Help Plan a Mid-March Trip!

[karnak]

Howdy,

A couple of buddies and I are planning on doing the Zion traverse over spring break (starting March 10th). The average lows are 36 and highs are 63. As we have started to plan a bit more we have been wondering about snow. The temperatures do not bother us but we do not have much experience hiking in the snow at all and would like to avoid it if possible. So until we here back from the park rangers we are going to try and plan something else as a back-up.

Some info: we are more or less experienced (backpack often but havent thru'd or anything) and there is one of us who has never gone before. We are all athletic and would have no problem doing 10-15 miles a day (I am assuming for the one who has never been) Also we are equipped for sleeping down to the high twenties at the coldest (30 degree quilts plus other layers).

Lastly, we would like to keep it with a 20 hour drive from us, which limits the area to the southern part of the states excluding So Cal and western AZ. But this includes the southern parts of the AT.

What would yall recommend? Looking for a fun scenic adventure with solitude. Any information is greatly appreciated! :banana

[Cookerhiker]

You didn't say what part of the huge state of Texas you're starting from so for order of magnitude, I google-mapped Dallas to Knoxville and came up with 12 hours, well within your 20 hour threshold. But the major consideration regarding mid-March is that the AT is teeming with would-be thruhikers from Georgia through the Smokies. There goes your "solitude."

It's a 14 1/2 hour drive to Damascus, VA so you could consider the AT through Grayson Highlands. It's 75 miles from Damascus to the crossing of I-81 near Atkins and you can obtain a shuttle from WB's Lone Wolf who lives in Damascus. But given your reluctance to hike in snow, this is a crapshoot. It's still winter; the Grayson Highlands go over 5,000' in elevation. The AT has shelters so at least you can avoid setting up tents in snow, assuming shelter space is available. You wouldn't have total "solitude" but there'd be less people than 1 month later.

If you want an even greater chance of solitude, you could hike between the I-81 crossing and Pearisburg, VA, a distance of 87 miles. But again, snow is still a potential issue. I hiked this stretch in snow (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=89307) and actually met a Spring breaker at a shelter one night. But I had to skip the 4,000+' Chestnut Knob because of the drifts.

You may want to look into Big Bend or Guadalupe Mountains NPs. I've hiked in both but only backpacked one night in Big Bend because I didn't want to carry gallons of water.

Your other possibilities are the Ouachita Trail and Ozark Highlands Trail, both mostly in Arkansas and partly in Oklahoma. I've hiked 46 miles of the latter. No snow to worry about and March is a good time of year to hike them but be prepared for fords, especially on the Ozark. To learn more about these trail, go to Other Trails forum (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?105-Other-Trails) and use the Search feature.

Edit: I missed the part about not wanting to sleep below the high 20s. That pretty much rules out the AT for mid-March. I suggest you seriously consider the Ozark Highlands Trail (http://www.ozarkhighlandstrail.com/) in Arkansas.

[karnak]

Cookerhiker,

Thanks for the info!

The high twenties does limit us unfortunately because I am essentially equipping my roommate with my extra gear we simply dont have the necessaries to stay warm. I have looked into Ouachita before but overlooked it, I will check that out.

Any other recommendations are always appreciated!

And we are coming from College Station by the way, sorry I didnt mention that.

[Son Driven]

I will take a snow storm over a cold driving rain any time. A cold driving rain tends to find it's way past my rain gear more easily then a snow fall. So if your gear can protect you against a driving rain, you will be fine in a snow storm.

[karnak]

I will take a snow storm over a cold driving rain any time. A cold driving rain tends to find it's way past my rain gear more easily then a snow fall. So if your gear can protect you against a driving rain, you will be fine in a snow storm.


I agree totally. I dont have any issue hiking in the snow at all, in fact, I would much prefer snow to cold rain. But what I do not want is to have to post hole because we dont have the gear for it, also we can get down to the mid twenties at night but nothing in the teens, which usually accompanies snowy days.

Thanks for the replies!

[Cookerhiker]

...Any other recommendations are always appreciated!...

I overlooked the obvious: the western end of the Florida Trail. Pensacola is less than 10 hours from College Station (depending on the NOLA traffic, LOL). A good starting point for Florida Trail info is the WB forum http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?454-Florida-Trail

Here's a link to the Ozark Highlands Trail (http://www,ozarkhighlandstrail.com/) of which I hiked the westernmost 46 miles last March. The weather there, as everywhere last year, was unseasonably warm and since our hike followed 2 days of hard rain, we had numerous fords. The website will provide shuttle info.

[karnak]

Ah Florida looks interesting!

Thanks for the info guys! Anymore suggestions out there?

[Venchka]

New Mexico. Four Corners. Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Big Bend-never mind, the place will be overrun for Spring Break. However, finding water can be a problem.
Stay at moderate elevations and you shouldn't have any problems with snow or temperatures.
Call ahead to find out about snow conditions. "Zion Traverse"-Zion National Park? Call the rangers. They can give you better information than any of us can.
Have fun!

Wayne

[joshuasdad]

I'm sure that you could find a good loop hike in the Grand Canyon area. Should be relatively warm in the canyon. Sedona area might also be a possibility, though I have only done day hikes there.

You could also do southern portions of the PCT, as the southern starting point for that is closer than Zion. Water would likely be an issue, unless you cache it. (disclaimer: besides reading Skywalker's book, have no knowledge of the PCT).

[karnak]

New Mexico. Four Corners. Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Big Bend-never mind, the place will be overrun for Spring Break. However, finding water can be a problem.
Stay at moderate elevations and you shouldn't have any problems with snow or temperatures.
Call ahead to find out about snow conditions. "Zion Traverse"-Zion National Park? Call the rangers. They can give you better information than any of us can.
Have fun!

Wayne

Thanks!

We kind of ruled out Big Bend due to water issues and also spring break crowds. Also I havent been able to find much information on New Mexico aside from the PCT running through it, I am unaware of any good loops. I do know there are prolly a lot but I just do not know of any.

[karnak]

I'm sure that you could find a good loop hike in the Grand Canyon area. Should be relatively warm in the canyon. Sedona area might also be a possibility, though I have only done day hikes there.

You could also do southern portions of the PCT, as the southern starting point for that is closer than Zion. Water would likely be an issue, unless you cache it. (disclaimer: besides reading Skywalker's book, have no knowledge of the PCT).

Have you done any loops in the GC that you would recommend? we are open to anything at this point! I will check out Sedona never heard of it thanks for the lead.

[Cookerhiker]

...You could also do southern portions of the PCT, as the southern starting point for that is closer than Zion. Water would likely be an issue, unless you cache it. (disclaimer: besides reading Skywalker's book, have no knowledge of the PCT).

His opening post stated he didn't want to consider California.

The Grand Canyon requires permits and at this point, it may be too short a notice. I'd imagine they fill up fast.

[Venchka]

Thanks!

We kind of ruled out Big Bend due to water issues and also spring break crowds. Also I havent been able to find much information on New Mexico aside from the PCT running through it, I am unaware of any good loops. I do know there are prolly a lot but I just do not know of any.

From the Dark Ages: Write or call a National Forest headquarters, weeks/months ahead of your intended trip dates, and request a map of the national forest. Put together a loop trip. The Gila National Forest in South Central New Mexico will probably satisfy most of your requirements. Within the Gila N.F. you will find the Gila Wilderness (the first in the nation) and the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
If you are looking for a pre-packaged, marked, supported by Internet Forums, trail system in the Rockies, Fugetaboutit. The exception is the Continental Divide Trail. However, that system doesn't get the attention that the AT gets.


The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (in short Continental Divide Trail) is a United States (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)National Scenic Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Scenic_Trail) running 3,100 miles (5,000 km) between Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico) andCanada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada). It follows the Continental Divide of the Americas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_of_the_Americas) along the Rocky Mountains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains) and traverses five U.S. states (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state) — Montana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana), Idaho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho), Wyoming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming), Colorado (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado), and New Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico). In Montana it crosses Triple Divide Peak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Divide_Peak_(Montana)) which separates the Hudson Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Bay), Atlantic Ocean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean) and Pacific Ocean (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean)drainages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage).The trail is a combination of dedicated trails and small roads and considered 70% complete. Portions designated as uncompleted must be traveled roadwalking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadwalking) on dirt or paved roads.
Only about two dozen people a year attempt to hike the entire trail, taking about six months to complete it. As of 2008, no equestrians have managed to ride the entire trail in a single year, although several "long riders" have tried.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)] German long distance rider Günter Wamser (on his way from Tierra del Fuego (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tierra_del_Fuego) to Alaska (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska)[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail#cite_note-1)), and Austrian Sonja Endlweber (who joined him for the rest of the journey from Mexico) managed to complete the tour with four Bureau of Land Management (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management) mustangs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_(horse)) in three summers 2007–2009.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail#cite_note-2)
In 2007, Francis Tapon became the first person to do a round backpacking trip "Yo-Yo" on the Continental Divide Trail when he thru-hiked from Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico) to Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) and back to Mexico along the CDT and needed 7 months to finish it.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail#cite_note-3)[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_Trail#cite_note-4)
The Continental Divide Trail along with the Appalachian Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Trail) and the Pacific Crest Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail) form the Triple Crown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Crown_of_Hiking) of long distance hiking in the United States.
This trail can be continued North into Canada to Kakwa Lake (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kakwa_Lake&action=edit&redlink=1) north of Jasper National Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_National_Park) by the Great Divide Trail (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divide_Trail), which is so far described only in a few books and carries no official Canadian status.

When travelling West, it pays to do your own research. In advance. We can't know what you are looking for in terms of terrain, scenery, etc.
The Zion Traverse wouldn't get much publicity without the Race. I'm sure that it is a great hike. All of Southern Utah is a great hike waiting for individuals to discover their own private place. If you go to Zion, you will have driven through several lifetimes of great hiking possibilities. From morning strolls to all out expedition grade journeys.
Have fun. Be safe. Tell us all about it when you return.

Wayne

[karnak]

Wayne,

Thanks for the response. The "PCT" was a typo, I meant CDT. I happened to be talking about the PCT while typing and typed what I was saying not thinking haha.

I just saw the Gila, I will check it out this weekend to see if that would work for the trip, I have never hiked in NM and would love to.

At the moment it is looking like our trip is turning into a road trip that will hit a bunch of national parks and doing day hikes with maybe a overnighter, but until I have a significant amount of time away from schoolwork I wont be able to really sit down and plan it or do any research.

I want to be on trail for a few days at least but regardless it will be an adventure!

[etboy]

From the south rim of the grand canyon you could hike down the south kaibab trail, to the river then up the north side to the cottonwood campground, total 15 miles. Your chances of getting a reservation at the campground at the river, are probably slim at this point, but cottonwood I would think might have space, being as the north rim is shut till mid may or so. Hiking back, retrace your steps to the river, then ascend via the bright angel trail, total 17 miles. Its better to do it in this direction, in my opinion, as their is water on the bright angel, but none on the steep south kaibab. This, again in my opinion, is one of the 'great hikes' in the world. Having said that, I would be awfully tempted by Zion, without question, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

[Malto]

There is a group over at backpackinglight that is doing a trans-Zion trail run Saturday. You could check out their post run reports to get some real time conditions. I am doing the I-81 to Pearsiburg section on the AT that cooker mentioned. I could give you a full condition report Sunday.