Which hiking season is your drug of choice?

[jrbren]

Can't go by winter,spring fall or summer becasue there is too much month to month variance within the seasons. For example March is one of favorite months and December one of my least favorite for hiking. Both winter. So I will stereotype each month from favorite to least favorite:

1.) September (best weather, before foliage crowds)
2.) March (best winter, lots of snow, more sunshine & longer days then January)
3.) April (see March but a little warmer, bummer is proper thing to do is avoid high elvations where I want to be, GMC closes trails).
4.) May (see April, but snow is less, bugs generally not out yet in my experience)
5.) August (summer with less bugs)
6.) October (gorgeous but trails are packed with huge crowds)
7.) Feburary (see March, but days shorter & colder)
8.) July (bugs & hot & humid, I hate hazy days where you can't tell if the sun is out or not because it is too hazy)
9.) January (cooooooold!)
10.) December (days too short, cold, but some snow makes it beat out November, barely)
11.) November (short days, generally dreary weather, hunting season)
12.) June (bugs & hot & humid)

So I guess overall spring is my favorite. Mud does not bother me, but I am told I bother the trails when on them in the mud.

Ofcourse the weather in New England & the Adirondacks varies from year to year which shakes this up even further.

I happily hike in any month.

 

[expat]

Winter

Winter all the way. No bugs, no overheating, no color-coordinated Tourons! And it has great water-cooler cred!

 

[Neil]

1.) September (best weather, before foliage crowds)
2.) March (best winter, lots of snow, more sunshine & longer days then January)
3.) April (see March but a little warmer, bummer is proper thing to do is avoid high elvations where I want to be, GMC closes trails).
4.) May (see April, but snow is less, bugs generally not out yet in my experience)
5.) August (summer with less bugs)
6.) October (gorgeous but trails are packed with huge crowds)
7.) Feburary (see March, but days shorter & colder)
8.) July (bugs & hot & humid, I hate hazy days where you can't tell if the sun is out or not because it is too hazy)
9.) January (cooooooold!)
10.) December (days too short, cold, but some snow makes it beat out November, barely)
11.) November (short days, generally dreary weather, hunting season)
12.) June (bugs & hot & humid)

So I guess overall spring is my favorite. Mud does not bother me, but I am told I bother the trails when on them in the mud.

Ofcourse the weather in New England & the Adirondacks varies from year to year which shakes this up even further.

I happily hike in any month.

Here are my random comments on this excellent post.

December 21-31 is great for winter peakbagging due to less snow cover. To hell with Christmas.
October is a fantastic month. Permit me to take you to places in the ADKs where we will see no humans. I guarantee it.
November is a zen month. A time to hike and spend time inside oneself while the raw wind braces up.
January is cold allright but the brilliant sunshine (on the SSW side of Colden, toewards Blake for instance) will warm your heart like nothing else on this lil' ole planet.
July: I agree (finally) about haze. And the heat I might add.
As for the rest of the months you've nailed them down pretty good.

 

[jrbren]

October is a fantastic month. Permit me to take you to places in the ADKs where we will see no humans. I guarantee it.

I am skeptical. The only parks in NY that will be void of humans this October will be Yankee Stadium and Shae Stadium ...

 

[Neil]

Ye of little faith!
How about a bushwhack up to Mount Killburn in the Sentinel Range. Or if you want a little less vertical: Ausable #4 in the Jay Wilderness. A gem.

Then again we could always shwack our way up to Mount Hough in the Dix range via the South Fork of the Boquet River.

You prefer slides? I've never done it but the Redfield slide looks like a winner. Oh, you've done Redfield and its off your list? No problem, Cliff has a slide too.

The all time winner would be to hit the Erminebrook slide and crash our way to Santanoni's summit. Expect the odd human on Santa.


Back to you...

 

[marty]

Someone has to vote for summer, so why not me? Summer narrowly edges out the fall because I love to follow up a nice hike with a refreshing jump off my dock into Mooselookmeguntic Lake. The heat and humidiity don't bother me much either.

 

[Mike P.]

Answered it didn't matter:
The facts:
I prefer fall, from first day to mid -December
Time allows more summer trips
More planning goes into winter trips
Spring Trips run the gamut of finding leftover snow in April & early May to trying find summer trail conditions without leaves on the trees & before the bugs.
Bug season means trips that allow me to walk faster to avoid the bugs or staying above treeline.

 

[nh-trekker]

FALL & WINTER for me

I start in oct. and quit in mar. I go solo 99% of the time. This year I might try to hook up with some of the great people that I haave met.

 

[WhiteMTHike]

I voted for Autumn, just can't beat October!

 

[ADK4Life]

I like the feeling of being baked in solar ovens and the splash of water after..my vote is for summer.

 

[mavs00]

Ummmmmmmmmm...................... what season is it right now? Then I choose this one.

Ask me in another month or two and perhaps you'll get another answer. Really now, I really do appreciate each season/month for what it's worth and you'll never hear me utter "gee, I wish it was winter (or fall/spring/summer)".

 

[Shewolf]

Gotta say that Winter and Autumn are my favorites. Autumn b/c of the colors and the cooler weather. However, I love the winter too since it's COLD!!!!!!!! and the descent is much easier on the knees. Like walking on cotton balls. Not to mention the butt slides....(thank God for powderskirts!!!!)

 

[BEUCS]

"rocky Mountain High"

I will cast my vote as follows: Autumn, Winter, Summer, Spring. I have placed Autumn at the front of the list because no other season causes me to have what I'll call "a quickened senses experience". I feel very alive and alert, sometimes to the point of actually feeling like I'm high. I think maybe there's something primal and biological going on as if my body senses the growing season coming to an end and is signaling me to prepare for the coming Winter season. What I do know is that I delight in the experience of the season's warm day's and cool nights, or even the cool days with the warm sun on my face. My eyes are treated to a collideascope of color as the leaves of the trees change over... just drive down one of the dirt roads in the White's and see if you do'nt feel like your driving through a box of Fruity Pebbles. The air is crisp, cool, and beyond refreshing...it's one of the few times of year that I realize the miracle of just breathing. I could go on and on but I have to get back to work. Autumn #-1.

 

[Zimmer]

I voted summer, but that's going strictly by the calendar seasons. Early September is still summer, right? My July/August schedule actually allows less hiking time, and I don't enjoy the hot weather. But for me, the hiking I enjoy most is when I'm able to go light -- just a fannypack and water bottle. I normally hike alone and enjoy trail running (at my own pace, which some wouldn't consider running -- if it's overly rocky or slippery I slow to a fast hike pace), and I just find it much more enjoyable without a huge pack. I also hate the late October/early November morning glaze.

In the winter I prefer to ski, normally downhill or x-country, though I've done a couple of the gentler 4k's on touring skis as well.

 

[ADK4Life]

I feel like my opinion will change with the seasons. Each season has its own positive and negative aspects, they serve as a reminder as the season creeps in. I am starting to remeber how much I like hiking in the fall.

 

[Nonlegit]

mmm....WINTER. i hate the summer. in the winter there are no bugs, plenty of water, no people, a level tent site, and you are always comfortable. plus its really pretty, and you can ice climb and ski.

 

[blacklab2020]

I hear every bit of what you just said about winter... plenty of water... no people... NO Bugs.... .... every bit, plus you the downhill aint so bad as many people have already stated. Great time to be in the daks.

Plus you can carry any meat/perishables, for however long, to cook for dinner....

 

[mudhook51]

I don't work alot in the winter so I can hike or ski almost any day. Also no bugs, no rocks, roots and branches to trip you up. Less people on the trails and mountains. No bears or critters trying to eat your food either.

 

[paul ron]

WINTER

It isn't camping if it's not cold cold cold.

 

[Double Bow]

You just can't beat Autumn with the blazing colors, temps that are cool but not too cold, and the lack of bugs. Of course, I'll go out anytime I can but, autumn is the best! Not in any hurry for summer to end though...

1) Autumn
2) Summer
3) Winter
4) Spring