I am entertaining the idea of a late SOBO AT thru hike. Wouldn’t be able to leave until the middle of august. I like to hike fast and have thru hiked the PCT. Being from the west coast I am not too familiar with the weather along the AT. I’ve read that some people are on the AT in late November and December. Anyone have any experience with this time of year on the trail? What kind of conditions would you expect near the end of the trail in november and december and is it even passable?
mat
It can get pretty cold in the winter - temperatures in the teens, with ice and snow. I would switch to a 0-5 degree bag in late-October and would start with a 20 degree bag. The AT is much wetter than the PCT - the usual rule of thumb is one day in three with some sort of precipitation. Days are short - dark at 5:00 or so in November and December. If you start mid-August, you will be past the hardest mountains (southern Maine and NH) before the weather gets serious though.
Spirit Walker
If you leave the middle of August you should be about half way through Pennsylvania by the end of October and if you can make 15 miles or so per day finish about the second week of January or maybe even by New Years Eve. That gives you 22 weeks more or less and at a 15 mile per day pace and a few days off along the way. Even if you are a little slower you should be finished before really cold winter sets in on the Southern end of the AT.
Gardenville
If you leave the middle of August and have made 15 miles more or less you should get to the Smokies about Christmas. You also have hiked about 1938 miles and only have about 235 miles more to get to Springer Mt. Assuming you haven’t gone home by this time I expect you will know how to stay warm. Zip into Gatlinburg for some Christmas goodies, check the weather and get on to GA. You are about 15 days to being DONE. The weather in that area will be one of the following three: snowy and cold, mild and sunny, or chilly and rain. No big deal for someone that has hiked from Maine. Go for it this is a great time of the year for a Thru-Hike.
If you can get to Springer Mt by New Years Eve you will find a party going on and I am sure a ride.
gardenville
Hey all, I too am starting an August SOBO. I don’t know how many miles I can make in a day but hope to be in Hanover by October 7. This is a good time of year to hike because of less bugs and less days in the 90’s. But being past the Whites by October is a goal for me because then the weather will have a hard time stopping me. I look forward to the cold and wind and snow and sun because I look forward to every day no matter what. (got carried away)
Have fun Mat and maybe will meet on the trail.
that guy
Thanks for the info, I decided to stick to my original plan of hiking out here and doing the JMT this sept, keep saving more money get the bills paid off for 06 thru hike. Was VERY Very hard for me to make the call to stay here when a late sobo AT is possible!
hope to see you all on the trail someday
mat