Hiking in the winter?

[NatureGal]

Do you do it? I personally, do not. I just always wait until the weather is nice again. It just isn't a pleasant experience for me during winter.

 

[Gunny Webb]

I only hike when it's below 50 degrees. When the temp gets to 70 at noon it's just too warm. My favorite temp to start is 25 and get up to 40 in the day.

 

[Cappy]

Not so much hiking but many week long hunting trips with not yanky winter but still freezing at night and maybe 50 at the heat of the day. Woke up many a morning with frost on ma sleeping bag and water in da coffee pot froze solid

 

[Hikenhunter]

The beauty of a winter hike can not be compared to hiking any other time of the year. After a new snow everything just looks so fresh. You meet less people at that time of the year. In places that you frequent other times of the year, everything just looks different. While winter hiking is not for everybody I think that everybody should try it and focus on the beauty of the wilderness at that time of the year.

 

[ponderosa]

Definitely, yes. Only we call it snowshoeing and x-country skiing in winter. We just spent four days in a little cabin in the woods, shoeing and skiing every day. It is so crisp and quiet and just serene. We used to do a lot of winter camping as well, but the little kids don't really enjoy that (all the hours of darkness, and trying to stay warm/dry is kind of tough with them). So these days we tend to just do day trips or stay in a yurt or forest service cabin or splurge on a tourist cabin once in a while.

 

[campingmom]

I usually don't go hiking in the winter since I live in the so called snow belt. We just get way to much snow for me to think about hiking. We do have some people in my area that go snow shoeing, but I have never tried it before. I used to go cross country skiing when I was a little younger. I just can't handle the cold anymore. I need to move to a little bit warmer climate.

 

[carmen]

I think anywhere between 20-50 is okay if it is a shorter walk. I can not keep up with the cooler weather lately and I am not sure why. Today we woke up and it was barely nine outside which is far too chilly for my liking!

 

[ppine]

Being outdoors in winter is the antidote for cabin fever. There are fewer people and the ones you meet tend to be pretty sturdy. In a lot of places you will see no one else. The margin for error can be pretty small. You don't have to go very far in winter to experience the quiet. Wildlife is easier to approach and observe.

People from the East and especially the South need to understand that in the big western mountains frost can happen anytime, even July and August. Up North the conditions are even more extreme. Rivers have ice floating in them well into summer. You can freeze to death in August.

 

[briansnat]

I absolutely love hiking in the winter. I don't have to wait until the weather is nice because it is nice in the winter. Winter has those bluebird days you rarely see in the summer and no bugs, no crowds and there is silence and a stark beauty that you don't get in other seasons.

It's also amazing how little clothing you can get away with wearing while hiking in the winter. I'm usually wearing just a vest, fleece pullover and popypro underwear unless temps are down in single digits, when I add a shell parka. My wife almost always overdresses and needs to start stripping off layers 10 minutes into the hike.

Here in NJ the need for snowshoes is rare, but we always bring our Katoola Micro Spikes along.

 

[aksoutherland]

I did my first winter cold weather hike last Friday. It was amazing.
It was 24 degrees when I started and 35 degrees when I finished. I hiked a little over 13 miles.

It was very quiet and I only saw 2 other people while I was out.

Simply amazing. Quiet. I loved it.

 

[Theosus]

I like winter hiking, but not snow hiking. Cold is fine, maybe a little ice here and there, but it isn't my goal to hike in the snow.

 

[aksoutherland]

I don't think hiking in the snow would be all that much fun, but that is just my opinion. When I went out last weekend it was just cold and quiet. Abs I would happily do it again.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


This County abounds with outdoorsmen. The're afield in all kinds of weather...but not to 'hike', as such...but for fishing, hunting and trapping. And these 'outings' are greatly cherished...with the exception of blizzard conditions, of course. And, many miles could be covered every day.

 

[blueridgelover]

The only time I don't enjoy hiking is during the summer. Too many bugs, too sweaty, and I get sunburn no matter what I do. Autumn is perfect, winter is a close second, and early spring comes in third. I agree that anything above 70 degrees is uncomfortable on a hike!

 

[Stargazer]

I am not a cold weather person. (Not sure why I live in the Midwest.) Anything under 40 is too cold for me to do any hiking.

 

[mic]

i hike all year round and love to hike and camp in the snow.

 

[Atehequa]

Although the trails here abouts lack the vivid warm season greenery in Winter, there is a comfortable absence of deer flies, biting gnats, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers and other such small parasitic creatures. Usually the winters here in Virginia are not that bad and make for good hiking.

 

[Grandpa]

Not much winter hiking here in SE Idaho except with shoes, skiis and my favorite, snow machines. We usually take our scouts off the beaten path with snow machines for their winter survival training. I used to love winter hiking and camping but for some reason, zero f is a lot colder now than it was 50 years ago.

 

[ppine]

I was at a party for the 4th of July and ran into an old friend. He has a desert sheep tag for December in the mountains out by Tonopah. I may have to tag along to help him spot sheep.

 

[CozInCowtown]

Here in Texas we primarily camp in winter.
Too flippin' hot during the dog days of summer.