Are Microspikes a Convenience or Requiement in March?

[SCsurf98]

I plan on stepping off at Springer March 8. I have not yet purchased any Microspikes/Yaktrax or similar products. How much of the time can I expect to be carrying a set a spikes (vs. wearing them) from GA to VA?

Thanks for any advice!

[Tipi Walter]

It's a good question. I carried my Kahtoolas thru January and February and only used them once. Will I need them in March? Heck maybe, maybe not. Will I carry them? Probably. Remember, we got the Blizzard of '93 in mid March.

[Frye]

I plan on stepping off at Springer March 8. I have not yet purchased any Microspikes/Yaktrax or similar products. How much of the time can I expect to be carrying a set a spikes (vs. wearing them) from GA to VA?

Thanks for any advice!

Not a requirement, but possibly a convenience. Chances are you won't really have a use for them, but Tipi is correct, March has been known to surprise us.
Personally I wouldn't bring em, but some people do.

[bemental]

I plan on stepping off at Springer March 8. I have not yet purchased any Microspikes/Yaktrax or similar products. How much of the time can I expect to be carrying a set a spikes (vs. wearing them) from GA to VA?

Thanks for any advice!

I'll be right behind you leaving from the approach on the 9th. My hiking partner is taking a set, but I'm going without.

We'll see who's the smart one.

[Tipi Walter]

Alot of it has to do with overall pack weight. My weights generally average around 80 lbs for a 3 week winter trip and so the slightest slip is magnified a hundred fold as the pack always wants to fling me hard to the ground, ergo spikes comes in very handy. With a light pack weight they are not as important.

[saltysack]

Could throw a handful of sheet metal screws in ur pack....just incase could save ur arse...I wish I had traction last winter going over roan mtn...I carry a tiny Leatherman w screw driver to screw in if need be.


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[The Solemates]

I've hiked throughout my entire life in winter in the South through some crazy weather and never once have I used these things nor wish I had them.

[Tipi Walter]

I've hiked throughout my entire life in winter in the South through some crazy weather and never once have I used these things nor wish I had them.

It's amazing how both our experiences can be so different. I went 30 years without spikes and fell on ice and in snow on a near daily basis but I was younger and could give a crap. There's nothing like hitting a steep rocky section of trail (think Jacob's Ladder on the AT) covered in ice and snow and terminally frowning trying to figure out how to get myself and my refrigerator pack down this hell chute. Bung Abseil is the only way, i.e. on my puckered butt sliding down; that is until I got my Kahtoolas.

Microspikes change everything and now I don't fall down 98% of the time. They have 20 grip spikes and my worried frown is gone and I spend much less energy trying to stay upright.

[Walkintom]

In 2013 we had to get off trail in the Smokies in early April because of the ice. The outfitter in Gatlinbug had nothing of the sort left in stock - the cold weather and ice were unseasonally bad. We spent 3 days in town while waiting for ordered microspikes to arrive.

Oh, and I'd stay from Yaktrax. They tend to fall apart quickly in trail conditions whereas my Kahtoola microspikes are in great shape despite being used heavily for the last couple of winters and walking from ice to rock and back multiple times for as long as a half mile on rock without removing them.

[Tipi Walter]

Stumpknocker broke his arm coming down the AT on an icy section and I doubt he was wearing spikes.

Check it out---

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=125985

[saltysack]

Stumpknocker broke his arm coming down the AT on an icy section and I doubt he was wearing spikes.

Check it out---

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=125985

Haven seen anything from stump? Is he still trekking?


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[Another Kevin]

I can never get over the amount to which the climate varies on the trail. In March here Up North, even if you're not still up to your you-know-whats in snow, the compacted snow "monorail" on the trail will still be there. In March, I'd say not to bring Microspikes to some of the peaks here because they won't be enough. I have Black Diamond Contact crampons for those conditions. (My daughter prefers Grivel G12's.)

Ice and I don't get along, so I'd go with TW's recommendation and bring spikes. He's forgotten more about how to handle winter in southern Appalachia than I'll ever learn.

[TNhiker]

I hike in the same general area as tipi (although he prefers conditions more drastic than I do) and haven't used spikes just yet...

however there have been a few times I wished I had them....

but i do have a question about them----do the spikes easily dull?

as in, not this past weekend but the one before---the mountains had patches of snow and ice going up hill and then some clear patches.....and it would alternate like this for a few miles...

and i figured just like water crowsings, it would be time consuming to keep putting them on and off every couple of hundred feet or so...

so if I kept them on---and I realize it would depend upon how rocky the trail is----but was wondering if I kept them on, how quick would they dull?

[Tipi Walter]

I thought about this question and then realized the spikes are small and short and once worn down would probably require an entire replacement as there's just not that much to sharpen. Then again, the red rubber would probably break before the spikes get worn. At the rate I use mine (and yes I've used them in mud and leaves with a quarter inch of wet slushy snow), I doubt I'll ever wear them out unless I really slip somehow and break the rubber band.

[TNhiker]

yeah...

thats what i wanted to know...

not necessarily interested in sharpening, but just wonderin how much of a "life" they would have doing it this way...

or, in better terms----how quick would i have to replace them.....

[Tipi Walter]

You only have another month to worry about it and then pack them up until next year.

[TNhiker]

yeah.....and i wont be out much in the next month or so as ive got other things to deal with...

but, need to know for later in the year...

i just dont wanna have to buy a new set every few hikes or so.......

[The Solemates]

...trying to figure out how to get myself and my refrigerator pack down this hell chute.

that likely is part of the difference. even at my heaviest and during coldest weather I never carry more than 30 lb tops and usually less than this.

[Connie]

If the average distance for the AT to a road is 5 miles, a sprained ankle is a big deal.

[TNhiker]

If the average distance for the AT to a road is 5 miles, a sprained ankle is a big deal.

although, i didnt have a sprained ankle, i can attest to having a hard time getting out after an injury...

a few years ago, i was having GI problems and woke up outta my tent and had an easy 3 miles to do, but with the problems i was having---it took me every bit of 9 hours to get out....

one of the worst hikes i have had......