Are there any 2018 NOBO thru hikers starting mid February?

[tipcar]

I will be starting my thru hike in mid February 2018 between the 18th and 25th. I am pretty much able to leave whenever. I would like to find others to hike along with as I have never done winter hiking. I am a pretty skilled hiker and was born and raised in the East TN and western NC mountains. I have hiked 260 miles in the Smoky Mountains in the past month and I have hiked 14'rs in Colorado. My goal is to reach the end on July 8th to celebrate my 50th birthday. I am trying to pack light and my entire weight will be around 22 lbs. Which I think will be a good weight and as time goes by I can send things back home. I look forward to meeting others out on the trail.

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trail name (Forrest)

[DownEaster]

It's great to have a plan, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that you're flirting with black fly season to reach your proposed finish date. Does your gear list include full no-see-um protection for both your shelter and clothing? Wearing long sleeves, gloves, and beekeeper headgear is miserable in summer.

[gregp]

I'm thinking of starting Feb. 12 and trying to be done in the last half of June. I need to be back at work by July 1. Hope to see you out there!

[tipcar]

I do have long sleeve, head net and pants. Anytime I have hiked and there are black flies, you just keep moving. If you stop, you put on the head net.

[tipcar]

Keep in touch and let me know if you leave on the 12th. If you don't mind I might tag along. I wouldn't mind being in Maine by mid June.

[DownEaster]

Anytime I have hiked and there are black flies, you just keep moving. If you stop, you put on the head net.

In black fly season I keep the head net on even when I'm moving. These suckers are persistent, and they'll take advantage of your wind shadow to get you in the back of the neck.

[Slo-go'en]

Lots of hikers start in mid Feb, a few actually make it the whole way. Many are off the trail by the Smokies. It's a little premature to talk about how horrible it is to be hiking in Maine during June (and it can be pretty horrible).

[tipcar]

I watched people hiking on YouTube in June in Maine and they all seem to be doing okay with it. you just have to want to do it. I myself will make it through the black flies. It wont be my first time hiking with them.

[gregp]

Right now that's the plan. Still waiting on the job to give me the "official OK" but it's looking like they're going to give me the time. I'm not necessarily looking to partner up as I'll be on my own schedule but I definitely don't mind company either. I'll be checking in more and more as the date draws near.

[Isa23]

I have a mid-February start date though it's a couple days earlier than yours. However, I am a heavy hiker so my pace will be very slow going and I'm sure you or anyone else will catch up to me pretty quickly lol. I'm also not looking for a "partner" per se since this will be a personal pilgrimage for me however, it will be nice to have a group to see every so often at that early of a start date.


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[George]

no idea what you mean at 22lbs -

I avoid fantasy weights and go by skin out, full load food/ drink, post resupply
IMO mid feb is a good start time, but there is a price

IMO, good planning for mid feb start includes:
gear that you have personally tested and find comfortable at 0F (alive at -10)
2 days extra food for each leg section, for if you have to wait out conditions
walking in the dark
being OK with only your own company for days, maybe weeks
trail that is a river of ice

I have done it with less, but have found under 35 skin out not worth it - 42 is even within reason

your milage may vary

[Tipi Walter]

no idea what you mean at 22lbs -

I avoid fantasy weights and go by skin out, full load food/ drink, post resupply
IMO mid feb is a good start time, but there is a price

IMO, good planning for mid feb start includes:
gear that you have personally tested and find comfortable at 0F (alive at -10)
2 days extra food for each leg section, for if you have to wait out conditions
walking in the dark
being OK with only your own company for days, maybe weeks
trail that is a river of ice

I have done it with less, but have found under 35 skin out not worth it - 42 is even within reason

your milage may vary

The voice of reason in the fantasy of "I want to start the AT in February."

Key points:
** 22 lb pack weight vs the reality of a full food load with winter gear including extra clothing, beefier sleeping pad and microspikes etc.
** The reality of very cold temps and if your kit will function at 0F WITHOUT bailing to a town. (And deep snow requiring postholing).
** Extra food so you can pull in-tent zeros and NOT town zeros.
** Winter backpacking is often Solo backpacking---with long nights and short days. Excellent conditions in my opinion. Who wants to see other people??
** The trail won't all be a river of ice but it'll be bad enough to require microspikes. Remember, Stumpknocker did the AT several years ago and broke his arm on an icy section.

[tipcar]

I do have a down sleeping bag and an insert 3.2 lbs, 4 season tent 3.8 lbs, microspikes 14 oz, my backpack weighs 2.5 lbs and extra clothes. All my food is dehydrated and I can carry about 7 days worth it only weighs about 6lbs, I have been planning this trip for over a year. I have taken my pack out on several test runs and made changes and still make changes to the weight. My backpack weight will not be more than 25 lbs. Then once winter is over I plan on changing out the winter items and my backpack weight will drop even more. I know winter isn't going to be easy. I grew up in the Smoky Mountains and I love winter hiking

[Venchka]

This down sleeping bag and insert @ 3.2 pounds. What is the lowest temperature you have observed inside the insert inside the bag? Where you sleeping comfortably at the time? Can you sleep comfortably in this system at the lowest temperature you anticipate wearing all of the clothes you are carrying?
How many nights have you spent in the 4 season tent below freezing? Is it a single or double wall tent?
Better yet, tell us what this February ready gear is. Exactly.
All the best to you!
Wayne


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[Engine]

We started February 26th this year after what had been a very mild winter. Then March came...snowmageddon began the night we were at Sassafras Gap shelter just north of the NOC, and the weather was absolutely miserable until Standing Bear. Single digit lows, wind chills below zero, hiking days on end in microspikes, etc.

Gear needs to be chosen for those conditions with a February start and it isn't going to be as light. With food and water, using UL gear, my pack was still 30-32 pounds leaving Fontana and I was minimally comfortable. 8 degrees in a 20 degree quilt and liner is eye opening...so is waking up to frozen shoes, socks, and pants.

[TTT]

I'm wanting to start in early March. I have everything I think I need, but have never seen snow apart from about 3 occasions. What clothes would someone familiar with cold conditions take? My pack hovers beneath the 20 pound mark with food and water.

[TTT]

There's value in quantity and value in quality. Depends on what you have. In high humidity and heat I wear a long sleeve hi-tec shirt that keeps me cooler than a t-shirt. You never see an Arab riding a camel and wearing a vest.

[DownEaster]

I'm wanting to start in early March. I have everything I think I need, but have never seen snow apart from about 3 occasions. What clothes would someone familiar with cold conditions take? My pack hovers beneath the 20 pound mark with food and water.

Additions for late winter conditions should be something like the following:

• Puffy jacket to stay warm in camp (not for hiking)
• Fleece beanie hat or balaclava
• Thin fleece gloves or glove liners
• Mid-layer shirt to wear over your base layer while hiking. Mine is a wool/polyester blend I bought cheaply at Goodwill. Buttons are good here because they let you adjust the coverage so you don't get sweaty.

I'm also starting in early March (February 28th for the approach trail, and March 1 for the AT proper).

[TTT]

March 1st: Then we will cross paths at some point. I walk very slowly so the chances are good that I also bump into those leaving in April Thanks for the list. I have that base covered and more.

[Emerson Bigills]

I started on Feb 20 and finished on July 9. Not too far behind your schedule. I have listened to countless posters on this site tell everyone how February starts were doomed to fail for various reasons - snow, black flies, freezing temps, locust, famine, etc. I have spent way too much time on this site over the past ten years reading journals and watching early starts. In reality, about every 3-4 years a big snowstorm hits the southern Appalachians and causes a multi day delay to some thru hikers that are on the trail. 2017 was such a year when the snow storm hit the middle of March. I was in 5000 ft. mountains during that week and only missed one day of hiking due to weather.

My point is, if you want to start in February it has just as many pros and cons as starting later, and it certainly is doable. If the weather gets extreme, know the limitations of your experience and your equipment. No harm in taking a day off if needed, but that doesn't happen as much as people on this site want you to believe. The truth of the matter is, I look upon the the fact that I walked in snow for 7 days through NC and TN as one of my great trail experiences. You and no one else will care about the days you hiked in sunny weather on 65 degree days. It will be the wet, cold and miserable days that you will always remember and tell fond stories about. Embrace the suck, just survive and advance.

As for bugs in June/July in VT, NH and ME. Yep, they suck. I had a head net for sleeping in shelters and broke down and used some DEET when necessary. Just another rude awakening that awaits you in New England. You can do it.