hiking in winter but not really winter

[Johnny Thunder]

i have next january 2nd through april 1st free to do as i please. looking for suggestions for sort-of winter hikes.

[rocketsocks]

So like winter a Le carte?

[camojack]

Sometime between January 1st and 7th I'm planning to hike on the Muliwai Trail (http://www.hawaii-guide.com/big_island_of_hawaii/spot/muliwai_z_trail_waimanu_valley) on the Big Island.
(The week before that I'll be hiking the Kalalau Trail (http://www.kalalautrail.com/information.html) on Kauai)
You're welcome to join me; I'll even let you stay at my condo in Kona... :sun

[rocketsocks]

second week in feb in the north east(but not to north)45 degrees.......take it to the bank.:-?

[bigcranky]

You could thru-hike a large chunk of the Florida National Scenic Trail.

[Johnny Thunder]

thanks for the offer, jack. i appreciate it. though, part of planning a hike during that stretch is to save money over, say, city living or traveling to far-off tropical locales.

basically, have from new years through late march (when i'll meet up with my buddy to warm him up on the AT before we head west for the regular hiking season).

i see my options as:

florida trail

pinhoti trail

benton mackaye trail

mountains to sea trail

harper's south to springer

all have varying degrees of weather concerns...what other trails might be ideal in that window?

[wtmntcaretaker]

what about the AZ trail?

[Johnny Thunder]

definitely a thought. i'm concerned about the high-desert in winter for a lot of reasons. deep, unpredictable snow storms. lack of water sources. long miles on short days. but yeah, that should have made the list...thanks for the reminder.

[Cookerhiker]

How about the Ouachita or Ozark Highlands Trail - Arkansas & Oklahoma. Shouldn't be as cold as the AT.

[Cookerhiker]

Also there's the Sheltowee Trace in KY but personally I wouldn't hike it until March 1 unless the late winter is mild. About 280 miles. Info. here (http://www.sheltoweetrace.org/) There are also threads on it in WB's "Other Trails" forum. A recent guide to services is available.

[camojack]

thanks for the offer, jack. i appreciate it. though, part of planning a hike during that stretch is to save money over, say, city living or traveling to far-off tropical locales.
Well, since your location is currently showing as South Korea, I figured that Hawaii was closer to there than those other places that you mentioned... :confused:

[Johnny Thunder]

yeah yeah. i guess i should have given a little more about the how and why of that time...

i'll be leaving here in august, doing 3 months in nepal on my way home. then home for the holidays. so, i have from the new year until pct day zero to fill. and i will be state-side so something on the east coast is probably the cheapest as far as travel goes.

[sbhikes]

If you're in California, you could hike in the Sespe Wilderness. I was there during Thanksgiving week hiking the Gene Marshall Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail (whew, hoity-toity name for an 18 mile trail.) It was gorgous. The trail was all covered in snow. We followed bear tracks. No other people. Sunny days. This weekend we did a hike not to far from there and could see that that whole trail was probably snow-free. It rained yesterday so it's probably all covered in snow again. The Sespe Wilderness also has hot springs. The low areas aren't good during heavy rain storms, though.

[rocketsocks]

North Korea

[Johnny Thunder]

you're telling me, sister. there's some sort of korean ridgeline trail that begins twenty minutes from my house and continues into the chinese mainland. i imagine that it's conceptual...mostly linking existing mountains/state parks into a semi-contiguous south of the border. up north is any man's guess. could be they built the trail just to show soko how much better they are at building people's things...could be they burnt the trail or ate it. it's named after a dragon or a tiger or something.

[Rasty]

The north korean trail has a leisure suit outfitters around mile thirty. They first eat your food to help your pack weight, then offer needed advise on new e-vent or gortex leisure suits.

[Papa D]

William Bartram Trail? - might be brisk weather, but of snow and so forth but probably doable as a winter hike.

[Papa D]

Benton MacKaye Trail - 300 miles? - ambitious but would be a nice winter hike - def. hit some snow and tricky weather
Foothills Trail - great romp in SC / NC - 70 miles - I did it in 4 days easy - a little shorter - fun

[Johnny Thunder]

starting to think that i'll link the pinhoti trail to the bmt to the mst ending somewhere north-east of boone. then heading back towards the asheville area to meet my friend to warm up for the pct.

[rocketsocks]

second week in feb in the north east(but not to north)45 degrees.......take it to the bank.:-?So you've always wanted to predict the weather.........now you can!Ask me how? $1.oo/thats one dollar,find out now.