AT in the winter

[Brent]

New to the site and the AT. Does anyone hike the trail in the winter? I'm tentatively planning a trip starting in Maine in October sometime.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[tlbj6142]

There are 2 other threads on this same topic. Though they were NOBO, not SOBO.

Here is one (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2104) and here is the other (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2060).

[celt]

southbound, starting from Maine in October, that means New Hampshire and The White Mountains in November and/or December. By then the snow line will be creeping down the mountains around the 3000 ft line and places like the Presidental Range, The Franconia Range & other places above treeline will be well into winter. World class mountaineers have been known to climb in The Presidentals in winter to prepare for bigger hikes around the world.
Although much of the trail up north in November & December is less extreme and on days with good weather hiking is a delight, you'd have to be prepared for the above mentioned places which are quite dangerous in moderate weather if one is not properly equipped. Here is a link to the Mount Washington Weather Observatory's weather archives...

http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/archive/index.html

Here is a website where hikers post reports on trail conditions in NH throughout the year, scroll down to find the reports from late last year and look for peak names on the AT (Washington, Lafayette, Moosilauke & others)...

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/trail/nh/index.html