North Bound Thru Hike in November
Thinking about an October thru hike of the BMT? Should I wait until spring?
november or october?
title says november---body says october....
and whats the concern you are asking about to wait til spring?
personally-----an october thru of the BMT would be ideal....
weather should be fairly nice.........water would be flowing........leaves will be changing...
and in all but some of the popular spots---you probably wont see any or a lot of people...
So is it November or October?
But in either case, I would say your biggest limiting factor is the weather you might experience in GSMNP.
While the BMT doesn't follow the primary ridge thru the center of GSMNP, it still goes up and over several mountains that are 5,000' to 6,000' in elevation.
At these points, you can expect night time lows in October to be around freezing... with an unexpected cold snap taking temps into the 20's. In November, the climate average is that night time lows at these elevations will be below freezing, with cold snaps potentially taking temps into the teens. Snow is unlikely, but a possibility... especially the later in November you go.
October-November
Sorry for the confusion. I would like to start the last part of October and finish in November. Just wondering what shape the trail will be in during that time. Saw a post earlier that said it was overgrown in places.Originally Posted by TNhiker
Thanks, for the response. I don't mind the cooler temps but would like to be above freezing.
I hiked the northern 175 miles at the end of Sept 2017. The trail was overgrown in many places. I am thinking about doing the southern section I missed because of hurricane Irma next spring. Hopefully the trail will be in better shape in the spring versus fall.
More walking, less talking.
Trails are always overgrown in places... that time of year don't matter.
Some of my favorite hikes have been Veterans Day weekend... so timing should be great.
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