Winter Hiking The Appalachian Trail

Tyrell and Tekla opted not just to attempt to backpack the whole trail in a single season, but they decided to do it winter. They figured that, as Alaskans, they were used to snow and cold, so the trip would be more of an adventure to be enjoyed than a challenge to overcome.

Photos courtesy of Tyrell and Tekla Seavey. Tekla Seavey pauses on the snow-covered Appalachian Trail in Tennessee in December during a four-month trek. Though the 2,181-mile through hike is usually attempted in the summer, she and husband, Tyrell Seavey, from the Kenai Peninsula, took on the arduous trail in the winter.

The Appalachian Trail crosses the road at this gravel parking lot. We crossed the road from the parking lot and headed through the gate. Take a left as soon as you go through the gate and walk through the field . The south-bound AT then climbs rather steeply through some open areas and crosses over a fire road early on the trail. At .5 miles, you reach a communication tower and some old tractor seats. I'm sure that many AT thru-hikers have enjoyed taking a brief rest on these seats. At one point, I'm sure these seats provided a nice place to view the western sunset, but now the trees in front have blocked some of the scenery from view. Continue past this area and keep following the white blazes to stay on the trail. At the one-mile marker, you will come to another communication tower. Stay on the white-blazed AT and the trail begins to descend. At 2.0 miles, the trail reaches McCormick Gap and crosses Skyline Drive. Cross the road and you will come to a small ladder stile that will lead you on to private land.