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Early Spring Ride
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Luke from Pittsburgh on 12/26/2019 8:18:09 PM:
I'm planning a ride from Pittsburgh to DC in the spring. I have a week off of work in mid April. Is that too early in the season to complete the ride in its entirety? Just thinking about trail conditions, etc. Thanks!
 
Rivnuts from Homestead, PA on 12/26/2019 11:20:24 PM:
That may depend on whether you plan to camp or lodge along the trail. The average high and low temperatures in April are 61 and 41 while they are 72 and 52 in May. Hence the nights in April can be quite cool for camoing and there is a chance of snow, especially in the higher elevations in mid-April. A mid-May ride has a higher probability of being more enjoyable. It also precludes having to carry both warm and cold weather clothes and gear. The likelihood of rain is about the same but it is much more tolerable at higher temperatures.

I faced the same issue last spring and ended up waiting until early May and a week with little or no rain forecast. Doing so made for a pleasant trip, albeit with some unrelated mechanical issues.
 
Ross from North Augusta, SC on 1/23/2020 1:06:13 AM:
I'm looking at May 17-20, this is great information as I was wondering about if that would be to early or not.
 
Meg from Durham, NC on 1/23/2020 11:59:45 AM:
Hi, my friend and I did the C&O in mid-May last year and it was great. As long as you go after the water pumps are turned on, I think an early spring ride is nice. There weren't too many other bikepackers on the trail, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. We were hammock-camping (with underquilts) so having our pick of trees at the hiker-biker campsites was ideal. It rained a bit before we got there so the trail was definitely muddy at the start, but I think that can happen in any season on the C&O.
 
Meg from Durham, NC on 1/23/2020 11:59:46 AM:
Hi, my friend and I did the C&O in mid-May last year and it was great. As long as you go after the water pumps are turned on, I think an early spring ride is nice. There weren't too many other bikepackers on the trail, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. We were hammock-camping (with underquilts) so having our pick of trees at the hiker-biker campsites was ideal. It rained a bit before we got there so the trail was definitely muddy at the start, but I think that can happen in any season on the C&O.
 
Ross from North Augusta on 2/4/2020 11:54:50 PM:
Sounds great, I'll be hammock camping.. I'm ok alone, hoping one of my friends will join me though..
 
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