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Arden
03-27-2010, 17:31
Hey;
I was just curious as to what thru-hikers do with equipment they start out with, but don't need after a while. Snowshoes are what I am thinking of right now.

you may need them for the first month or so in the mountains, but later, you're just carrying the extra weight.
Do you drop them off at a UPS or PO and send them back home, or what?
This is assuming that you're not going to meet friends or family somewhere along the way after you're done with them (the snowshoes, not the people:))

A

Mags
03-27-2010, 18:02
Do you drop them off at a UPS or PO and send them back home, or what?
This is assuming that you're not going to meet friends or family somewhere

That's exactly correct. Luckily on the AT there are many convenient spots to mail stuff home (and pick them up again).

A typical scenario is for many Nobos to hold onto their colder weather gear until after the Grayson Highlands (usually at Pearisburg), mail them out and then pick them up again in Hanover or Glencliff NH before heading into the Whites.

Arden
03-27-2010, 18:25
So, while a person can thru hike the AT "solo" (although I doubt you're ever alone during the first couple months), it would be a lot more difficult to hike without off-trail support.
I guess there are those who just don't use snowshoes; depending on others to break trail for them:)
I have a pr of Tubbs that are about 30" long, and are a bit clumsy, but I have worn them wearing a full pack on an overnight hike in Vermont.

A

Mags
03-27-2010, 18:51
I have a pr of Tubbs that are about 30" long, and are a bit clumsy, but I have worn them wearing a full pack on an overnight hike in Vermont.

A

Esp if you are NOT hiking in January and February (and this year is far, far, far from normal in the Southern Apps. ), you will find that snowshoes are way overkill for the southern part of the AT..esp those 30" ones. :)

Winter backpacking in Vermont is a lot different from the southern Apps in March.

As far as support crew..naah. Not needed, really. With the exception of an ice axe on the PCT, I did not mail gear home to be swapped out and picked up later. And for two packages total a few months apart, I'm sure a six-pack of a favorite beer will encourage one if your friend's to help out of needed in a pinch. :)

Arden
03-27-2010, 20:56
What size snow shoes do you recommend for a thru-hike starting in March or April?

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bigcranky
03-27-2010, 21:04
What size snow shoes do you recommend for a thru-hike starting in March or April?

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None. Even with all the snow this year, snow shoes are not required in the Southern Appalachians.

Arden
03-27-2010, 21:53
None. Even with all the snow this year, snow shoes are not required in the Southern Appalachians.
How do you figure that?
I was up in Harriman Park a couple weeks ago, when there was up to two ft of snow in higher elevs. If I had no snowshoes, my boots would have sunk deep into the snow, making the hike impossible.

Are you telling me it doesn't snow in the southern Apps?

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white_russian
03-27-2010, 22:00
It usually doesn't snow enough in the south for snowshoes. This year is kind of freaky with snow though.

SGT Rock
03-27-2010, 22:04
What the Russian said

Arden
03-27-2010, 22:37
I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking right. It snows up in the Smokies. As a matter of fact, VA sometimes gets much more snow than the hills of NJ. The Catskill Mtns really got pounded this winter. I think they got more up there than the Greens in VT got. It was a freaky winter.

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bigcranky
03-28-2010, 11:08
How do you figure that?
I was up in Harriman Park a couple weeks ago, when there was up to two ft of snow in higher elevs. If I had no snowshoes, my boots would have sunk deep into the snow, making the hike impossible.

Are you telling me it doesn't snow in the southern Apps?

A


Sure it snows, sometimes, but the original question was about March and April. A hiker starting a northbound thru in January might need snow shoes, but not in March and April. Most of the snow we get in the south in March and April doesn't last long.

Even with all the snow this year (and I was out on show shoes in February and was glad to have them), by the beginning of March hikers could get through in the South without them. A chainsaw, on the other hand, might have been a really good idea. :) Also, traction devices like Yak Trax and that sort of thing, would be really useful this year.

mtnkngxt
03-28-2010, 13:39
Snow Shoes not typically needed, this year was crazy.

Blissful
03-28-2010, 19:36
Mail stuff back as you go. Neel Gap is usually the first place to mail back useless gear.

goedde2
03-30-2010, 13:38
As long as you have boots with proper traction, snowshoes might be a bit of overkill. In addition, you have to worry about sending them back home in a few weeks. You might want to re-think that one.