Any thru hikers starting in February?

[LynnMT]

Your leaving a really warm world and heading into a really cold world! As long as you know that and have the right gear and attitude I wish you good luck. Just being anxious to get started is not a good reason to leave that early in my way of thinking.

What do you mean by really cold. Can you give me some temperature ranges?

[sharper8]

I was planning on starting my journey the 14th (figured Valentines day would be a great day to leave the "real world"). Plus, I am just to anxious to wait until the recommended start dates.

I plan on leaving the 14th or 15th

[ChinMusic]

I plan on leaving the 14th or 15th

I'll be reading your shelter journal entries.

[moytoy]

What do you mean by really cold. Can you give me some temperature ranges?

You need to be ready for 0 degree weather at higher elevation. It can range from sub 0 to 40's you never know. I'm not saying don't do it I'm just saying be ready for it. If you are prepared for an April start and then decide to start in Feb on a whim that's what I'm saying is not a good idea.

[Kayden]

febuary 14-22 here most likely

[jeremyds37]

We'll be starting Feb 27th. Hoping for snow and planning on taking it slow. At first, anyway.

[MeiMei.]

I was planning on starting in mid-March, but I have to be back by early August to start school (I'm taking a year off before college), so I'm thinking about starting early. Possibly February? If I did that I think I would need to have a partner though. I'm not sure about how to go about leaving early or what I need to do. I'm 18 and don't have a lot of backpacking experience.

[Nuwanda]

Due to some recent changes I'm planning to start in February, though I'm not certain of the exact date just yet. I plan to quit my job (and career) in January and then head home to the 'rents to borrow their dehydrator and ready myself for the trail. My hopes by starting in February rather than in March, as originally planned, is to beat the crowds and hopefully spend less money.

[kayak karl]

Due to some recent changes I'm planning to start in February, though I'm not certain of the exact date just yet. I plan to quit my job (and career) in January and then head home to the 'rents to borrow their dehydrator and ready myself for the trail. My hopes by starting in February rather than in March, as originally planned, is to beat the crowds and hopefully spend less money.

you will NOT spend less. colder days mean calories burned, more food. less miles per day, more money per 100 miles. hard to pass up a town stay with hot water, mo money.
its cold and shorter days. this is common sense, but you will need to be super organized. everything prepared for snow, freezing and dampness in about 2 hours time. drop your phone in a 2 ft phone drift, its very hard to find . the gear is the easy part. for me it was the weight lose, messed up knee, 2 cracked ribs and 4 lost toe nails, but i would do it again.

[Nuwanda]

you will NOT spend less. colder days mean calories burned, more food. less miles per day, more money per 100 miles. hard to pass up a town stay with hot water, mo money.
its cold and shorter days. this is common sense, but you will need to be super organized. everything prepared for snow, freezing and dampness in about 2 hours time. drop your phone in a 2 ft phone drift, its very hard to find . the gear is the easy part. for me it was the weight lose, messed up knee, 2 cracked ribs and 4 lost toe nails, but i would do it again.

You're right, Kayak Karl. I suppose my thought of "spending less" was in regards to not being swept up by a new group of friends into town more frequently than I'd like, but an early (cold) start will probably having me go into town just as often for my own comfort. Thanks for the input, and glad to know you'd do it again.

May I ask how you cracked your ribs?

[BrianLe]

Extra time spent in towns isn't a certainty for early starters; with a late Feb start in 2010 I don't think I spent more time in towns in the early part than I would have anyway. I think the only delay was getting out of Gatlinburg we had to wait maybe a couple or three hours longer into the day to hitch back to the trail as the road going up to Newfound Gap was temporarily closed due to icy road conditions.

Clearly there *can* be more time spent off-trail for early starters, no argument there; I just want to put out that it's by no means certain. And the group I was hiking with wasn't going on a rock bottom budget, we were happy to stay in cheap motels and hostels when we got the opportunity (in any kind of weather); someone hiking on a really tight budget should, I think, budget somewhat more until hitting Virginia with an early start date.

And I'll agree that on average the mileage per day will be lower (of course) when there's significant snow and/or ice and/or blowdowns to contend with. And I'll agree that early starters would be wise to already have some decent backpacking plus cold weather outdoor experience. So I don't mean to suggest that there are no issues. Just that the "more town stays" thing isn't an absolute, it depends somewhat on your abilities and choices along the way, and certainly on the particular weather patterns that you encounter.