Why I’m Attempting a Winter SOBO Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike

You may just remember me from previous posts on Appalachian Trials such as “My Gear List” (which will be getting a winter update soon) and “Hiking the Colorado Trail with the Red Guy“…

I’ve had a pretty exciting year.

As of this writing, I’ve made my way through 23 states since the beginning of 2015. I’ve hiked roughly 3,500 miles, and more states and miles are on the way soon. I was getting ready to head to North Carolina earlier this month to celebrate a Marine buddy’s nuptials and visit old friends, when an idea forced its way to the front of my brain: A winter thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

At first I was all, “That sounds crazy,” and that’s because it is a little bit crazy. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to get excited. Like, really excited.

I started hiking at the end of February this year, and I’ve been off the long-distance hiking trail since the end of September. I’ve been on the Florida Trail, Arizona Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Sierra High Route, Wonderland Trail, and Colorado Trail.

I figured having some down time would be great for my body and give me time to spend with friends and family. But after a little over a month, I’ve found myself desiring to be back out there. Deep down there’s a drive in most thru hikers that renders them hopeless against the call for adventure and challenge. Even though a winter thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail was never on my radar until a few weeks ago, it certainly is now. I told myself that I would take the weekend in North Carolina to think it over. By Monday, I already knew what I knew before I left: I am ready to get back out there.

You may be wondering if I have any legitimate winter hiking experience. I don’t, not to this magnitude anyways. I’ve been in the South San Juans in spring after a late snow dump on my thru hike of the Continental Divide Trail last year. While it did require an ice axe, micro spikes, snowshoes, etc, it was not in the dead of winter. There were some sketchy moments at +13,000 feet with storms rolling in, but I know winter condtions can get a lot colder and gnarlier.

Having the right gear and the ability to understand your limits can be the difference between life and death. I recognize the risks and I don’t take them lightly. I have been taking a lot of advice and gear tips from Trauma (who completed his SOBO winter PCT thru hike earlier this year) and Swami (who has logged more miles of hiking world-wide than anybody I know).

The goal is simple: be safe, have fun, and experience the AT in a new way. I could sit here and tell you that the goal is to complete the entire AT, and while that is a goal, I don’t want to set any unrealistic expectations for myself. This will be a new experience for me and I will be learning on the fly.

I am used to ultralight backpacking and reeling off large chunks of miles at a time. I have no idea what to expect on this hike. The weather will dictate so much. My pack will be much heavier. I am attempting some new footwear (boots). There will only be 11 hours or less of daylight. I will be completely alone. It will be lonely. It will be cold. It will be really freaking cold. It will be wet and snowy. It will be muddy. It will be difficult. And at times, it will be dangerous.

However, all of that invigorates and excites me. If you set out to do something that you won’t have a problem completing, it can be fun and successful, but will it fill you up as much? Will it mean as much to you? I have been taking on challenges throughout my life, and the ones that push my boundaries are the most rewarding.

After arriving back at my parents from North Carolina, I began to research and get my gear list together. On Thursday, I took a break from the logistics and went out with friends to throw back a few beers before going to see the documentary “Meru“. This was an immensely inspiring film about a group of climbers who set out to complete a first ascent of Meru, a beast of a mountain in the Indian Himalayas. I watched the film with my winter expedition in mind the entire time. I came away excited by the expedition and challenges that lay before me. These climbers defied all odds in so many ways. They did so knowing certain risks. The reward was worth it to them.

I walked into my parents house and poured out what I had just watched. I was not met with the same enthusiasm from my father. I am a 32-year-old man, but he is still my father. He immediately began expressing serious concern about the mission. He knows how dangerous Maine and the White Mountains can be in winter. He cited the number of those who have died on Mt. Washington, that it sees temperatures down to -50 degrees, that it’s home to the strongest gust of wind ever recorded at 231mph, and that it’s regarded as having “the worst weather on the planet.”

I replied in a bit of a backlashing tone, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I felt so strongly about what I was intending to accomplish that I didn’t take it into consideration that other people might be concerned or worried. I walked away from the conversation having made it clear that I have full confidence in myself, and full confidence in my ability to know what is safe and unsafe. If it means I have to sit in town for a couple days due to inclimate weather, so be it. I can’t blame my parents for being concerned, but I think they now have a better understanding for my desire to challenge myself.

I can’t deny that I have wanted to get back on the Appalachian Trail ever since I first thru hiked it back in 2013. This trail is what started it all for me. Had I never hiked the AT, I would never have started down this path in life. I would still be working a 9-5 somewhere. And I can tell you that that does not complete me inside. So after getting out in the wilderness areas of our nation, in places like New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, I have found that I can really appreciate the joys and challenges of hiking alone and feeling like you have it all to yourself. That is one of the many things that excites me about this trek. After being on the Pacific Crest Trail this year, I found myself back in the crowds of the thru-hiker bubble. I’m as social as the next person and I love meeting new people—that is a big part of why people enjoy the Triple Crown trails. But having just come from the Arizona Trail directly before starting the PCT, I went from running into only a handful of hikers for 800 miles to seeing loads of them on a much regular basis. I didn’t dislike it, but it made the hike different. Being able to experience a world-class trail like the AT with almost no one on it sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I might be slapping this hike together in only two weeks from inception to kickoff, but I know I can do it. Now I just gotta put what I know I can do into action.

I plan to get back into blogging since I will have plenty of dark and cold evenings in my sleeping bag. Going to work on keeping a journal and trying to upload it to my blog every week or whenever I get into town. I have been making calls to various people and hostels in the New England region to make sure I have some support here and there. I know those moments in town are going to be huge for reacharging my mental and physical batteries. I’ll be sharing a lot of my journey here on Appalachian Trials so that I can better help to inspire future winter long distance backpackers and to outline what does or doesn’t work along my journey. There will be many trials and tribulations for me on this one but I know that the juice will be worth the squeeze and I can’t wait to share it all with you.

I plan to hit the trail on December 1st, I hope you’ll join me.  You can follow my updates here as well as on my Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Gear nerds: check out my winter thru-hike gear list.