Average AT Weather by the month
There was one site with the average temperatures for the AT which is useful information.
That site with this information has been down but the wayback machine has it archived. My link is to the archive.
Remember those numbers are averages with highs and lows canceling each other out. A chart of averages is very useful information as long as you are prepared for spikes.
Being prepared for spikes means either carrying equipment for extreme temperatures just in case or being ready to briefly get off trail to wait for harsh weather to pass.
I’d be prepared for spikes of up to 10 to 20 degrees colder than the average. That generally means a sleep system (pad, bag/quilt and base layer) that will keep you warm to 20 degrees. The surveys reflect that as the number with the happiest hikers.
For an example of a spike, Happy6 and I had a night in the Smokies in mid-March where it hit 17 degrees—our coldest night on the Appalachian Trail. If we had been prepared for only the average low in the thirties we would have been in trouble.
We met people who started in February and had a harsh cold snap. They got off trail until it passed and hiked in very nice hiking weather the rest of the month.
On Trail Angels
The very first person I know of that used the term “Trail Angel” (it is even in their trail name) was a donation fee shuttle driver on the Appalachian Trail. She required a donation for shuttles and was often the only driver available in areas.
People considered her a godsend and many older hikers talk about her as if she were a saint.
She cost much less than a cab would have cost but could not have kept driving without the donations.
For comparison, Steph/Big Mama, the trail angel I think of most with the Pacific Crest Trail, refuses to accept anything. If you are sneaky you can pay for her meal, but she won’t even accept reimbursement for gas.
On all trails there are also people doing “Trail Magic” — providing food and water and other hiker support. On the AT it is like a luxury or second Christmas to have a trail magic hiker feed.
On the PCT and CDT the water caches make some stretches so much better. They make some stretches tolerable instead of grim.
Those people have also started to be called trail angels.
People going by the label “Trail Angels” run the gamut between the extremes of a trail business and pure charity. That is from shuttle businesses to providing treats or providing essential services without charge.
The area of what is a trail angel is complicated by federal rules not allowing businesses that go into federal territory unless they comply with very exclusionary and difficult permits. So a shuttle going into a national park or forest service area often can’t even ask for donations.
But many people who shuttle into those areas are not wealthy enough to stay in service without help. They are also often the only available help in those areas as well.
In that context I’ve dealt with trail angels providing shuttles who accepted donations but who could not ask for them or suggest them. Some were also very aware that there were those who just couldn’t afford anything and they were committed to serving all, even those who could not donate.
Generally the term “Trail Angel” is coming to mean anyone who provides trail services of any kind who does so without mandating a specific payment.
The evolution of the term causes some confusion and different expectations on different trails.
It is also affected by the sense of entitlement some hikers demonstrate. I’ve seen requests like “does anyone know a trail angel who can bring me a pizza and a beer” and similar things.
It is the sort of thing that makes you blink with surprise when you see it. I’ve been picked up by drivers who drove past younger hikers because they had had bad experiences with clueless demanding younger hikers.
Part of the shift in meaning has to do with hiker density. The AT having so many hikers allowed someone to go into business as a trail angel.
Because there are far fewer hikers and the way the federal lands and regulations apply, you would starve or end up in jail on other trails doing the same things that are done on the AT.
With FarOut entries becoming more common most people who are serving hikers are clear if they are a business or if they need help with the cost of gas or if they are just reaching out to be kind to hikers.
That really helps with avoiding mismatches of expectations.
I hope this makes it clearer why the term “Trail Angel” seems to mean different things at different times and on different trails.
Link to resupply map
https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/s/CssJxFMvHL
https://www.openlongtrails.org/
