Wood Booger Top 5: Coldest Hikes (To Date)

Since we are at the mid-way point of winter, I though what better way to commemorate this than a Top 5 list of my coldest hikes…to date. I have had a number of cold ones but these will be ranked not just on temperature, but on how cold they were when I hiked them. So with that said put on your toque, zip up you coat and get out those hand warmers here we go.

Honorable Mention:  AT Hike @ Return to Roan Highlands (July 16, 2014) – You may ask why is a hike I did in the summer on this list.  Well, it is the Roan Highlands and that means the weather can vary. On this day when we reached Carvers Gap it was foggy and the temperature was in the High 40’s which was about a 40 degree difference from Elizabethton, TN. When the sun came out it did warm into the 50’s but it started out damp and cold. This was quite possible the coolest temperatures I have ever encountered in summer (the only other place this cool was at Stonehenge in 2010 where it was in the 50’s). Temperature at start – High 40’s.

Number 5:  Fall Hike @Squibb Creek Falls (November 24, 2013). This hike wasn’t even in winter, but the fall (last year was just colder, remember that polar vortex). When I got to Tennessee last Thanksgiving, Glen suggested this hike. So, it was cold when we started out and add to this 16 creek crossings one-way, where water froze on the rocks when splashed, it was nippy.  Temperature at start – High 20’s.

Number 4: Winter Hike II @ Sawnee Mountain (January 24, 2014). I will say this was a cold day but I just wanted to get out so I did. I started in the morning and it really never warmed up too much. It was a brisk day, but there wasn’t any wind so it was nice outing on the trail. Temperature at start – 20 degrees.

Number 3: Hike Georgia On Gold Branch Trail @ CRNRA (January 8, 2015). This is my most recent cold hike, just last week that is. It was a frigid day, part of the reason it felt this way was because it was the first really cold day. By the weather forecast the night before you might have thought one would freeze to the spot. While we started in the low teens it did warm into the 20’s meaning I had to actually take off some of my layers I was wearing. Temperature at start – 12 degrees. 

Number 2: Winter Hike @ Pine Ridge & Sill Branch Falls (January 4, 2014). This was a cold hike!  It had it all snow, ice, creek crossings and frozen waterfalls. I couldn’t believe Glen came out because he was just recovering from pneumonia. Anyway, it did warm up slightly too about 20 degrees, but it stayed chilly all morning, but there was no wind that is why it is number two. Temperature at start  – 12 degrees.

Number 1: AT Hike @ Neel Gap to Levelland Mtn. (February 27, 2014) – This wasn't even close. I know I have talked about this hike before but it really wasn't the frigid temperatures but the wind, oh yes the wind that made this one memorable. The hike came together part being bull-headed and the other part just not having the right weather forecast. When I looked at the weather for Blairsville, GA it was forecast as 17 degrees and 10 MPH winds. Well, when I got to Neel Gap it was 10 degrees and the winds were between 35 and 40 MPH (which by the NOAA Wind Chill Calculator was about -14). I had been on most of the hikes listed here by this point and a few others but none prepared me for these conditions. I had planned to hike to Wolf Laurel Top, but if it hadn’t been for my emergency bandana I wouldn’t have made it as far as Levelland Mountain. It was this hike that got me to start using Mountain-Forecast. Temperature at start – 10 degrees & wind chill -14.