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re: AT Thru Hikers Jack & Bob Ross From BR
Posted on 1/4/24 at 5:28 pm to awestruck
Posted on 1/4/24 at 5:28 pm to awestruck
quote:
And with the gear drops (uber and internet) that everyone uses it's not as if you're weeks off into wilderness. Plus knowing the weather like we do now it'd be easy to drop off the trail and hitch to a hostel.
Fair enough. My through hike was back in 2008, so the gear and tech wasn’t nearly as good as it is today. For us, if you needed a food resupply, you were walking or hitching a ride with a stranger into a town. And we had no good way to get a weather report. I’m sure Uber and satellite phones are game changers for hikers.
As far as the Smokies in winter, I’ve heard enough horror stories of people getting stuck in a shelter in a snowstorm at 6000 ft to make me think twice before I’d attempt it. Even with modern weather apps, the weather in the Smokies is notoriously unpredictable and can change with very little warning. I hope those guys make it out okay, good luck to them. But there’s a thin line between adventurous and stupid.
1
Posted on 1/5/24 at 11:22 pm to WarCamEagle88
quote:Have friends that have been stranded for near a week. And I've purposely gone in between snow falls to cross country ski. Snow can get deep up on top of the AT or from Tri-Corners over to Laurel, but once you drop off a side trail it's hardly ever over knee deep.
As far as the Smokies, I’ve heard enough horror stories of people getting stuck in a shelter in a snowstorm at 6000
And AT hikers all know who's ahead and behind. So it's not like your Jeremiah Johnson isolated. Most of the horror stories (of snow) I've heard is not from through hikers. And yes, I've even had to emergency bivouac from a friend with hypothermia. Plus Park Rangers know with permits who's in between. Have a friend just last year that had two groups of Forest Service waiting for them at their car; so they could close down the park (to safely escort them out). And another time we were woken at might by one searching for a missing hiker; he said it was minus 15.
Now newbies and solo wannabee in winter is a whole different matter . . . as is not having enough fuel.
I'd worry more about either side of the park (or Mt Washington) than the Smokies.
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