Pleasant California hike in December?

[blake]

Hello,

It looks like I'm not going home to New York this winter break from graduate school. I'm currently living in Flagstaff, AZ and was thinking of backpacking for a couple of weeks in Dec., but need some suggestions. Maybe desert in CA won't be so bad in December?

Forgive me for my ignorance in this post, but any pleasant, non snow filled long distance hikes would be greatly appreciated. (Not sure if this exists)

I'm open to pretty much anywhere out West, not just CA, if anyone has ideas??

Thanks,

Blake

[berninbush]

How far are you willing to travel, and what do you consider "West"?

South Texas is almost guaranteed not to have snow. There's always the possibility the daytime temperatures will be in the 70s. Then again, they might be in the 40s. You just never know.

[Just Jeff]

You can hike year-round in Big Sur w/o snow...you don't have to limit yourself to the desert here in CA.

[chris]

Easy one: Death Valley. It will be very, very cold in the high mountains (like the Panamints) at night, but down on the floor and lower elevations it will be quite pleasant with no snow. See

http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/faculty/cw...eva/index.html

for some pics and text about an aborted 250 mile loop in Death Valley that I tried in December 2004.

Another, even warmer, option is Anza Borrego, down near the border with Mexico. I've only passed through the higher elevations on the PCT, but the park is huge and there should be a lot of room to roam. Water, of course, is the issue in both places.

[StarLyte]

Hi Blake!

Hard to keep this hiking and AT related, but here goes....

I was in Flagstaff in May - my 2nd time, loved it loved it!
Flagstaff is awesome - the weather is perfect, and you are close to so many things. Ate at the Thai restaurant, then over to the Indian restaurant the very next day for their lunch buffet. Library was very nice, enjoyed walking in the downtown district. Humphreys Peak was snow covered-quite beautiful! click here

I spent time down in Sedona too - great camping, but I was a little disappointed that there weren't more backpacking opportunites--am I wrong?

Why don't you try the Arizona Trail, unless you've done that already

I'm sure many will suggest CA. Tha Wookie & Island Mama's CA coastal hike was one of the most interesting trails I've seen. Definitely check that out!

I spent a lot of time in southern Utah. It is absolutely beautiful! Why don't you try Bryce/Zion, or even travel up to the Arches, Canyonlands?

I REALLY enjoyed my time in Death Valley - there's a LOT to do there, but prepared for high winds! There's more to it than just the floor. It's fascinating, buy gas before you go in though, it was 75 cents more per gallon.

Might want to read the postings on this site if you haven't already in case you're curious about the PCT.....http://mailman.hack.net/pipermail/pct-l/
.....so that you can familiarize yourself more -don't know what experience you have.

Hey, don't forget to check out the other hiking forums here on Whiteblaze as well!

Good luck!

Hello,

It looks like I'm not going home to New York this winter break from graduate school. I'm currently living in Flagstaff, AZ and was thinking of backpacking for a couple of weeks in Dec., but need some suggestions. Maybe desert in CA won't be so bad in December?

Forgive me for my ignorance in this post, but any pleasant, non snow filled long distance hikes would be greatly appreciated. (Not sure if this exists)

I'm open to pretty much anywhere out West, not just CA, if anyone has ideas??

Thanks,

Blake

[blake]

Thanks so much for all of the replies, that expands my options quite a bit. I do like Flagstaff, but unfortunately my accelerated school program has forced me to be solely a weekend warrior on the trails.

I have been able to hike around in Sedona, and some of the Peaks in Flagstaff. I also went down to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon for 3 days and go to Havasu , Mooney, and two other waterfalls, which I would recommend to anyone.

As far as travel, I'm willing to drive pretty much anywhere reasonable.

I have read quite a bit on the forum, just haven't participated much. My plan for after grad school in may is to do a southbound AT thruhike leaving Baxter on July 1. After that I plan on going to mexico and relaxing before attempting a northbound PCT hike. (If funds hold out long enough)

Unfortunately, I'm not too sure if I'll be able to hike for too long this december because my friend backed out on me who wanted to go, but I might be willing to go somewhere alone.

Sorry for the long post, but thanks again for all of the great suggesstions!

Blake