Itinerary and start date suggestions

[beeper]

I am pretty lucky in that I can get time off from my job for a thru hike. The logistical problem is that the earliest I can get leave is September 1st and I need to be back to work on July 1st. I would like to spend 5+ months hiking the trail and have a few weeks cushion on the back end so I would want to finish by mid June at the latest. I could realistically start on September 1st.

I think these dates mean I miss the traditional NOBO or SOBO itineraries, which as far as I am concerned is great since it leaves some beautiful, albeit cold, off season weather for my hike and fewer people. I grew up in the Whites and have a fair amount of winter hiking/camping experience. I would prefer not to be in the Whites in the middle of the winter. I have also spent some time in Shenandoah in the winter and that seems reasonable to me. I have no winter experience in the Smokies.

I have considered a late season SOBO (start September 1st), an early season NOBO (start January 1st), and a flip-flop to starting SOBO September 1st until MA and then NOBO to try and avoid the coldest weather.

I am looking for suggested itineraries.

[fredmugs]

It would help to know your level of experience and fitness. SOBO means doing the tougher part first but if you do do 15 miles per day until you get thru the Whites and 20 miles a day or more after that I would just start SOBO on Sept 1 and keep going.

[beeper]

For experience, I have done lots of 3-5 day hiking trips (longest being the Wonderland trailin WA) and a dozen or so 10+ day back country climbing/mountaineering trips. My fitness should be fine for 15 miles a day through the Whites. Covering 20 miles a day after that with short days, winter gear and possible snow would be physically hard for me. Further, I think that is a faster pace then I want/need to set. I want to take my time (at least at the beginning).

[moldy]

I don't think the deficiencies in you schedule can be remediated. Let's say you started North from Glencliff New Hampshire and hiked to trails end in Maine 400 miles later. You must arrive prior to Baxter's State Park's 15 October closing. Having achieved that, now starts the difficult part. Return to Glencliff and head South for 1800 miles through the Winter. Even on a mild Winter this is too far. While one can easily camp in deep snow, he can't hike in deep snow. While he may make a few miles progress for a huge effort it will quickly drain his energy. Your plan calls for too much danger, too much misery. Why not hike in the Southern Hemisphere? Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Chile? All have excellent trails.

[VTATHiker]

I started sobo on August 19th and finished comfortably in December. A fella who caught up to me in Vermont started September 1st and finished roughly December 13th. He was a solid distance runner - not someone the average person wants to base their itinerary on. Still, if I was in your position I would start sobo and go all the way. The weather in Georgia in December and early January can be rough, but by the time you get that far you'll be conditioned to the colder temps and geared up for it. Besides, do you really think you'll be able to hold off until January when you can start the trail in September?

[max patch]

My initial thought is that I would break this hike up into 2 long sections. Start 9/1 at Springer and hike until the weather says stop. Take 3 months (or whatever) off and resume.

[beeper]

Moldy, where am I going to hit continuous deep snow? I figured for the flip-flop I would start at Katahdin to avoid the chance of closure and head south to the MA border arriving around November 1st. That should be ahead of any bad snow. Then flip-flop and head north from Springer. This would put me in Damascus by the middle of December and I think ahead of the snow. Am I going to hit lots of snow before December or snow in VA? If instead of the flip-flop I just kept heading south, how bad will the snow be?

[Odd Man Out]

I started sobo on August 19th and finished comfortably in December. A fella who caught up to me in Vermont started September 1st and finished roughly December 13th. He was a solid distance runner - not someone the average person wants to base their itinerary on. Still, if I was in your position I would start sobo and go all the way. The weather in Georgia in December and early January can be rough, but by the time you get that far you'll be conditioned to the colder temps and geared up for it. Besides, do you really think you'll be able to hold off until January when you can start the trail in September?

Or just SoBo as far as weather allows and see how far you get. Then take a few months off and finish (SoBo or NoBo) in the spring/early summer. You never know what the weather will be. You have 10 month and a typical thru hike is only 5 to 6 months and could be shorter if you are a strong hiker in the off-season, so you would have plenty of time. No need to freeze you butt off, unless you really like winter hiking.

[max patch]

I'm no expert on weather in the Whites, but if I going to SOBO starting on 9/1 I'd certainly research what kind of weather I could expect to hit in the Whites as well as worst case scenario weather which you should be equipped to handle.

[moldy]

After 1 November the Winter storms will start up. Expect 2 or 3 per month from Mass to the South. A big storm will dump a foot or more of snow and make things miserable. The real show stoppers could come at you in Dec and Jan when you enter higher elevations in Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. If you want to see a good example of what it could like go to Trail Journals.com, completed thru hikes, a hiker named Solo, 29 Oct and for a few days later. He did return later and complete his hike. Fresh deep snow is impossible to hike more than a few miles in. Deep snow that is consolidated can be hiked on. It takes about 2 weeks for it to consolidate and pack down. With the dates you have, you will need to be lucky with the weather. Only a quarter of hikers who hike thru the Summer make it. A Las Vagas bookmaker would give you less than 10% chance.

[Slo-go'en]

The general trend which seems to be happening lately is for mild fall weather up until about the middle of November and then look out. Winters are getting shorter, but much more intense while it lasts. This winter looks to be shaping up to be a whooper.

We've already had January like temps and conditions here in the Whites and it's not quite Thanksgiving yet. Like last night. Temps in the teens, strong winds pushing wind chill well below zero. Of course, now it's gonna warm up just enough to drop a lot of rain before it goes back to really, really cold. If this storm tracks just a little farther east we'd be looking at feet of snow.

Even in the central and southern Appalachians, once well into November the weather starts to get crazy. These conditions are not for the faint of heart.

[T.S.Kobzol]

I am curious...most of the trails in the whites are usually broken from many a winter hiker around here (although not necessarily the AT all the way...how is it down south in the Smokies or Tennessee? Is there an active winter hiking contingent? Snowshoeing?

Sent from my vivid imagination and delusions of grandeur

[Kaptain Kangaroo]

I started March 3rd and finished July 12th. You could easily start a few weeks earlier & be done by July 1. This does put you in line for some cold weather at the start, but nothing as bad or extended as hiking right through winter. This is a faster than average pace, but you don't need to be an ultra runner to do a 4 month hike. Just start out fit, don't carry a ridiculous heavy pack, go easy on the zero days & keep a consistent pace (18/19 mpd will do it)...... I would do the same schedule if I hiked again.

[4eyedbuzzard]

My initial thought is that I would break this hike up into 2 long sections. Start 9/1 at Springer and hike until the weather says stop. Take 3 months (or whatever) off and resume.
OP needs to finish by mid June. Hiking north from Springer until winter weather hits means finishing approx 600 of the trail's toughest miles VT, NH, and ME in late April, May, early June, which (if not impossible) is just not realistic. Trail maintainers will not have been out yet, there will be snow/melt, mud, streams, black flies, blowdowns, etc. Not a good time to hike in New England.
Better plan for an average pace might be to hike SOBO from Katahdin, Sept, Oct, Nov, and evaluate weather and conditions and perhaps even get off the trail for a few months around Harpers Ferry, and then finish NOBO from Springer in March, April, and May.