Guest:
Excellent question.
I grew up in the Starr Mtn area of Tennessee, just South of the Smokies and spent most of the Summer and about half of Christmas Breaks on top of the mountains for weeks at a time. I can remember hiking/camping trips where I didn’t even pack a jacket and ran around in shorts and t-shirts for about a decade during Christmas Break.
To me, the coldest and worst weather in Tn and Western N.C. would be late Feb through mid-March and then it magically warms up. These days it seems a lot colder just after Christmas, which makes me dubious of the Global Warming debate.
This past Christmas (2006) I spent about two weeks in North Ga on Brasstown Bald, in Western North Carolina, the Smokies, and SE Tn and the heaviest thing I wore was a light Old Navy fleece pullover, a pair of Polar Tech long undies, and either a ballcap or watch cap and never got cold, except when I got sweaty climbing rocks and then sat around for a while.
The good thing about hikng these hills during the Winter and early Spring is, there are no crowds at all. We had the hills to ourselves and a lot of interaction with the Rangers who were pretty bored so they were glad to spend a lot of time showing us different trails and even picked us up at the end of a couple. With the leaves gone, it’s also a great time for some awesome views.
With that said, I’d be sure to pack for the changing weather conditions in the mountains if you’re going “high” but the lower elevations are great. Winter and early Spring happen to be my favorite times to hike/camp for the reasons listed above and for the knowledge that the snakes and bugs aren’t out in force, a good thing for us and our exploring 3 yr old Son.
Hope this helps.
P.S.- Camp chili just doesn’t taste as good in the Summer as it does in the Winter after a day on the trail.
Tree Top Flyer
Savannah, GA
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Nevertheless, and even when I myself won’t travel for days through the bush: a very pretty site with interesting stuff on it!