october start, nobo or sobo?

[JAdk]

My job situation may tucker out in October. As dreams of thru-hiking the AT has been all that has kept me going for the past few years, it looks like the time is almost here. I know a winter hike is tough. What do y'all recommend? Hold off til March to Nobo? Go ahead in October with Nobo? Go ahead in October Sobo? Flip flop? Already have all my ultra lite gear, but will need a warmer sleeping bag for winter conditions.

[The Solemates]

most people on here will tell you to wait til spring. that will cretainly give you the biggest chance of success, especially if you dont have a lot of hiking experience. being that you are from LA, that may be the case.

but if it were me, I'd head sobo in october, realizing I'd be in some deathly weather along the way. you have no idea what i mean by deathly unless you've been out in it. if you have, good luck. if you havent, wait til spring.

[Llama Legs]

SOBO starting in October would be super badass. You'd have less trouble with bears, mosquitos, and ticks

[poopsy]

Crazy, You should also be aware of this http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/normals.php

[chip2012]

Nogo . Gonna be a cold trip. BSP will not even be open until may. Not sure when they close not to mention the harsh winter ahead of you.

[VTATHiker]

You should read the Barefoot Sisters - Southbound. They start sobo in June but finish in Georgia early the next year. They hit some nasty weather, but they made it through the heart of winter. With an October start the worst of it might be those White Mountains...

[Andrew King]

when do they stop the ferry on Kennebec? might be a factor for you.

[bamboo bob]

Baxter is closed by 10/15 at the latest, often earlier. But a Nobo start in January is not uncommon

[kayak karl]

if i were to try again i would want to be in the middle states in January and February.if you can winter hike go SOBO in Oct and take no zeros

[moldy]

If you are serious about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail....Save up some money and work out in the Winter and start a North bound hike in March. You have about a zero possibility of success with a Thru-hike starting in October.

[Lone Wolf]

when do they stop the ferry on Kennebec? might be a factor for you.

he can ford it early mornin'

[Hairbear]

my goodness im from upstate ny origionaly it will be cold enough that if you fall down you will have two cracks in your butt

[TJ aka Teej]

Baxter only closes the overnight camping season on October 15th. You can still day hike in the park, weather permitting.
The advice that you can ford the Kennebec safely "in the morning" is many years out of date. Releases are neither scheduled nor predictable after rafting season. In the off season check the bulletin board outside the post office for phone numbers of people who will carry you across.
Consider starting south around the Front Royal, VA area. Then restart your hike next spring.

[Snowleopard]

SOBO starting mid October or later would be winter mountaineering not hiking. If youhave enough experience to do it you wouldn't need to be here asking us. If you're pretty fast, you might be able to start Oct. 1 and get through the White mountains before it becomes extremely difficult if you're lucky with the weather. This would be tough unless you're very fit.

You could start in Oct. in Vermont or Mass (or further south) and go south and it would be pretty nice till you hit winter down south.

NOBO from Springer you'd be going through a lot of winter and would have to slow down to avoid winter in VT, NH, ME. Some people start in Jan or Feb at Springer; this seems like a better plan.

[JAdk]

Thanks all. Just the info I needed! I am a teacher and I just got transferred to a cess-pool of a school (dangerous for a short thin 50 year old gal like me--I'm a tough backpacker but don't appear so to rebellious high school kids who would just as soon put me in hospital as look at me). I figured I could make it through October before taking early retirement and hitting the AT. But after your posts, I'll stick it out til after January and then nobo. Or if I can get my head right about this awful situation , maybe I can last until the end of May and then sobo in june. I suppose I can fight through the angst of school if I know the AT is just around the corner.

[max patch]

NOBO 4/1 or SOBO 7/1.

October is great for sectioning, not for starting a thru.