View Full Version : Hiking in Vermont late winter
Vermont is pretty much closed along the trail from mid- april through the end of May to protect the vegetation.
Is it possible to hike through mid March heading south?
And what is the chance of deep snow at that time of year?
Snowleopard
12-09-2011, 16:12
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Is it possible to hike through mid March heading south?
And what is the chance of deep snow at that time of year?
It's possible but can be very difficult. The chances of winter conditions and deep snow are good, especially further north. How far north are you planning? Temps significantly below zero are possible but won't occur every night. Look at weather history at wunderground to see what temps might be.
You'll need full winter gear (for New England winter). Most winters this would include snow shoes. If you don't have a lot of winter experience in cold places, this is a really bad idea. It would be much safer to go further south. Going from Conn. south in March would probably be OK, but might still be winter (or might be spring).
Thanks for the advice Snowleopard
I'm trying to finish up the trail and that means Boiling Springs to Katahdin.
As I would like to return in July to Florida, I wanted to leave Boiling Springs around mid March but that would put me in Vermont in late April/May
and everyone says that hiking through Vermont that time of year is discouraged due to thawing/mud/habitat damage.
So heading south from Vermont in March to Boiling Springs and then jumping north to Hanover,N.H. at the end of May seemed like a possibility.
I'm from the north,(England), skied a lot and lived in Norway one winter , crosscountry skiing most of the time so I can handle some snow.
Just have to keep an eye on the winter I guess.
Slo-go'en
12-09-2011, 17:52
March is when the snow depth is usually at it's peak depth. Late season winter storms can be really nasty. If you try to hike south from Vermont in March, you will not get far, even if this turns out to be a light snow year (which it might).
Keep in mind the rainy season for that whole streach of trail you want to do is March through June. And these storms can last for days and days at times. Mid winter storms tend to move though here in a day, early spring storms tend to get stuck and move out slowly.
Do what ever it takes to move the trip later in the summer or into the fall. Trying to do it in the late winter/early spring is doomed from the start, no matter how you try to divy it up.
Also, be aware of the official blazing policy of the Green Mountain Club, which manages both the LT and now all of the AT in VT. They consider these trails 3 season, and blaze accordingly. Many of the blazes are on rock where you cannot see them in the winter. We get BIG snow up here, so even a blaze 4-5 feet of the ground could be covered by snowfall. Blazes are primarily at junctions or the alpine zone where it's easier to lose the trail. Hiking in VT is a big change from sections further south (NY, CT, MA) where blazes are abundant.
During the snowy months the GMC encourages would be hikers to instead ski and snowshoe on the catamount trail, which also runs from MA to Canada. This trail is designed and blazed for winter use.
All this talk remindes me of a hike I did last winter. There is a 4 mile loop hike called The Welch-Dickey Loop in Waterville Valley, NH. I have hiked it a million times and in every weather condition and at night a few times. So Im hiking along with snowshoes and my dog and we get to the first of two small summits with excellent views. Its a beautiful winter day. Well it had been maybe 5 years since I hiked it last and I could not find the trail off the summit! The amount of snow had buried the blazes and I couldnt remember which way I needed to go. Luckily the trail was busy that day so I hung out, had lunch with my dog and waited for the oncoming wave of people to come and show me the way. And for a while no one else could find it either!
My point is, if I had to hike SOBO at that time of year, hiking with a partner might be beneficial as well, from a saftey standpoint. I cant imagine you will see too many hikers out there. I mostly hike in the winter months just because of my job I have more time. But living in Maine I see fewer hikers during the March/April months and more and more as you approach June. Your thoughts?
Wow, not many encouraging words!
But that's not what I was aiming for, I wanted honest answers and that's what I got..
It seems that the northern half of the AT is more of a two-season trail,(summer/fall), or hike late spring up from Pennsylvania and run into a roadblock when you reach Vermont and the mud season.
The rainy season extends all the way through the Appalachians in the Spring and yet I hiked the southern half of the AT in 2010, leaving Springer March 7th and had very few heavy rain problems though I have to admit that I lucked out and had a fairly dry year.
I was hoping to avoid lots of summer traffic by leaving earlier and getting back to fish the Florida Keys by mid July when I have two weeks of timeshare and mini - lobster season.( That's mini season ,(three days) for catching lobster, not the other way round! Ha!)
Just itching to get out there and to hike in the cooler mountain air.
Thanks for the input.
I just skimmed but even if someone else already said it you would also need crampons, not just snow but ice and consider: rescuers in Vermont are heroic, no doubt about it, but is it fair to risk their lives and safety if you get into trouble?