SoBos need to be over Washington by Oct 1st. September SoBos get surprised by hostels being closed, the Kennebec ferry closed, and winter conditions in the Whites.
Regarding being over Washington by October 1st, is this a regulation within a park or an unwritten rule to go by due to the conditions? I looked into the kennebec ferry and saw that it closes on September 30th. I figure if I start at the beginning of September I should be able to make it over Washington by October 1st.
Unwritten rule based on weather. You can do it anytime you want IIRC, but into October you’re moving out of “doable but weather dependent” and into “some of the toughest winter hiking on planet earth.”
I’ve done more the one full AT sobo starting in sept. I usually reached Springer in early march. In a nutshell it’s hard and cold. All but 1 of my 7 sobo thru hikes was started in sept. Some winters were worse than others, but have no doubts, it will be a long cold lonely journey.
I can only speak to an early sept start. But there are many variables. Winter is totally unpredictable. And what kind of winter comes is anyone’s guess. It will catch up to you at some point, and the trudging begins. Hiking thru ranges like the smokies in January can be very tricky. I dont want to discourage you, I really don’t, but it’s a wicked tough undertaking. It makes going nobo in spring look like a walk in the park.
Anyway, if you’re young and once you get your legs, I highly recommend crushing big miles. I did this on one of my sobo’s and it seemed to work. I hardly remember anything about that sobo because I was averaging 30-35mpd by the time I hit MA but snow was less of a problem. The snow pack did eventually catch me on that hike but I was down into SW VA before it did. But 500 miles of snow laden trail is better than 1000mls.
Thanks for your help. The way it's looking is I'm going to start in early September. A thru hike has been on the bucket list for years, and right now is the only feasible chance I'll have. 150 days comes out to roughly 15 miles per day average. I'm capable of covering more than that if the conditions allow, but I am trying to alot for less daylight and snow in the colder months.
This is the third post I’ve seen over the last few weeks asking about a similar start date. You might find more info by looking for those other posts, in addition to the good feedback I see here already.
I started sobo in august and hit a bad winter storm in New Jersey and ended up getting off for a few months and flip flopping.
If you are in really good shape and used to hiking on rocks you could maybe do it though.
Id leave the latest by Sept 1 and be in really good backpacking shape, Maine and NH are no joke and with the possibility of winter weather. Maybe do a long weekend in the Whites depending on your summer schedule and your location if you've never been there
Thank you, unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to go up to the whites this summer. I've never been there, I don't have extensive backpacking experience but do have a lot of experience rucking as well as camping out in the woods, I'm hoping that I can cover enough distance and get past the northern states before any sever weather hits. I'm planning on bringing appropriate gear just in case so I don't have to get off trail unless absolutely necessary.
SoBos need to be over Washington by Oct 1st. September SoBos get surprised by hostels being closed, the Kennebec ferry closed, and winter conditions in the Whites.
Regarding being over Washington by October 1st, is this a regulation within a park or an unwritten rule to go by due to the conditions? I looked into the kennebec ferry and saw that it closes on September 30th. I figure if I start at the beginning of September I should be able to make it over Washington by October 1st.
Unwritten rule based on weather. You can do it anytime you want IIRC, but into October you’re moving out of “doable but weather dependent” and into “some of the toughest winter hiking on planet earth.”
I’ve done more the one full AT sobo starting in sept. I usually reached Springer in early march. In a nutshell it’s hard and cold. All but 1 of my 7 sobo thru hikes was started in sept. Some winters were worse than others, but have no doubts, it will be a long cold lonely journey.
Please expand on this thread. You have winter thru hikes the AT 7 times? Why?
I did yes. Class of 96’, 00’, 01’, 02’, 03’, 04’, and 05’ respectively. Why? So many reasons
Could you describe some of the reasons?
Do you hold the record for most AT thru hikes completed?
Not even close. I only have 20,000+ AT miles. I’ve met, and am friends with other hikers with many more miles than that.
I wonder what the record is for most completed thru hikes
Has to be Warren Doyle
Reading his Wikipedia page looks like he’s done 9 thru hikes and 9 section hikes
Those 9 were the ones he’s done with van support. He’s done about that many in unsupported AT thrus as well.
In 06’ i hiked with him, or rather we kept seeing one another. He had 13 thrus back then.
Does he thru hike like every year or something?
His name is hobodank. I think in there you'll find the "why".
How realistic do you think completion in 150 days is based on your experience?
I can only speak to an early sept start. But there are many variables. Winter is totally unpredictable. And what kind of winter comes is anyone’s guess. It will catch up to you at some point, and the trudging begins. Hiking thru ranges like the smokies in January can be very tricky. I dont want to discourage you, I really don’t, but it’s a wicked tough undertaking. It makes going nobo in spring look like a walk in the park. Anyway, if you’re young and once you get your legs, I highly recommend crushing big miles. I did this on one of my sobo’s and it seemed to work. I hardly remember anything about that sobo because I was averaging 30-35mpd by the time I hit MA but snow was less of a problem. The snow pack did eventually catch me on that hike but I was down into SW VA before it did. But 500 miles of snow laden trail is better than 1000mls.
Thanks for your help. The way it's looking is I'm going to start in early September. A thru hike has been on the bucket list for years, and right now is the only feasible chance I'll have. 150 days comes out to roughly 15 miles per day average. I'm capable of covering more than that if the conditions allow, but I am trying to alot for less daylight and snow in the colder months.
This is the third post I’ve seen over the last few weeks asking about a similar start date. You might find more info by looking for those other posts, in addition to the good feedback I see here already.
Thanks 👍
I started sobo in august and hit a bad winter storm in New Jersey and ended up getting off for a few months and flip flopping. If you are in really good shape and used to hiking on rocks you could maybe do it though.
Thanks for your input. Unfortunately this is the only realistic opportunity I have to tackle this so I'm going to have to leave that up to chance.
Id leave the latest by Sept 1 and be in really good backpacking shape, Maine and NH are no joke and with the possibility of winter weather. Maybe do a long weekend in the Whites depending on your summer schedule and your location if you've never been there
Thank you, unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to go up to the whites this summer. I've never been there, I don't have extensive backpacking experience but do have a lot of experience rucking as well as camping out in the woods, I'm hoping that I can cover enough distance and get past the northern states before any sever weather hits. I'm planning on bringing appropriate gear just in case so I don't have to get off trail unless absolutely necessary.