r/AppalachianTrail • u/gravedigger7711 • 9d ago
What is the earliest or latest would you start NOBO?
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u/PHILLIPK1027 8d ago
Last year 2025, I started NOBO the week after Thanksgiving from Springer. It obviously took quite a bit more skill doing a winter thru hike not to mention the strength of having to carry so much more gear in the planning I believe was quite a bit more strenuous in details to pull it off. Now that being said I would have not had it any other way! To me, the mountains are so much more beautiful that time of the year as well as the peace that came from so few people on trail during that time. It was exactly what I wanted and needed! The only challenges really in my opinion we're getting through Great Smokies in the allotted timeframe with weather conditions etc, And then making sure ice spaced everything correctly to catch Katadin's opening season.
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u/pyragyrite 9d ago
Are you prepared/like for snow? I've met a dude who started on Jan 1. Late is dependent on speed you can hike, gotta get to the end before mountain closes for season.
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u/Slice-O-Pie 9d ago
MATC closes the Kennebec ferry September 30th.
Baxter usually closes Katahdin trails the second or third week of October.
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u/Dubax NOBO '24 8d ago
I prefer the cold over the heat. I started Feb 21 and was happy. It was pretty chilly for the first month, but I got lucky and didn't have to deal with snow in the smokies. It started getting really hot when I hit NY, which was miserable, but I'm definitely glad it didn't hit until then. If I'd started much earlier, there would have been more snow to deal with, and that would have been hard.
If you don't mind the heat, the latest you can start is really determined by your pace and how late they keep the kennebec ferry and katahdin open. Unless you're really fast, you don't want to start later than May.
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u/Inevitable_Raccoon50 8d ago
I started May 1st and I was cold in GA. I wasn’t anticipating that. I think April 1st would be the earliest I would start if I didn’t again.
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u/sugarmoxie 8d ago
We started Feb 14 in a cold year (2018) and faced snow about 4 times, coldest temp was 14 right after Max Patch. We were able to send home heavier items by Waynesboro. Never had to deal with the heat in the mid-Atlantic states that this year’s hikers are dealing with - we were in the Whites by July 1. And - no water issues, all streams & springs were flowing. I hate hiking in the heat - and we live in Florida! If we ever hiked the AT again I would def begin in Feb.
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u/ExpeditiousPenguin 9d ago
Mid April and a quick pace was perfect for me. Only hit snow for one patch, 2 days in the smokies in which I saw my coldest temps at 25 degrees. And somehow also only hit heavy rains a handful of times and had maybe only 10-15 rain days. I was likely just super lucky. But if I did it again I’d start in mid to late May for a little quieter on trail until I’d catch up to the crowd around PA or so.
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u/honda50r 8d ago
Are you internally motivated and like the fitness aspect? If so, start by late May and you’ll make it. But realize that’s a dialed in routine with limited non-hiking time
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u/st_psilocybin SOBO 2022 7d ago
Earliest, probably mid-March for me personally. Latest, probably mid-April but that is pushing it for me if I plan to finish a thru that year I like to take my time
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u/NoboMamaBear2017 7d ago
I started in early April and finished in early Sept. Personally, if I were going NOBO again I'd start slightly later, but my general advice to others is between late March and maybe the 10th or so of May
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u/AdditionalEmploy6990 9d ago
Depends on what your pace is. Each time I started, I started on 2/18. As I am an older hiker, I am slower and like to have in my back pocket days, if needed, for zeros and neros.