Weather

Basically it can be said that the weather is extremely varied. In early Spring the weather can still get down into the single digits in the mountains. Snow and ice storms are very possible. As the weather warms up getting into April and May heavy rains and thunderstorms are common. This gives way to the heavy humid heat of June, July, and August with temperatures going up into the 80's or 90's. Coming into September you head into fall and winter again.

The seasons are compressed because of the elevation and exposure to wind. At the southern and Northern ends of the trail, elevations are a good bit higher than the central part. This increase in elevation causes the decrease in temperature. It is not uncommon to climb from spring into winter and back down into spring in one day. The 3 photos below will illustrate the variation of the temperatures.

Regardless of the weather the hiker had better be able to deal with it.