March section hike

[fishboy]

Planning on doing first AT hike as a section hike in the Smokies in mid march- the time has to be march b/c of time constraints- am i just asking for it? Should I just reconsider b/c of weather- it really has to be March- so doe anyone think maybe I should just try another trail and postpone AT? Really want to hike the smokies! Thanks

[Blissful]

If you want to hike the Smokies, go for it. Be sure you have your shelter reservations in, the ridge runners will be out in full force as that is also AT thru hiker season. We had 70s in mid march in '07. You never know about the weather. Others get snow. Check ahead of time and prepare.

[Cookerhiker]

If the weather forecast shows too much snow and too cold a night temperature for your Cajun-country blood, you may want to consider hiking the Georgia section of the AT - it's just the right length for a one-week section hike.

[fredmugs]

I would seriously consider another section than the Smokies. First off you have to have shelter reservations and that is a very high demand timeframe. Secondly, as someone else mentioned, you could have two feet of snow to blast through.

I hiked from Standing Bear farm (just outside the park) to Dennis Cove last March. The weather was OK (highs around 50 lows around freezing) and the trail was generally excellent. The people I ran into in Hot Springs said that they had a couple of days of waking up to more than a foot of snow on the trail that they had to plow through.