Winter Hiking

[josh litt]

I was curious if anyone who has done the trail during the winter could tell me the avg miles per hour they were able to do, especially in the virginia section. Also any other advice for winter hiking would be much appreciated.


Josh Litt

[MedicineMan]

of my AT miles 40% were winter hikes...prepare for solitude :)
think about these:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=2997&c=665&userid=163
just my 0.02

[Just a Hiker]

Hey Josh,

I have spent a couple of winters on the AT, and this what I know for certain. First of all medicineman is right that you'll have plenty of alone time and long dark nights, but that's not really a bad thing. Also, winter hiking is never as bad as people on these computer sites let on. Unless you are hiking in New England you don't need a lot of extra gear. Even if it does snow on you just enjoy the beautiful quiet of the woods and the wonderful feeling of aloneness. You do need some common sense of course, but mostly you just need the desire to walk.

Take care,

Just Jim

[Alligator]

I plan about a 25% reduction in daily miles vs the my mileage for the warmest months. Part of the reason for this is a switch from trail runners to boots. The other is my pack weight increases--warmer bag, switch to tent from tarp, extra clothes, fuel etc. You might consider a reduction in mileage of about 10-33%. Snow can slow you down, as can ice, but these are sporadic events in VA.

[bigcranky]

The other thing that reduces my mileage in the winter is the shorter day length. In the summer I like to make dinner, then hike for a few more miles. That's tougher in winter, when it's full dark before 6pm. (Not impossible, but tougher.) I tend to get up, make a hot breakfast, and hit the trail as soon as it's light enough to walk, then stop a little before dark to set up camp, get water, and cook dinner. That gives me about 8 or 9 hours on the trail in December.

[The Solemates]

Obviously, the crucial factor here is daylight. During the winter, the hiking time is reduced from 8am til 4pm or so. We find that we can hike at about the same rate as in the summer, we just have less time to hike. So, you can calculate your mileage based on your pace. For the most part, snow does not slow you down unless it is 8+ inches.

[Wolf - 23000]

josh,

I've done the whole AT in the winter months - (Dec, Jan, Feb). It depends on what section you are taking about. South of NY, I was still doing 20 + a day, this sometime included hiking at night for 2 or 3 hours.

Going into Mass and CT, 20 miles a day became harder. Snow became a factor. Entering VT, NH and ME, 20 miles in a day was next to impossible. Snow/ice, stopping to melt water, staying warm, etc became major factors in doing miles. 10 miles a day was my norm and that was tought. My longest day in New England winter was 18 miles, I was BEAT afterwards.

Hopes this helps.

Wolf

[general]

i tend to make more miles per hour in the winter months. less heat, so i take less breaks. those uphills are not as taxing. i do agree with the less daylight factor, so, overall mileage seems to be about the same as warmer weather hiking.

[ed bell]

i tend to make more miles per hour in the winter months. less heat, so i take less breaks. those uphills are not as taxing. i do agree with the less daylight factor, so, overall mileage seems to be about the same as warmer weather hiking.I agree with general, I tend to turn it up a notch in winter because of the lack of oppressive heat and humidity. Keeping my body heat up also tends to keep that pace up. Sometimes when it's real brisk I'll find myself doing a quick hop-step to keep that core warm.:sun Throw in 4+ inches of snow and some ice and all bets are off.

[woodsy]

[quote=josh litt Also any other advice for winter hiking would be much appreciated.


Josh Litt[/quote]

Some good tips at this link http://www.backpacking.net/winter.html
Your mileage ? is hard to answer, so many variables to consider. Depends on the conditions. My best winter mileage ever was 25 miles in 2 days which included headlamp hiking and feets of soft snow. Glad I had a buddy along to share breaking trail, would have taken 3 days soloing.

[Jim Adams]

winter offers less people, no bugs and better views plus if you can hit it during a full moon with snow on the ground, it can be totally awesome night hiking.

[josh litt]

Everyone, thank you for the great information. KEEP it coming, i just want as much advice as possible, anything pretty much could help me.

[fiddlehead]

I did a SOBO in 2001/2002 although it was van supported, this enabled us to do big miles anyway. We got up before dawn and ate, headed out about 15 minutes before daylight and hiked till dark most days. We managed to do a 40 mile day in the SNP! (on Dec 21 actually, the shortest day)
The trail was awesome, no people, more views than ever, no water problems, etc.
However, long nights, (you should have a bigger sleeping bag as you are going to be spending alot of time in it) , no hostels open (very few, state parks are closed, many hotels are even closed) So, even when you get to a town, you may not be able to get the shower or night in a hotel that you want and need.
The trail was never very hard to follow, even in the snow. The hiking was great and i used full zip fleece pants which i normall kept open but zipped them up when i took a break (fewer breaks cause of the cold like someone said above)
More batteries for lights because of the long nights. You may even use less fuel as you will most likely be building fires when you camp cause you will have such long nights. So, learn to build fires quickly and use them for cooking. (you should do the hot water bottle trick in your sleeping bag at night)
All in all, i think you will enjoy a thru in the winter on the AT more than the traditional one for these reasons