Early start date

[jepp2]

I dislike hiking in hot weather with lots of bugs. I want to know how early I can start expecting too much trouble with snow depth. Is Feb. 1 reasonable? Cold weather camping and hiking isn't an issue for me.

[bobgessner57]

The big snows in the southern mountains generally come in March and April, but it varies from year to year and place to place. February is often harsh weather but can have some great days. The big problem is the long nights. Most snows melt within a few days. The only thing predicatable about the snow situation is its unpredictability.

I have backpacked long weekends with my homemade snowshoes when I knew they would be useful,but I don't think I would want to carry them for the occasional use they would normally get. I hate to hole up and posting isn't a great option, guess you just have to pick your poison and hope for the best. Instep crampons would be worth having as parts of the trail can be very icy in late winter.

[chris]

Bugs were not a problem in May in the south in 02, and the weather was fairly pleasant (not more than the low 80s). You might get lucky and have fine weather in February, but you'll certainly miss the best part of the southern Appalachians: The Spring, although I'm sure spring in PA isn't as bad as I think it might be.

If you want an idea of what might happen on a Feb, 1 start, take a look at Rocket's trailjournal from 03, and Bloody Cactus, Grace, Syracuse, Apple Pie, and Xena's trailjournals from 04. These last five people starting in March-ish and had some unpleasant weather, shall we say. Point a browser at www.trailjournals.com to find them.

[A-Train]

I Wouldn't say it's necessary to leave 1 feb to avoid bugs and heat. I left March 1 and had virtually no heat or bug issues. You do miss spring in the south but the views were much better without any covering on the trees. I got to enjoy the beginning of green spring in central virginia, a beautiful place, and was able to do so without a large crowd of people. Mosquitoes were only bad for a couple of days in Vermont and really only a nuisance from Hanover to Glencliff. We probably hit a week of warm temps (above 80) and by that time (late june) I was in the Whites already at higher elevations where it is definately cooler. I enjoyed a really cool July in Maine with moderate temps during the day and some even chilly ones in the wilderness.

So if you are really advenurous and want to spend a lot of time alone, go for a feb 1 start, but it is certainly not neccessary. Most likely you'll just have a longer period of cold weather. The weather in the southern Apps is very wacky. You may have a nice feb with hardly any snow and then get dumped on in march. I had a march mostly with 60 degree sunny days and then got two snow storms in April. This is why start date is not necessarily as important as people think. Starting feb 1 you'd be bound to get hit bad sometime, but when, that is the real question.

[SGT Rock]

Sweeper started around Feb 3rd and his general comment to me was he was cool and mostly bug free for his trip. I don't remember if it ever got too bad for him, but he has tried to convince me to start around the same time for this reason.

He did experience some snow and cold weather issues. Check out his journal at: http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=2563

[Cedar Tree]

I planned to start Feb. 1st, 2000, but a big snow came right around that time. So I postponed my started until the 13th of Feb. It was nice out at that time. Less people, many shelters alone, and the weather really wasn't too bad. Cedar Tree

[nero]

Just curious... I've been hiking through the smokies in Late December with nothing more than gaiters, wool socks, fleece pullover, rain gear, 50/50 poly/cotton T, wool hat, shorts and some polypropelyne long johns (most of which stayed in my pack). My sleeping bag is rated at 20 degrees and the weather didn't get much colder than 15F.

Given the above scenerio, I didn't really ever get cold, however I've seen folks talking about needing parkas on a thru-hike. If I left in February does anyone think I'd need one? Is the clothing I mentioned sufficient?

-Thanks

Nero

[The Solemates]

Nero:

We are currently on the trail in Vernon, NJ. Actually, right now we are in NYC taking two days off and seeing the sights. From one extreme to the other. Anyways, we left FEB 1, and would not have done it any other way. The first month we saw virtually no one, just the way we like it: solitude.

But, be prepared for lots of snow and cold nights. We had a couple days below zero and at least two weeks in the single digits at night. We had snow up until SW Virginia off and on. In GA/NC we had 6-8 inches most of the way. In the Smokies we had about three feet of snow and 441/Newfound Gap was completely closed. The state shut it down. We got another 15 inches just South of Erwin, TN, which slowed us down more than the 3 feet because it was near blizzard conditions.

We did not have snowshoes, nor needed them, but be prepared for weeks on end of wet feet, even with goretex, gaiters, etc. My advice is that you better know what you are doing and have experience with such conditions before trying something and wind up hurt. I've grown up winter camping, so if you have the smarts, it should be no problem.

Concerning gear, we had 0 deg bags, and I carried long underwear polypro tops/bottoms, pants, rainpants, microfleece top, thick fleece jacket, rain jacket, socks, fleece socks, thick mitts, shell mitts, and fleece hat. I typically wore only the pants, polypro top, and microfleece while hiking. At night I wore about everything I had. I think the most important thing is your bag; dont scrimp on it! And keep it dry!