View Full Version : Snow Fall in Pennsylvania
How much snow fall does the At recieve in Pennsylviania??? Ice on the trail??
Highly variable, but it seems anymore more ice than snow. Lots of tilty rocks can get treacherous at times. More common sense is needed than crampons to get through, IMHO. Rarely on the PA A.T. do conditions get so bad that no one's out, though.
Toolshed
11-20-2009, 16:37
It seems the last 10 winters we have had have been almost in concert with drier summers - meaning little in the way of a constant amount of snowfall . We still have the cold weather (20s-30s), but little precip. Maybe this year will finally be different.
That is just too hard to pinpoint. Eastern PA doesn't really get that much snow. Seriously. I only remember 3 or 4 snow events a season for the last decade or so in eastern Pa. I remember there being many more as a kid, but recently the number of snow days seems to have diminished. It still gets colder than hell just doesn't snow. Also, most of the snow days seem to happen after the new year.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just check the forecast before you go. The mts. aren't high enough for precip to vary much from what the town gets. Your best bet for significant snow is the northern stretch of PA around the Poconos.
saimyoji
11-20-2009, 18:20
yep. mostly ice in E.PA. Only a few places get really bad:
Knife Edge, just north of rt. 309
Wolf Rocks, north of Wind gap as you approach rt 191.
Lehigh Gap on the north side of the river.
The only place i ever had to turn back was Knife Edge. Mostly i find that the snow pack makes it easier to walk as it fills in the gaps between the rocks.
harryfred
11-21-2009, 03:07
Down my way we have snow on the ground in the mountains most of the time from mid Dec to late Feb. We get some snows over 6" but only two or three a year. I hike all year long from Pine Grove Furnace to Penn Marr and the main problem is slush, as the snow is in a constant state of half melted. we do get Ice but it doesn't last.
The Mechanical Man
11-21-2009, 06:31
How much snow fall does the At recieve in Pennsylviania??? Ice on the trail??
About the same as New York AT at any given time, ice and freezing rain are about the same too.
PM me if you want to know local conditions at any given time in my area.
sasquatch2014
11-21-2009, 13:05
Mostly i find that the snow pack makes it easier to walk as it fills in the gaps between the rocks.
Yeah that is a good point but it really only holds after a few snows and the holes have stable snow in them. If you get a good covering then all it does is cover the holes so you can punch thrugh the snow and drop into the holes. I recall going through a really rocky section and by the end of the day both of my shins were scraped to crap.
SawnieRobertson
11-21-2009, 21:43
In 1999 two women hiked Pennsylvania in January thinking it would be better then. I never heard if they found it really was, but I also heard no complaints from them about it.--Kinnickinic
The ONLY time i dislike hiking and thats pushing it cause nothing makes me hate the outdoors ... but simply around oct/nov when the leaves hit the ground and it rains ...
NOTHING is more slippery in my experiance than wet rocks/leaves ... I'd rather walk on ice.
bullseye
11-21-2009, 22:24
More often than not the trail is easy going with what little bit of snow the PA AT sees. I did an overnighter in the snow a few years ago and still managed 15+ miles a day even with some slipping and sliding.
sasquatch2014
11-21-2009, 23:32
ok been out with the dog tonight and understand that there is to be a blue moon during the new year. I have decide that no amount of leaves or snow would be worse than being out among the hills of the trail.
go for it. We did a shake out hike for an 09 thru hiker in pa in Feb of 08 and our low temp for the night was *9. and there was a fair amount of ice on the foot path but it was still a great time.