>>1426663>Seems very do-able to hike year-round in the south eastI just finished the southern half of the AT on Dec 19. it is doable if you aren't on a time crunch or if you stay at sufficiently low elevation. above 3500 ft (on the AT you stay above 3500 ft persistently throughout the state of NC) you will run into snowpack and it is way shittier than western snow because of the temp swings and higher humidity. the snow melts then refreezes with a crusty shit layer and you will not be able to avoid getting wet if you walk through it. it is definitely doable, but there was a day in NC where I covered 4.8 miles and was exhausted at the end of it. flat terrain that would have taken an hour and a half in the summer took about 6 hours of really hard and painful hiking because of the snow and ice. once I finally got out of that shitty snow and ice I did a 31 mile day crossing the border into GA. so just be ready for that and try to plan your hikes well.
