This is about the Appalachian Trail – and every other trail. Would very much appreciate any and all ideas on the notion of hiking year round. Suppose you wanted to hike, say, 300 of the 365 days in a year. Where would you go during the winter months? Hawaii or New Zealand immediately come to mind. But where else? Any candidates in North America? Any resources, like books, for a year-round hiker? Thanks in advance.
Trail Bum
Florida Trail is good for winter hiking. Mountains to Sea Trail in NC or the Foothills Trail in SC can be hiked in winter. Other good winter spots are southern Arizona, southern NM, Big Bend, Guadalupe NP. The GET and AZT are good for early spring (March-May). The Grand Canyon can be hiked year around. There is a 100 mile trail in Texas - the Lone Star. Most of coastal California can be hiked in the winter. Then there’s Hawaii. Copper Canyon in Mexico is good for winter. If you want to travel - Australia has some very long trails, NZ has several shorter ones. Chile has the Torres del Pane and other hiking areas. Peru has some good hiking too. There are a lot of others, but those are the first to come to mind.
Ginny
I section hike the A.T. in the winter. In fact, it’s when I prefer to hike. Winter is great hiking weather, brisk and no bugs. Plus there’s the beauty of snow (if you’re lucky), and few other hikers to fill up the shelters.
Why anyone would leave the Appalachian Mountains to hike in the sweltering heat of Florida or other tropical hellholes is beyond me.
Point North
Here’s the Web site for the Te Araroa trail: http://www.teararoa.org.nz/
I’m tenatively planning a year-round hike starting next Feb. that would consist of:
Appalachian Trail northbound - Feb. 15-late June
CDT southbound - late June to Nov.
Te Araroa - Dec. to March 2009
PCT northbound - April until I finish
Skits
Winter, cold-weather hiking isn’t all that terrible. If you haven’t tried it, do so. I’ve hiked year round, so have many others. Proper equipment is good to have.
My experience was Missouri, southern Illinois, Kentucky and southern Virginia during the dead of winter. Had sleet, freezing rain, snow, temps to 12 below on several occasions and had a fantastic time! Others have stuck to the norther states.
Check out Andy Skurka’s adventure on the Sea to Sea route - over a year, winter in norther Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnisota, and North Dakota. http://www.andrewskurka.com/C2C/index.php
Good luck, and enjoy!
Lyle