View Full Version : January Thru Hiker Needs Company
In celebration of my 70th birthday I intend to start at Springer in mid January and finish at Katahdin after its opening, June 1. So far, I am a group of one, looking to gather a few more by departure time. Otherwise, I'll just count on later encounters along the trail. Respond here if you are interested in joining me. I'm hlsodom on FB.:banana
kayak karl
09-11-2012, 16:45
5 of us left springer in January. by Hiawathi we were completely separated. its a very hard time of year to hike with someone.
i wish you a good hike and happy birthday.
kk
Just knowing I'm not the only fool is comfort enough.
Moose2001
09-11-2012, 16:52
Wow Pops.....you're way tougher than I. You couldn't pay me to start in mid-Jan! YMMV :)
kayak karl
09-11-2012, 16:57
there is a new years eve party on springer every year. somebody always starts then and many just hike to neel gap.
Good luck with your hike and dress warm.
Happy Birthday, POPS. I've about given up the idea of a thur in the near future at least -maybe when I'm 70 ;) , but I have been been contemplating a section in the south in January.
Nothing set in stone yet but I'm favoring nobo from Neels Gap. Hope to see you out there. Good luck. I'd be interested in the prep you've made to tackle a winter start.
takethisbread
09-11-2012, 20:25
In celebration of my 70th birthday I intend to start at Springer in mid January and finish at Katahdin after its opening, June 1. So far, I am a group of one, looking to gather a few more by departure time. Otherwise, I'll just count on later encounters along the trail. Respond here if you are interested in joining me. I'm hlsodom on FB.:banana
I think u have a bad plan.
Finishing June 1 means going through the whites and Maine in late April and may and most years there is just so much snow still around that time of year. Deep snow I might add.
Why not start later and leave the January hiking for the younger crazy folk? Chances are the GSMNP is going to have significant snow as well. Last winter was small snow levels but a couple years before had several feet from Blood mountain to Damascus and beyond.
wornoutboots
09-11-2012, 20:39
Welcome & Happy Birthday POPS :welcome I started Springer on January 2nd this year & went to the NOC, it was a great hike!! Dress warm & keep an eye on the weather!! Be prepared to hole up in a hostle or hotel a little more in the Winter than any other time, other than that it's a Great Time to hike!! Best Wishes on an amazing journey!!
wornoutboots
09-11-2012, 20:41
BTW- I was hiking in 20 degree days & 60 degree days in the same week & several nights in the single digits...........mmmmmmmmmmmmmm Warm Down Bag : O )
.......Chances are the GSMNP is going to have significant snow as well. Last winter was small snow levels but a couple years before had several feet from Blood mountain to Damascus and beyond.
This is true.
Be prepared to spend some bad-weather-down-time in a town or off-trail unless you're Trailzilla.
Slo-go'en
09-11-2012, 22:34
I hope you know what your getting yourself into, cuz if you don't, don't go. Just keep in mind that very, very few people who start in January make it very far... OTOH, if your a seasoned hiker and no stranger to spending weeks hiking and camping in cold weather, then have fun and good luck!!
kayak karl
09-11-2012, 22:59
Slo-go'en is right. i made it Jan and Feb. the cold didn't get me, it was the +50 lb. weight loss in 60 days. you burn a ridiculous amount of calories. just drinking ice cold water burns about 100 a day.
tee shirt is start, then 43 days in
peakbagger
09-12-2012, 07:56
One heck of diet plan Kayak Karl. How about posting a six months post hike photo?
Realistically winter hiking requires triple the calories. Most winter camping courses recomend adding butter or squeeze parkay to every meal to bump the calorie count up.
kayak karl
09-12-2012, 10:45
6 months later i was at 210 hiking up north, but have never gone back to 230. i tried the olive oil/butter thing , but it just made everything fly thru me.
since then on winter hike a have been eating 5 meals to get the 5000. my doc told me that the older you get the harder it is for your body to accept changes in eating habits.
sincePOPS is probably not on a time schedule and he hasn't asked HOW MUCH MONEY :) i'd say go for it and have a great trip north. :)
KK
Monkeywrench
09-12-2012, 14:47
I'd be more concerned about being in the woods in Maine in the middle of May than I would about starting in January. Have you hiked with swarms of black flies before? The conventional wisdom is to stay out of the woods in northern New England between Mother's Day and Father's Day.
Also, in Vermont hikers are asked to stay off the trails between spring thaw and Memorial Day due to muddy conditions and greatly increased erosion damage. In the Whites you're likely to need crampons in sections in April. Even still, I don't know how you'd climb sections like the ascent of Wildcat with snow and ice on the rocks.
In the final analysis I guess these things make it tougher, but not impossible. If that's what you want to do, go for it.
HikerMom58
09-12-2012, 21:04
Slo-go'en is right. i made it Jan and Feb. the cold didn't get me, it was the +50 lb. weight loss in 60 days. you burn a ridiculous amount of calories. just drinking ice cold water burns about 100 a day.
tee shirt is start, then 43 days in
That's some crazy weight loss pics.....
:datzThanks for the wealth of well grounded advice. Here in Cajun country I have gained a healthy respect for our state bird, the mosquito. Black flies don't sound so good either. But I have to do my hiking in the cooler months, as the sun fries my brain. In a round of golf I generally lose at least one club. Expensive as well as an example of what it is like to do much out doors in the summer. I am in a little hurry to get this started. If I get knocked off the trail before I reach Katahdin, I'll either wait or give up. I know that I won't be getting any better at any of it. Time is not on my side. I am very patient, and I dearly love the simplicity of camping, the solitude of hiking and the beauty and challenge of nature. I am running out of good stories, and this trip aught to make a good many. My first alternative was to start Oct. 1 at the north end. The trail up Katahdin looks pretty steep, but that usually means I go slower. After all, it's not exactly impenetrable. You've opened me to suggestions. Thanks, P0PS. pronounced
Pzerops:-?
forrest!
09-13-2012, 21:43
If you are worried avoiding the heat and running out of time, you could look at some of the non-traditional plans for thru hiking. The ATC has a good list (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/thru-section-hiking/when-where-to-start): http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/thru-section-hiking/when-where-to-start. Looks like a couple of them are designed to avoid the heat.
Stroke of common sense. I celebrate every day that I am reminded how unready I would have been. I am now working on the forty pound weight limit and looking for a "comparable" location for a shake-down trip. Departure from Springer is now set for March 18. Looking for fellow trekers.
takethisbread
11-30-2012, 07:28
Stroke of common sense. I celebrate every day that I am reminded how unready I would have been. I am now working on the forty pound weight limit and looking for a "comparable" location for a shake-down trip. Departure from Springer is now set for March 18. Looking for fellow trekers.great news!
you will have plenty of company and great weather although you will still run into some snow it wont stop you. The smokies in January is pretty tough. have fun
You're a brave soul, POPS, and I wish you luck if you decide to go ahead with this plan. Sounds like the hardest possible way to do the AT, though. Brrrrrr.
SawnieRobertson
11-30-2012, 12:00
Congratulations on your "stroke of common sense." So, when is your birthday, and where do you suspect you will be when it occurs?--Kinnickinic
Slo-go'en
11-30-2012, 16:57
Yes, starting in Mid March is a *much* better plan. When it starts to get too hot (and it will), skip up to MA or VT where it's cooler. You don't want to crap out and go home in the Mid-atlantic states and miss New England. It probably a good thing most of the wanna be thru-hikers don't make it up here, but it's a shame they miss it.
In celebration of my 70th birthday I intend to start at Springer in mid January and finish at Katahdin after its opening, June 1. So far, I am a group of one, looking to gather a few more by departure time. Otherwise, I'll just count on later encounters along the trail. Respond here if you are interested in joining me. I'm hlsodom on FB.:banana
By the time you reach the top of Springer, you'll realize "We're not in Baton Rouge any more, Toto". :)
It was cold up there on March 7th, 2006 (slush in water bottles in morning - it can get colder).
Best of luck to you, young feller!
Once you take a couple of months off (Jan. and Feb.) you might just have a nice hike. ;)
If I had my druthers, I'd druther head north sometime in April (I hear the flowers are much nicer than dead, dry, brown leaves and snow).
You'll need some of this..........:sun If you make it to New England shoot me a PM here and I'll buy you a meal.
Best of luck Pops - get your shakedown at Neil 's Gap and shed a few pounds...40 pounds is more than you need and a lighter pack will feel good after carrying it for the first thirty miles from Springer.Hope to catch up with you later on as I have to finish up the trail in August/September from New YOrk State to Katahdin. I'll be hiking on puppy legs but at least I'll be through "rocksylvania".
I sure miss the woods........
Stroke of common sense. I celebrate every day that I am reminded how unready I would have been. I am now working on the forty pound weight limit and looking for a "comparable" location for a shake-down trip. Departure from Springer is now set for March 18. Looking for fellow trekers.
POPS>> I am a 63 yr old that has a good chunck of the AT under my belt .. I live in Dallas Tx area ...If you would like to do a shake down hike on the ouachita trail in Arkansas in Dec or Jan send me a PM ....I am up for any type of hike you want ( a couple of days or a week plus.)... we could leave a car at each end and hike from one car to the next... Let me know
Old Man River
(alias TEXMAN on Whir=te Blaze)
takethisbread
12-04-2012, 10:18
You know a thing or two about hiking in the deep snow in Georgia and Carolina :)
POPS>> I am a 63 yr old that has a good chunck of the AT under my belt .. I live in Dallas Tx area ...If you would like to do a shake down hike on the ouachita trail in Arkansas in Dec or Jan send me a PM ....I am up for any type of hike you want ( a couple of days or a week plus.)... we could leave a car at each end and hike from one car to the next... Let me know
Old Man River
(alias TEXMAN on Whir=te Blaze)
magic_game03
12-06-2012, 17:31
Pops, I left on my third thru on Dec 29th. You will be lucky to even find a hunter, much less a weekender. I expect you will find registers in shelters that will let you know who's (thru's) around. I had to snowshoe about 600 miles of AT that year. Be sure you have a pair of snow shoes in a bump box or be ready to spend a lot of time town waiting for snow to melt. Also the trail is VERY icy. You will find long slides of ice, sometimes for miles, which will require some great foot work or crampons, 4-point insteps or microspikes. I'd stay away from the yack-tracks they were useless.