weather

[kai]

hello hello
im trying to plan out all my mail drops and am wondering about mailing clothing. How cold is it at the end of march in the south? ive heard accounts of snow and of 70 degree weather. basically does anyone have clothing suggestions for each section/month of the trip. Aiming for late march to early september thru hike

peace
kai

[MOWGLI]

At altitude it is very cold in the South in late March. I saw lows of around 15 degrees in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the last week in March, first week of April, with several inches of snow. That was in 2000. I carried winter gear to Pearisburg, VA, and froze my ass off (north of Pearisburg) in a fleece sleeping bag on several occasions. Anticipate freezing temps above 3500' nights through Mid-May.

You should get your winter gear back at Glencliff, NH in prep for the White Mountains.

Good luck.

[kai]

holy crap thats cold

[ganj]

I just want to second TNJED's advice. I was passing through the Blue Ridge Mountains (central VA) by later May and the temps at night dropped to the teens with some snow.

[Moose2001]

totally agree with both. In 2001, we went into the Smokies and it was 70 degrees. Sweating our butts off. Got up to Snowbird Mt (other side of Davenport Gap) and a cold front came through. Temp dropped from high 50s to 10 degrees, 30+MPH winds and snow in one night. Crossed Max Patch in a complete whiteout and blizzard. Oh what fun!!! If you read any of the 2002 journals, everyone was reporting single digits and wind at the end of March. You see people starting to drop cold weather gear at Damascus. Not me... Pearisburg at the earliest. Might be even later than that if it's a cold spring.