Thinking of a mid Feburary start, 06’ thru hike. Too early, what do you think?
scott
Start 2006 - Pacific Crest Trail
system
#2
I think that only you can ultimately decide if mid February is gonna be good for you. Some people start mid February and go on to finish their thrus every year.
There are factors to consider. It will likely be very cold at times. The weather could be kind on you but it is unlikely that it will. You have to have a lot of respect for the southern mountains in wintertime. Another thing to consider is that it is likely you will not have large groups of other hikers around leaving plenty of time for solitude. This may be what you are looking for anyways. However there will probably be enough hikers around to fulfill a social need if wanted. The days although getting longer every day at that time of year, are still relatively short. That means lots of dark and long nights spent in you sleeping bag. If you are good with these things then you should go for it. You can always get off the trail if it sucks and get back on in March or April. Good luck
tribes :smokin
Tribes
system
#3
February is absolutely too early. There is entirely too much snow and I’d be surprised if you saw even one other hiker. April 1 would be the earliest I would consider a thru-hike, and that’s still REALLY early. An ideal start date would be at the end of the first week or beginning of the second week in May, although the majority of the thru-hikers start on the weekend of the Kick Off (last full weekend in April).
yogi
yogi
system
#4
I know alot of hikers that started in February and really enjoyed it. How do you handle cold and how prepared are you for winter hiking. Expect some chilly nights and possibly alot of snow in some areas. I started March 3rd one year and it was 8 degrees and litely snowing with 30 mph winds on Springer when I woke up the next morning…a very memorable start!! :-))) Be prepared for cold weather and have a great hike. I started May 1st one year and ended up flipping because it was tooooooooo darn hot by the time I got into Virginia.
Stumpknocker
system
#6
i thought that most thru-hikers started in mid march. that’s right, isn’t it? i don’t know what all this february and april stuff is. I plan to start my '06 hike march 10-12 or so. Can any experienced folk tell me what the conditions are usually like around then? or is there a handy ‘typical AT weather averages’ type of link that anyone knows?
casey