NOBO vs SOBO Decision
I have a situation that makes the start of my hike difficult. I have the opportunity to take a paid trip to France to speak at the University of Utah’s wilderness medicine program about my hiking experiences.
The problem is that the main dates that I’d need to be there is July 3-11. I was originally planning to start my SOBO CDT hike around mid to late June. This would mean if i wanted to go SOBO, I would have to quickly get off trail to go to France, then return to the trail when I’m home, or just start from the beginning in mid July.
The other option would be to just start NOBO in May… from my research and talking with past hikers, the trail is much better suited hiking SOBO, because of the snow in the San Juans that tends to scatter the “bubble”. I am not reliant on a dense social experience but I do think that it really adds positively to the thru hiking experience, so I’d prefer not to be completely alone for weeks.
In your experience, what is the best solution for me here?