Colorado vs Maryland

Of course there is a major difference but I hope someone in Maryland-type outdoor conditions can fill in any blanks I might have or be missing.

I have been putting together an exhaustive list for gear for the Rockies but as it turns out I might be moving to Maryland now. This is what I know so far

Colorado vs. Maryland

no humidity vs. crazy humid
very cold winters vs. barely snows
no real bug problem vs. ???
1-3 miles elevation vs. sea level ???
alpine enviroment vs. ???

So basically what I think is that I don't have to deal with colder temps anymore which means lighter pack but I have to worry more about bugs and rain? How much is my pack effected in these 2 enviroments?

Because of the high humidity, you will find that the nights are much warmer in the East. Diurnal temperature fluctuations are much greater in the arid West, including Colorado. But, it can get a bit muggy in July and August in Colorado; at least along the Front Range.

I used to live and hike in New Mexico so I can tell you something about the difference.

Bugs are the big downside of camping back east. Ticks and mosquitoes are your companions in the woods. But there are good repellents for mosquitoes. For ticks you will need to treat your clothes with permethrin and also carry something to pick off the ticks at night that get past the chemical.

The humidity takes a little getting used to. You will find that you sweat a lot more for the same temperature and effort level (actually you were sweating before too but it evaporated so quickly you may not have noticed). But the humidity has an upside too. There is no blowing sand in the wind (in New Mexico you can't smile when the wind blows because you get grit on your teeth). Also in the west your tent and socks are always getting full of sand and dirt. Not so back east.

The big difference you will notice is that the day/night temperature fluctuations are much smaller in the east. Not sure if this is due to the elevation or humidity. In the southwestern U.S. a 40 degree differential is common which means a pleasant day turns into a cold night. In the east it is more like 15 to 20 degrees. So for me a "summer bag" means no bag at all. I sleep under a bug net with just my clothes as covering. I'm not sure you need to worry that much about rain. My recollection about the southwest is that rain was infrequent but when it came it came down hard and fast. So if you were prepared for rain (in terms of shelter) in the southwest then you are prepared for rain in the east. But you will find yourself hiking more often in the rain. In the southwest you can "wait until the rain passes". That would be a long wait back east. So "rain gear" means more than a tent or tarp. Better get something to wear on rainy days like a poncho or a rain jacket and pants.

There's lots to like about both places. You will miss the scenic vistas and sunsets of Colorado. But you will really enjoy the lush green of the east, the trails that are completely roofed over by a canopy of trees, and the little creeks and ponds.

Have fun.

I was thinking about the ticks. There are no fleas in colorado either and I know that will be an issue. I will have to come up with a solid bug solution <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I used to live and hike in Hawaii so I know about tropical weather, but I am sure Maryland is different. I think as long as I wear gators...I should have a problem with ticks digging in but who knows. I want to be a hammock camper so that should keep me high and away from the bugs unless they love to climb down my line but then they have to get past my mesh top <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Atleast I can hike year round now and not worry about a thick down quilt and save lots of weight....lets hear it for a 15lb full load <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I live on the boarder of Maryland and West Virginia. If you're going to be on the Eastern side of Maryland I can't tell you much about it. There are too many people and major metropolis to deal with. On the Western side of Maryland there is plenty to do. Being close to WV and Va you would be close to the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests. There are a lot of bugs out there but most of the time it's not in the extreme unless you're camping beside a water source; mosquito's. Temperature changes can be pretty crazy in the higher elevations; 3000 - 5000 ft. I went out in early spring this year at around 3200 ft and that day it was a warm 75-80 degrees. That night it dropped down to around 35 degrees. This much of a deference is very rare in mid-summer however, though it can drop down to the 60's range easily. In the Winter it's certainly not like the Rockies but it does still get cold and snow some. Most of the snow will be in January and some in February. Every few years we get a lot of snow but mostly it's not much. It will still be cold up high though, subzero in some areas. The area I'm in is a temperate climate if that helps you any. Hope this helps. Feel free to send a message with questions if you like. I can tell you pretty cool places to check out for hiking. Lots of rocks to climb out here too.



Aaron

The low humidity makes colder temperatures somewhat more bearable in Colorado. I'm talking moderate cold, and not so much the dead of winter, when it gets really insanely frigid in the Rockies.

Also, consider Maryland's weird geography.

I've camped a fair bit with kayak on Chesapeake Bay and also bootlegging on Assateague Island. Very lovely and wonderful places. Saltgrass wilderness as far as the eye can see. Dophins, surf, wild ponys scrub pine and sika deer (size of great dane dogs). Truly ferocious and rather giant mosquitos and pesky sand fleas. Don't even THINK about the tarp shelter. Think bug netting and a floor.

Then there are the Appalachians in the western panhandle. Generally the same as Pennsylvania and Virginia. Mainly oak forests, with beech/maple at higher elevations. Little or no fir zone found in higher reaches of Smokies or New England. Hot sticky and fairly miserable weather for much of the summer. Hikes are best combined with swimming or frequent bathing in brooks. Insect life is bearable if you stay out of swamps and away from wet areas. You can use the tarp shelter with care in bug season. You may or may not regret.

Autumn-like weather can extend to Christmas or beyond, though a bit of snow might fall as early as November. On the highest hollows on the coldest winter nights, it will fall a tad below zero. Some winters will have no snow at all, and fairly mild temperatures.

Maryland is wetter than Colorado, but those summer afternoon showers in Rockies can be pretty persistent. Certainly thundershowers anywhere in Maryland can dump a rather large amount of rain in a short period. And you can get large coastal storms almost any time during the year, though in the summer and fall they're sometimes called hurricanes.

You might want to also check with the owners of the Freestate Hiker hostel in Maryland.
He is a former AT thru-hiker that opened a hostel in Maryland for AT hikers.
I'm sure he could give you a lot of information.

http://www.freestatehiker.com/

I started camping with the Scouts in Maryland. After a long break from backpacking, I started up again with my new bride...again, in Maryland. I love and really miss the hardwood forests of the MD/VA/WV area.

But I don't miss the humidity... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

FB

You're probably gonna get an occasional tick on you no matter what you do. As Herber suggested treating clothes with permithrin seems to keep them at bay pretty well, but you will need to periodically check over your entire body when you are hiking just to make sure one hasn't gotten on you. Even with treated shoes/boots and gaiters I still find them on me once in a while. Usually they are up in the groin area or on my thighs underneath my shorts. They love those dark little corners.

how the heck do they get in there and not bring attention to themselves, especially while wearing gators?

Chiggers are what bother me the most. I can pull a tick off of me but chiggers stay for a few days. The bad ticks are the deer ticks. They have a red design on their backs, most of the ticks you'll see are dog ticks. They have a brown pattern on them. The dog tick does not carry lyme disease. I've never actually found a deer tick and I only know of one person who has ever contracted lyme disease. Here are some websites on ticks, so you can figure out which ones are the bad ones.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pccommonticks.htm


http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek060115.html


The second link is a write up concerning ticks in the Carolinas but many of their ticks are the same as what you will see in Maryland.

Lessee...

Rain in MD. Rattlesnakes in VA, WV & MD (as in CO). Chiggers, ticks & West Nile Virus mosquitos there. State bird is the sand fly.

Eric
P.S. Oh yes, copperheads too. Have fun in MD <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I once had about 40 chigger bites and was told that fingernail polish would smother them. I didn't have clear so I looked a sight in red. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> I was told that they dig into your skin and live for a few days. So I got online and discovered what they really do. Chiggers are a form of mite. They try to find an area on your body that the skin is thin. Like around your ankles, waist etc. They excrete a fluid that dissolves skin cells and then they suck up the mixture kinda like a fly. After 24 hours the bite site starts to itch. If you get a noticable chigger bite, think of where you were the previous day. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Use plenty of repellant on you and your cloths.
Now as far as Colorado vs Maryland I can't tell you much about either. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> But I did have a job and one week they told me they were sending me to Michagan. So I started planning how I was gonna spend my free time. I thought I would camp and flyfish the Ausable. Well, the next week I was told that I would be heading to the middle of Florida. The F-in Company had to many partners and little communication. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I was being pulled back and forth. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> When I became vocal and told them to make up their F-in mind, had it out with the owner. I made up their mind for them. I'm back in business for myself. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> My point. Unless you know for sure your going to a certain place? plans can change.

Good luck and have fun where ever you end up. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Maryland isn't official and still might not happen but I doubt it.

I did research on chiggers and ticks. I now have a good understanding on what to do which is cool. I now see that just wearing gators won't work because they are so small it wouldn't be very hard to climb intween them. Looks like I will be tucking my pants in my socks from now on and wearing lots of DEET <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Research also gave me some good advice on what to do on my own property. I look at my backyard now and if this was maryland...I would be screwed :P

Somewhat unlike giardiasis, tick bites may indeed be a particular concern for backpackers. But I would hardly give it a second thought.

I can offer only a few objective facts.

Subjectively, I can tell you I 've been thrashing around in the bushes in Connecticut and the Northeast for many years, and never to my knowledge have been bitten by a tick. I've observed many hundreds of ticks and pulled them out of several peoples' skin, none of whom got Lyme disease.

My best friend has been a "tree surgeon" in Connecticut for decades. He's wading through brush constantly and never gotten the diesease.

Once, somewhat recently, I saw a fellow who seemed obviously to have the "bullseye" symptom, and appeared to be infected with Lyme disease.

Turning to objective stuff, I've seen highly credible reports about research that suggest a remarkably low likelihood that a given tick even carries the disease; that the tick must feed for at least 24 hours before transmission occurs, and that there is a very high rate of over-diagnosis.

As of a number of years ago, the simple test was highly inaccurate, and the accurate test was highly expensive, so apparently doctors barely bothered.

Also, that the large majority of the supposed cases of Lyme disease that don't respond to a short course of anti-biotics are found to have been mis-diagnosed, and typically aren't in fact Lyme disease at all.

Not to say it isn't a potentially nasty diesease. Given the choice, I'd take giardiasis in a second.

I can't give links on this stuff without some work. If anybody wants, maybe I can review the stuff. Mostly my source has been the New York Times, which has free archives.

There is definitely a small group of people that are hysterical about this topic. They are remarkably hostile to mainline medical researchers. They are mostly "patient activists," and are perhaps a bit nuts. But they have been fairly effective in spreading their views.

I probably fall under the same line as the people you call "a bit nuts". I strongly agree that doctors only know what their text books tell them and google can be more of a use then a doctor can (and much cheaper). so anyways...I am not worring about getting lyme disease. The research I did says that it takes between 4 and 6 hours for the disease to spread. I will wear the right equipment, use the right sprays, and check myself and my buddies on a regular basis just to be safe.

I am curious about the difference in harmful wildlife. In the rockies, the only danger is black bears and mountain lions but you rarely see them (I have never seen them). What are the dangers in the mountains of Maryland, and are they really a danger...like wolves or what ever. Should I consider bringing a gun with me?