aren't you doing a SOBO 2007?
I did the northern 81 miles of the LT earlier this month. I would not recommed doing it in the winter unless you have a lot of winter experience. Great trail just it is poorly marked unless you are on a tourist area, very rockie/rootie, mudd and tree covered, and not many towns. Way out of my experience level in the winter.
Beyond my abilities and interest too. I've not yet made it over to the Cult of Winter Backpacking. Maybe in a couple of years when I'm older and wiser.
For now I'm speculating about having a 1 to 6 week trip to look forward to after the AT. My motivation for tagging another hike on the end of my thru is my concern (okay, I'm downright scared) that once I finish the AT, I'll have to return to the working world and no employer in his/her right mind is going to give that kind of leave to a new employee. And even after the first year with a new company, I'm likely to get 2 weeks max. So it makes sense to me to stretch my 6 months of unemployment into 7 or 8 or..... and then buckledown for a while like a normal human being.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I knew WB would help. Now I've just got to raid my library's travel section.
Do you want a shortie? The Foothills Trail of SC might offer quick relief with a sense of journey, and not at extreme elevation: http://www.foothillstrail.org/
I'll echo Jan's sentiments. I hiked the FHT in January 04. Low temp was in the high teens. Days were comfortable.
hammock engineer
10-25-2006, 20:19
Here is a book that may help. I haven't read it, but someone else on WB recommend it, I think. It describes 25 trails in the US that are not the AT/CDT/PCT.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071433643/002-8928732-6708810?redirect=true&v=glance&n=283155
FHThiker
10-26-2006, 08:43
Do you want a shortie? The Foothills Trail of SC might offer quick relief with a sense of journey, and not at extreme elevation: http://www.foothillstrail.org/
I second this! The FHT is *near* 80 miles of bliss. And more than likely, you won't run into anyone else on the trail. It's a nice 5-6 day trek.
I think the Alabama Pinhoti is around 137 or so miles. They recently added a 12 mile section south of Porter Gap. The new southern terminus is just east of Sylacauga, near mile marker 11 if I remember correctly. Two dirt roads hit the highway from the north at almost the same spot. Take the road on the right. The Pinhoti trail will be on the right after maybe 100-200 yards. You can't miss it. I think it has blue blazes in that section.
The Florida trail has some nice parts, but it sucks for a through-hike. About half of it is road walk along busy two-lane highways with no shoulder to speak of. Some of the sections are very nice though. I liked the Everglades section and the Air force bombing range.
-dirtnap
Old Hillwalker
10-26-2006, 11:30
The Ouachita National Recreation Trail stretches 223 miles through the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The "Ouachita Trail," as it is more commonly known, runs from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, near Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a premier trail asset for hikers, backpackers, and mountain bikers. Google this for more info. I spent some time on this trail whilst "suffering" in Dallas.
Go to a big borders/barnes & nobles, preferably one with a cafe. Pick out a huge stack of books to peruse, order a drink, and spend the rest of the day there...
Yep, I'm there all the time. Love it. Where I'm at the Borders stores are smaller but their hiking/camping/backpacking and travel sections are much superior to B & N. So, I'm "camped out" in the Borders coffee shop many an hour.
Here is a book that may help. I haven't read it, but someone else on WB recommend it, I think. It describes 25 trails in the US that are not the AT/CDT/PCT.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071433643/002-8928732-6708810?redirect=true&v=glance&n=283155
Since I'm at work, I can't link to the title (our IT dudes block access to Amazon but thank God, not whiteblaze). If it's Schwimmer's 25 thru-hikes in the US, I own it and have thumbed through it so many times the pages are coming away from the binding. Also bought a copy for my mom & step-dad. Thanks.
The Ouachita National Recreation Trail stretches 223 miles through the beautiful Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The "Ouachita Trail," as it is more commonly known, runs from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, near Little Rock, Arkansas. It is a premier trail asset for hikers, backpackers, and mountain bikers. Google this for more info. I spent some time on this trail whilst "suffering" in Dallas.
That was one of the trails in the "25 thru hikes in America" book. It does sound like a good one to tackle. I'll check out some more on it and the others you've all mentioned. And thanks again!
Bamboo Bob, Corncob and I are starting a thruhike of the Florida Trail January 28th (it's a Sunday). We figure it'll take us until early April to finish - 1100 or so miles.
The offer's up for anyone who'd like to hike a section with us, actually. All you trail people are more than welcome - the more the merrier, in fact!
Didn't read carefully enough to see if anyone mentioned the AZT (around 700 miles?) which is often hiked in the winter months. Some parts in the San Francisco range near Flagstaff will have a lot of snow, but that's not a huge section of trail.
Cookerhiker
10-29-2006, 20:42
That was one of the trails in the "25 thru hikes in America" book. It does sound like a good one to tackle. I'll check out some more on it and the others you've all mentioned. And thanks again!
If you do, let us know how it goes. I've thought about the Ouchita Trail myself for a late February/March hike. A few days ago, I shared an AT shelter (Hurricane, near Damascus) with an Oklahoman who told me about it. One thing he said was that while November temps were nice, water was more problematic whereas in winter & spring, water was plentiful at least in Arkansas. Oklahoma is drier so you must plan your water use accordingly. He also said hikers underestimate Oklahoma by failing to consider the rockiness. Can it be as bad as PA?!:cool:
There's a guidebook by a guy last name of Ernst (as I recall). Google and find out more.