Best date to start?

[Wandering Deer]

I do my hiking in New Hampshire, so I'm used to cold weather - even in July!

I just went up Jefferson in June, and it was freezing even with the sun pouring down upon us.

[Wandering Deer]

i started the second week of March in 2010 and there were still large numbers on the trail, all the way until Harper's Ferry by which time many people had dropped out...especially if you're a slow starter needing to find your legs as many others will be passing you bye..
True enough, on the rainy days and evenings, when you might want to use the shelters and keep your tent gear dry, you may find yourself out of luck as many shelters only hold about six or eight people.
So my advice would be to start in early March, not April 1st with the major crowds, and enjoy the trail in the days and less stress in the evenings ...ypu may luck out and get no rain but don't count on it!
That should give you plenty of time to wrap it up in September.
Good luck!

Early March seems more sensible to me because it would give me a better time frame to finish before it gets quite cold in New England, but I'm just paranoid because when I did a section hike (MA - NY) last year, I met someone near the border of New York, and Connecticut who said he had been hiking in near knee deep snow throughout much of his time spent in the Smoky's.

[magneto]

I think we have to wait and see how this winter develops. It's just guessing until a few weeks before the actual date.

[dangerdave]

Exactly.

I'm planning for a first week of March departure---with a slow and easy start. But like magneto said, I'll keep an eye on next winter's weather trend in the few weeks prior. I can adjust my departure date by several weeks, and still jump off before most of the crowds. The rest of you will have to read all my goofy shelter log entries. I'm spammin' the lot of you!

"DANGER WAS HERE!"

[Scaper]

April 15 - May 10

[doug105]

You may also want to avoid the Black Fly season up north.Just something to consider.....

When is black fly season?

DougN

[Wandering Deer]

When is black fly season?

I believe it's June/July.

[sympathetic joy]

I've been playing with NOBO starting dates using Map Man's average time to hike data. I'm wondering about a May 1st starting time.

05/01/14	05/09/14	8.0	days	8.0		Springer	Georgia Border
05/09/14	05/16/14	7.9	days	15.9		Georgia Border	Fontana
05/16/14	06/10/14	24.4	days	40.3		Fontana	Damascus
06/10/14	07/09/14	28.7	days	69.0		Damascus	Waynesboro
07/09/14	07/20/14	11.2	days	80.2		Waynesboro	Harpers Ferry
07/20/14	08/08/14	19.2	days	99.4		Harpers Ferry	DWG
08/08/14	08/20/14	12.6	days	112.0		DWG	Kent
08/20/14	09/13/14	23.5	days	135.5		Kent	Glencliff
09/13/14	09/23/14	9.7	days	145.2		Glencliff	Gorham
09/23/14	10/03/14	9.9	days	155.1		Gorham	Stratton
10/03/14	10/16/14	13.7	days	168.8		Stratton	Katahdin

Aside from facing the deadline of Baxter State Park closing, are there any serious issues with this schedule? Granted its based on 'average' days to complete various sections and mileage may vary based on individual variances.

[DavidNH]

aim for mid to late March. Leave much later and you'll find crowds.

[CarlZ993]

I started my hike on 3/21/13. I wished I had started later. Snow & icy conditions at times. Some very cold nights. Tested my 15 deg bag's limits. Saw some people get hurt in the Smokies (bobsled run coming down from Clingman's Dome on 4/6/13). I met a hiker that started 9-10 days after me. He missed all that bad stuff that I hit. Each year can be different.

[RED-DOG]

For me i find starting early is better ( Mid FEB ) but i also like hiking in winter, if you really don't like the cold and snow i would recomend you start some time from the end of march to the first of may, but if you start that time of year prepare yourself to hike with and around HORDS of people.

[dangerdave]

I keep waffling over my start date mainly because I want to enjoy this journey as much as I can. I'm good in crowds---people don't bother me---or all by my lonesome. I'm going to hike from Georgia to Maine, alone or with others, regardless.

Given the right equipment, enough food and water, and keeping myself safe, all I have to decide how much personal interaction I want with others along the way. I may only get one chance at this in my lifetime. I don't want to come to Katahdin and think I missed out on a lot of the experience. Maybe I want to much from this: the events, the hostels, the hikers, the locals, the woods, the wildlife, the weather, the comradery, the solitude, the trail magic, and the triumphant finish!

Is that too much to ask?

[Wandering Deer]

For me i find starting early is better ( Mid FEB ) but i also like hiking in winter, if you really don't like the cold and snow i would recomend you start some time from the end of march to the first of may, but if you start that time of year prepare yourself to hike with and around HORDS of people.

How MUCH snow would I reasonably expect, though, starting in February? That's my main concern. I'm very schizophrenic when it comes to winter. I love winter, and love the cold, but you know what? I hate winter, and I hate the cold. If I was prepared for it, I wouldn't care much, because winter is outrageously gorgeous, but if I'm hiking in waist deep snow for an entire state, I would be absolutely miserable, and that's not what I want out of a thru-hike.

[HooKooDooKu]

How MUCH snow would I reasonably expect, though, starting in February? ...

Well, the GSMNP is where you encounter the start of the high mountains. A February start puts you in the Smokies early March. If you check the GSMNP web cam for the 1st day of March, you can see that half the time, there is light snow on the ground, half the time there is no snow to be seen. 2010 was the only year that it looks at all like the snow was deep.

[Hill Ape]

on a tuesday

[lemon b]

2nd week in April. Just keep the 0's down.

[permagrin]

Hi there Joy. If you start on May 1, 2015, I will see ya at the first blaze, as that is my starting time. Plus, its pretty cool that May 1 (....51515...) is also a numeric palindrome

[Speakeasy TN]

I started my hike on 3/21/13. I wished I had started later. Snow & icy conditions at times. Some very cold nights. Tested my 15 deg bag's limits. Saw some people get hurt in the Smokies (bobsled run coming down from Clingman's Dome on 4/6/13). I met a hiker that started 9-10 days after me. He missed all that bad stuff that I hit. Each year can be different.

Just to emphasize this point..... in '11 I started on 3/17 and I got dusted once in NC.

[inky]

Hi there Joy. If you start on May 1, 2015, I will see ya at the first blaze, as that is my starting time. Plus, its pretty cool that May 1 (....51515...) is also a numeric palindrome

hey jimdean, I'm planning on starting May 1st also!

[10-K]

First week of May.

1. Gives you 5 months with a ~2 week buffer
2. Less rain - miss rains-every-day April
3. Don't have to carry winter gear.
4. Miss mud season in New England
5. More daylight from day 1
6. Don't have to deal with a thru-bubble. Shelters won't look like Woodstock in the evening.