The Basics: Spring Season Hiking in New England
Shoulder season hiking is perhaps the most frustrating time of year to hit the hiking trails. On top of the deteriorating trail conditions in spring and the unconsolidated trail conditions in fall, the amount of gear you need to carry multiplies exponentially based on how much (or how little) snow we have in New England. As springtime is quickly approaching, we thought it would be the perfect time to put together a post on the hiking basics in shoulder season for spring hiking specifically. Fall tends to come with a less convoluted set of guidelines than spring so we will be focusing on hiking in spring specifically in this post.
Disclaimer - Prior to any hike you should check the route you’re intending to hike, which includes checking the map and if possible reading about the route whether online or, preferably, in the official guidebook (if applicable). You should share your plans with a trusted individual, as well as start and estimated end times. You should also carry the Ten Essentials on every hike, regardless of season.
The following information is intended to supplement what a person would be carrying or doing to prepare for a hike in summer conditions. This post is intended to be the absolute basics that you would need to know prior to setting off on a hike in shoulder season.
Mud Season
Spring is a unique time of year for hikers. What sets springtime apart from the three other hiking seasons is that in a few sections of New England hiking trails close during springtime for mud season. For about six weeks during the spring trails in Vermont, the lakes region, and some sections of southwestern New Hampshire close down to hikers to minimize damage to the trail during mud season. In the White Mountain National Forest it is recommended that you turn around if you encounter excessively muddy trails to limit erosion and damage to the footpath. Vermont outright closes almost all of their hiking trails in mud season, and the Crawford-Ridgepole Trail in the lakes region of New Hampshire also closes their trails during mud season. Typically speaking, mud season runs from late March to early June.
Weather & Trail Conditions
Before you even step foot on trail regardless of season, there are two really important things you need to check: the weather and the trail conditions. The weather at the trailhead, or where you live, isn’t going to be the same as the weather on top of a mountain. Although our mountains are no more than 6,288’ high, the majority of houses in New England are at sea level. Which means that if you live at 200’, your temperature and weather forecast isn’t going to be the same as what it would be at the summit. Temperatures drop significantly as you go up in elevation. It’s really important to check what the weather will be at the top of the mountain (or on the trail if you’re not ascending a mountain).
Mountain Forecast and Mount Washington Observatory are the two websites we use to check weather conditions and temperatures before our hikes. We also check local weather for the town nearest where we will be hiking to see what the temperatures and conditions will be like at the trailhead.
Another important thing to consider when hiking in spring is water crossings. Crossings in spring can become dangerous this time of year and many trails are inaccessible because of the water crossings. Furthermore, what a water crossing looks like in the morning could be multiple feet higher by the afternoon. A resource to check before setting out on a hike that might have questionable water crossings is the water table on NOAA.
The second, and equally as important, thing to check before setting out is trail conditions and trail accessibility. One of our favorite resources for current trail conditions is a crowdsourced website called, New England Trail Conditions. This site is a really reliable source for all things trail. Especially in spring, checking this website before heading to the trailhead is only going to help you in the long run. Conditions are going to be deteriorating as spring continues and knowing the state of the monorail can help you decide if you need snowshoes or just microspikes.
TrailsNH is another great resource for trail conditions but more importantly this website is also great to check for the status of road closures. The majority of road closures last through the end of May in New Hampshire. Some of the most popular 4000’ers require multiple miles of road walking to get to the trailhead in winter and spring because the roads are closed. The Forest Service also provides the status of roads on their Facebook page.
Figuring out weather, trail conditions, and accessibility to the trailhead are the first three things you want to check before setting out on a hike. Once you have that information, you will know what gear to bring and what clothes to wear for your hike.
Gear & Clothes
Starting from the feet and working our way up, the first thing you want to be sure to have on any hike regardless of season is proper footwear and traction. Depending on where you plan on hiking in the spring you could encounter no snow or multiple feet of it. Additionally, with freeze/thaw temperatures in spring you are more likely to encounter a lot more ice than other time of year.
For traction we still recommend carrying a pair of microspikes during the spring unless you are sure there will not be any ice or snow. In recent years, we’ve found that Kahtoola Microspikes don’t seem to be cutting it on the thick ice forming on trails and have switched to a more aggressive spike by Hillsound. Many hikers still wear the Kahtoola spikes, but for thicker ice we recommend the Hillsounds. They are equally priced.
Depending on conditions, carrying and wearing snowshoes throughout the spring might still be a good idea. As the monorail begins to thaw it will become less stable and wearing snowshoes can make hiking on the deteriorating snow less frustrating.
In terms of footwear, we transition to a lighter pair of trail runners as springtime temperatures rise. Depending on where you are hiking you may still want to wear your winter hiking boots during shoulder season.
For socks, during the spring we transition into a lighter pair of socks that typically go to right below our calf in length. Knowing that the weather, temperatures, and trail conditions will vary during this time of year from day to day, we recommend checking the forecast at the trailhead where you intend on hiking and on the summit of any peaks you plan on climbing the morning of your hike to know what to wear.
Layering is probably the most important thing to do to stay warm and avoid sweating regardless of season but in cooler temperatures especially. The most common form of layering is a base layer, moisture wicking long sleeve shirt, followed by a mid-layer jacket, then an insulating jacket, and finally an outer layer wind breaking, waterproof shell. Even though the temperatures will begin to increase as we approach summer, we still recommend carrying all of the layers of jackets that you carry in winter.
Protecting your fingers, ears, and head is equally as important. We lose a lot of heat through our heads so wearing a hat is a good idea, (and conversely taking it off can help you cool down fast). A liner glove can be the perfect level of warmth in shoulder season but some prefer to carry an extra pair of insulating mittens even in the height of summer. In spring we still carry a light weight neck warmer to keep our face and neck warm.
While you may not wear all of these items at the same time, it’s important to carry all of them in your pack so that you’re prepared for whatever the mountains may throw at you. Speaking of in your pack, let’s close out this post with what you should be carrying at minimum in your pack on a spring hike.
Carrying emergency gear in your pack is essential. On top of the Ten Essentials, the most pared down emergency kit should include an emergency bivy, emergency blanket, hand/feet warmers, headlamp, and extra base layers and socks. Furthermore, we recommend carrying a lightweight sleeping pad on longer hikes because in the event of an emergency this added insulation will keep you warmer in your emergency bivy.
Carrying enough food and water to last you through the night is also recommended. Ultimately, you want to head out on every hike with enough supplies to get you through the night regardless of what season you’re hiking in. Will you be uncomfortable and cold with just an emergency bivy, blanket, sleeping pad, and warmers? Yes. But will you live? Hopefully.
Additionally, you can carry extra clothes, a sleeping bag, and tent if you want to be able to wait for rescue and greatly increase your chances of surviving comfortably. However, it is likely that most hikers who are heading out on a day hike aren’t going to carry that much gear.
Example of a Spring Hiking Kit
To summarize, here is a list of everything extra we carry on a day hike in spring as well as what we wear. The below list is on top of the Ten Essentials which we carry on every hike. We are not affiliated with any of these brands nor do we receive money for linking to them. We would also like to note that this is what works for us. Trial and error is what led to us hiking with these items or wearing these clothes. You don’t need the most expensive things to get started. If you enjoy hiking, and have the finances to do so, we recommend investing in lighter weight, higher quality gear so that you don’t have to replace it as often.
Worn Clothes
Trail Runners
Darn Tough Socks
Lululemon Leggings
Base Layer
Mid Layer (Jacket no longer made)
Insulating Layer
Outer Shell
Extra Gear Carried
Extra wool socks (any brand but we prefer Darn Tough)
Extra base layer top & bottoms (any brand but we prefer Minus33)
Wool hat
Buff
Emergency Bivy
Emergency Blanket
Hand warmers (4)