Is this nuts or a reasonable idea for two greenhorn and somewhat out of shape, middle aged and reasonably well equipped AT hikers? We'd like to do Gooch Gap (where we left off in Oct) to Unicoi Gap in three days...perhaps three days and a few hours in the following morning to get to our car. Not sure how much ground our old carcasses can cover but we did Ok in Oct...no heart attacks on Sassafras Mtn, etc...but we are SLOW. We'd be doing about 10-12 miles a day.
We really want to get back on the trail for another section and unfortunately life and jobs...all that nonsense has kept us from getting back on sooner when it was warmer. I'm fairly stubborn when I make up my mind to do something...and I'm not sure if we'll like winter hiking or not...as I've never done it before...but what the heck...you only live once.
I think we can pack enough warm weather gear, various layers, shells, etc... and certainly have a good tent and bags. I doubt the shelters will be overly full at that time so we ought to be able to use them reliably as well. Neither of us is much for the holidays anyway so hiking seems like a good humbug thing to do.
Any thoughts? How many other humbugs will be out there at that time? What weather do we need to be reasonably prepared for? Will standard waterproof hiking boots be enough or should we look into something insulated? All tips and advice from experienced winter hikers are very appreciated!
Thanks!