Late February vs early April start?

[Brian3211]

The more I read, the more I wonder if I should start in April. I was planning on a Feb 27th start that way I could beat the crowds but still meet other hikers. But the more I read about how the weather could be bad and how I could be snowed in for a few days has me wondering if I should start in April. So my questions are:

1) If I start in late February how long will it take for things to start blooming? I dont mind hiking in winter woods for a little while but I also want to be out there to enjoy the warm weather and the beauty of the nature at its fullest.

2) How much of a crowd is there going to be if I start around April 1st-10th? I don't want to be at the end of the pack but I would also like to have room at hostels or shelters if I need them. I want to meet other hikers, I just don't want to be in the middle of a crowd.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Moose2001]

IMHO April is the best time to start. More and more hikers are starting in Feb to "beat the crowd". The crowd now seems earlier and earlier. April weather is good. You see the leaves and flowers earlier in your hike. You won't be the back but you won't be in the "herd" either. Still plenty of time to make it to Katahdin as well.

[Slo-go'en]

It doesn't start to turn green along the ridges until late April. If you start in late Feb or even early March, you'll have no shade and boring brown trail for a good month and a half.

If you start in early April, it will only be a few weeks before you start to see wild flowers and flowering trees. By mid May, the "green tunnel" will have started to obscure the views, but it won't matter since you'll be into Virginia. You'll have warmer and less inclemate weather to deal with. If you start on April 1st or so and have a typically pace, you'll hit all the major trail magic events and arrive at Damascus just as trail days start.

Yes, the shelters will be full and a lot busier at first then if you start earlier, but it thins out pretty quickly.

[Spirit Walker]

If I were to thruhike again, I would start around April 10. I like green leaves and flowers and birds in the trees. I hate hiking on icy trails. A couple of years ago we did a short section hike, starting at Springer, on March 1. It was a very popular weekend to start a hike, despite the fact that it snowed several inches that night. 20 or so started Saturday, 28 on Sunday, and 15 or 20 on the Monday. So starting earlier isn't necessarily going to mean few people. Seems that most hikers these days do start in Feb. or March, despite the chance of bad weather leading to several days townbound or causing an injury that ends your hike.

[moldy]

The odds on making it all the way to Maine go way up by starting in April. I used to belong to a fantasy hiking league, we each picked a 10 person team from Trail Journals. You score 1 point per mile for each member of your team as they head up the trail. We did this for about 6 years. It did not take long to learn to avoid picking team members who started early. Most of the time they would run into extended bad weather lose heart and quit. Now that does not account for every hiker or account for good weather Winters. But, gererally speaking, hikers who start in April will do better than hikers who start in February.

[robertblake60]

Geeze, you're making me regret starting my hike on 3/9.

[jj2044]

HAHA robertblake60, dont worry just do it... i started march 10th this last year and we had GREAT weather.. but i was told it wasnt a "normal" year. just be prepared, and have a plan for if u do get into bad weather and you will be fine

[Slo-go'en]

Geeze, you're making me regret starting my hike on 3/9.

Not too late to delay it. The last winter was pretty mild, not so this year.

[yellowsirocco]

If you accept the fact that it is going to be cold and you have to carry much more warm clothing then you can do fine. The problem is when people try to go UL early. You can easily live comfortably in the woods at that time if you take it slow with a big pack. My pack for Feb is 45 pounds and includes a huge synthetic insulated parka as well as a Michelin man down jacket among other things. When I get to camp in February I pull out my big parka people are jealous. They shiver around a fire and go to sleep early while I just hang out. Everyone is so eager to make miles that they have to cut the pack weight and live miserably. You can wait on spring in the woods and take a little chunk out of the miles at the same time. Basically see Tipi Walter.

[Brian3211]

How crowded do you guys think it will be in April? And something I have been wondering for awhile now, How much does it "thin out" and how long does it take? Thanks guys.

[map man]

This is a link to a database Mountain Squid maintains here at WB that records the starting dates for WB members in the class of 2013:

http://www.whiteblaze.net/cmps.php?page=2013thruhikers

I'm guessing it's probably a fairly representative sample of all thru-hikers. Feb. 25 through April 7 is the period with the most NOBO starts, I have found from looking at trailjournals.com. If you want some company, but don't want a crowd, start sometime after the first week of April while staying away from starting around weekends or April 15th. This year, April 9-11 or April 17-18 might do the trick.

[robertblake60]

Not too late to delay it. The last winter was pretty mild, not so this year.

Oh, delaying it's not an option...I'll muscle through.

[robertblake60]

If you accept the fact that it is going to be cold and you have to carry much more warm clothing then you can do fine. The problem is when people try to go UL early. You can easily live comfortably in the woods at that time if you take it slow with a big pack. My pack for Feb is 45 pounds and includes a huge synthetic insulated parka as well as a Michelin man down jacket among other things. When I get to camp in February I pull out my big parka people are jealous. They shiver around a fire and go to sleep early while I just hang out. Everyone is so eager to make miles that they have to cut the pack weight and live miserably. You can wait on spring in the woods and take a little chunk out of the miles at the same time. Basically see Tipi Walter.

Yeah, I'm bringing extra clothes for a while. I'm pretty used to Chicago winters (it was 0 degrees yesterday), and I rarely wear a coat here (although my trips usually only last about 5 minutes outdoors). Just a sweatshirt usually. Next really cold day we have I'm going to get out and walk for a couple of hours in my gear and see how I hold up.

[yellowsirocco]

Yeah, I'm bringing extra clothes for a while. I'm pretty used to Chicago winters (it was 0 degrees yesterday), and I rarely wear a coat here (although my trips usually only last about 5 minutes outdoors). Just a sweatshirt usually. Next really cold day we have I'm going to get out and walk for a couple of hours in my gear and see how I hold up.

After your walk go to the park and cook a trail dinner on your camp stove and just sit there like you are in camp. Try to recreate the experience as best you can, maybe leave your windows open at night as well.

[Brian3211]

Will I be able to drop my cold weather gear by starting in april? Or will I still need to bring my down jacket and base layers?

[bigcranky]

It can still be pretty cold at night in April. The second coldest night I ever had on the trail was in mid-April; it got into the single digits (F) in the Mt Rogers area in Virginia. But the usual weather is 30s at night and 50-70s during the day. Also there is a big difference between the first week and the last week in April, and major differences depending on elevation. So the Smokies in early April is way colder than the last 50 miles into Damascus in late April. It's the difference between the remnants of real winter versus a beautiful, warm, early spring day.

I bring my lighter down parka rather than my big winter down jacket, and my 30-F bag rather than my 0. I still bring light long johns and a microfleece zip-tee, and a warm fleece hat and gloves. It's late winter, but it's still winter, especially if you are starting at Springer on April 1.

[takethisbread]

Will I be able to drop my cold weather gear by starting in april? Or will I still need to bring my down jacket and base layers?
it will still be cold often in April all the way through Roan Mountain. Last year, although snowfall was not significant, there was still plenty of very cold mornings and quite of few cold and wet days all the way to almost may. you will need that warm clothing for your wetness more than the temperature. Hold onto your cold gear at least till you get past Mt Rogers is what i would suggest, with a April 1 start that should be around early May. Starting April 1-30 seems like the ideal launch point IMO as you get better weather, more flowers and birds, less gear to carry, still plenty of folks around but not crazy numbers at shelters (it is not uncommon in March to see 4-5 dozen folks at one shelter in the smokies). You get longer days, and still gives you 6.5 months to get to Katahdin. It gets you into New England during the Summer months, when the weather is better and the Black Flies are mostly gone.

[Brian3211]

Thanks for all the help, I think I am going to wait until april to start now. Im so impatience though its going to be hard putting it off for another month or so. When does Katahdin close exactly?

[Slo-go'en]

Baxter state park officially "closes" October 15th. Which means you can't camp in the park until winter regulations go into effect, which I belive is Nov 1st. (then you need special permits) Katahdin can be closed to hiking at any time due to conditions. Conditions can become "iffy" around the end of September.

As far as spring weather in the south, there can be some chilly nights well into May. Don't be fooled by a few really warm days, chances are they aren't there for good yet. Around the 3d week of May is usually a good bet to send extra clothes home.

[stefanib123]

Ive been thinking about this, too. I think Ive decided a late start instead of early. Id rather deal with cold at the end than the beginning.