Date: 2010-02-27
To: Think four to five months rather than six or seven
Miles today: 0.0

I can¢t imagine this year¢s class was expecting anything other than walking a mountain trail surrounded by trees beginning to bud and birdsong. Sure you¢d know the countless climbs of the southern Appalachians would be trying and muscles would be tested daily, but did anyone actually think starting during the normal timeframe would be snow trudging? It think it¢s safe to say that most who have completed previous AT thru-hikes didn¢t have to do so by starting and persevering through such harsh trail conditions, I didn¢t. All I had to do was walk on a trail of dirt, rock and root ¢ which isn¢t intended to trivialize it. Some years a starting date of February meant walking in 70-degree temps, you couldn¢t find a snowflake for a thousand miles. Other years starting in March meant hiking in extreme cold, although challenging, its still walking with hiking shoes and miles only dictated by pack weights and mountain terrain without knee deep (or deeper) snow drifts. Every season offers something new when those calendar dates come around. If you have a time window for your thru-hike, say if you¢re a teacher or student, this really puts one in a bind. Some of the fastest hikers each season on the AT are college students that have a limited window; I¢ve hiked with many. They show up with youth and vitality and rarin¢ to go go go. If you don¢t have that time window and have no desire to head out until Old Man Snowy Winter eases his grip, but are worried that you won¢t have enough time to still make Maine, there¢s good news to report. Despite the common held belief that a Georgia to Maine journey takes six months, that¢s not entirely accurate. Oh sure, you can make it last six months, even seven or eight if you chose, but it doesn¢t require the athleticism of an Olympian to make it four or five. I¢m proof of that.My first hike didn¢t start until MAY 1st and even with 22 zero days, I reached that weather beaten sign named Katahdin on September 17th. That¢s 3 months and 3 weeks of actually walking with 22 days of lollygagging, proactive not walking. Shocked? Don¢t be, it all comes down to trail conditions and your willingness to walk. Believe me, if you¢re fret this season is that of not getting there before the closing of Baxter State Park, know that you have some flexibility in your starting date. That 2004 first hike of mine was the fifth wettest year for the Northeastern corridor on record according to The Weather Channel, which meant you had to embrace the rain to make miles ¢ about 35% of the hike it rained or said another way, one day in three was wet. I had to tolerate three hurricane remnants coming up the coastline, the biggest being Hurricane Francis in the Hundred Mile Wilderness. However, walking wet is hugely easier than miles made in deep snow events. It really bummed me out to see that the Smoky¢s snow depths had dropped to 18 inches a few days ago only to jump back up to 36 inches in Newfound Gap where the trail crosses as of this posting. Snowshoes seem to be necessary rather than a luxury since some levels have the snow in the 44 inches at 6000 feet (Clingman's Dome is 6600 ft), we¢ll all have to keep reading other journals for the reports. And now another snow event is predicted for Tuesday, will it never end?Since I have the mental experience of dealing with this kind of situation already, anyone involved with the Pacific Crest Trail knows that you don¢t head in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains (elevation 10,000 to 17,000) until after the middle of June. This means almost no one starts at the Mexico border until the Kick Off weekend at the end of April despite everyone's exuberance to get the adventure started. This allows you to cover the 700 miles in the desert and arrive ready to enter when the snow depths have receded. Crampons and ice axes are carried, but snowshoes are not needed for the most part. That only gives you a five-month window to hike 2600 miles, which is quite doable since you¢re walking not trudging.My second hike didn¢t start till April 6th and would have finished at the end of August, about another four and half month timeframe. Even with a month long break due to a broken wrist and my roughly two weeks of zeros before that; I had time to finish on September 27. If you think only a college age can hike that kind of timeframe you¢re wrong, I got out of college in 1980 (so figure it out). Many in they¢re 60¢s finish the journey in closer to five months than seven. I suppose we can all thank the lightweight gear revolution and stepping out of those heavy all leather boots for that. So, if you¢re carrying 30 lbs rather than 50, you¢ll most likely get there quite bit ahead of schedule if the trail conditions were normal.A testament to how strong you¢ll become in your hike is evident in those out there currently slogging away making miles in the poorest of conditions. These folks would be 350 miles up the AT if it weren¢t for the snow. You, well everyone, gets really strong in a hike and can make incredible miles day after day as the weeks and months roll on, you may arrive at the trail having exercised to shape up, but the AT is going to turn you into a climbing, fitness machine. The snow depths these hikers are pushing through are giving them leg muscles of a pro athlete and the stamina of a marathoner. That¢s a lot to smile about. Some have been encouraging the hikers to skip around, jump to other parts of the trail ¢ that doesn¢t work for me though. I really like the idea of starting at Springer and moving continuously northbound in a thru-hike, many share that feeling too. However, Flip-flopping is pretty normal too ¢ might make sense to jump up to Harpers Ferry and move south? But I¢m not thru-hiking this season, so I¢m waiting for the trail to become trail again.If you¢re worried about still making it to Mt. Katahdin in time if you delay your starting date to let the snow melt, don¢t. There¢s still plenty of time to begin and lots of room in the calendar. Hidden in all the snowy conditions out there are, and this will seem remarkable, some awesome memories. If persevering through the snow gets you jazzed, more power to you. It¢s not too dissimilar from my Hurricane Francis/Maine experience ¢ truly the only time when my hiking buddy Alleghany and I could have lost our lives due to river fords rarely seen. Many waited it out, but wow, great memories. Frankly, waiting out a trail injury (if you¢ve had to) is really no different than waiting out a trail condition. So, go on schedule or delay, go play in the snow or wait it out, you have options, you have time. It¢s your hike, your adventure and your smile that should direct your decisions. Selfishly, many of us like having some good journals to read while we kill the days till our start dates.