High/Moderate Winds on the Presidentials

[Will]

I'm planning a leisurely south to north traverse next Sunday (9/16/18)-Tuesday. That's what I've got, no flexibility in dates.

I've done the Presidentials Summer, Winter and in between, snow and rain, but always lucked out with reasonable winds. But looks like I'm going to get steady sustained winds in the low 30s for much of the trip, along with some rain at least on Monday. No huts or shelters, dispersed camping below treeline (barely). Is that kind of steady wind a joy-killer there? I've fought the wind on lower Whites ridges (Franconia, Bondcliff for example) and above treeline out West over the years and frankly I find it mind-numbing. I usually hunker down frequently and wait for the worst to pass, but this is the first time I ever remember going in with a high wind forecast like this. My general experience with Whites forecasts is that 20s means frequent sustained gusts of 40+ and we're ratcheting up from there.

Any opinions from experienced Presidentials hikers as to what that time period looks like in practical terms? I can hike elsewhere a little tamer but this has been a gap for me in recent years and I've been looking forward to it.

 

[egilbe]

Have to be flexible hiking the Presidentials. Too far in advance for any meaningful forecast. I make my go/no go decision the day of the hike and plan on bailing out at any point. You are correct in stating that hiking in sustained winds is numbing.

 

[Will]

I make my go/no go decision the day of the hike

I'm leaving day after tomorrow; Presidential component is at the end of a longer hike. Weather forecast updates are just what I hear from people I meet along the way and what's posted at huts I pass. I may have to buy some kind of radio to pick up forecasts.

 

[Ken MacGray]

Yeah, way too far out to say what the winds will be like up there six days from now. You won't really get a better picture until the day before / morning of.

 

[TJsName]

I'm leaving day after tomorrow; Presidential component is at the end of a longer hike. Weather forecast updates are just what I hear from people I meet along the way and what's posted at huts I pass. I may have to buy some kind of radio to pick up forecasts.

If you have a smart phone you can probably pick-up the forecasts from the MWOBs site at some point. Or have a friend monitor it and text you.

The huts are still open next weekend:

https://www.outdoors.org/lodging-camping/huts/season-dates

 

[nartreb]

Note that Hurricane Florence is expected to make landfall in the Carolinas later this week. In New England, we can expect significant rain Thursday and Friday, with a good chance of higher winds than usual. The storm is expected to head inland and die in West Virginia, but there's always a chance the storm could bounce eastward and cause issues for us over the weekend.

edit: as of Tuesday mid-day, Florence looks likely to hit North Carolina and pretty much stay there for the weekend: Tropical-storm force winds to begin Thursday morning, the eye to hit the coast 24 hours later, and the center to stay somewhere in North Carolina into Sunday. Between the storm surge and the rain, it's going to be a BIG flooding event in North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay. Rain will extend into Massachusetts (with much of Pennsylvania, which is already soaked, likely to see local flooding) but the Whites look to emerge mostly unscathed.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Start thinking about a less exposed Plan B?