Backpacking in January

[schmalz]

off the top of my head

- the first 150 miles of the PCT
- Catalina Island
- Lost Coast trail if it's a warm/dry week

[kpeter]

Thank you all for some excellent suggestions. You have given me some terrific alternatives. Such a nice range of options, from New Zealand to the Channel Islands! I am sure I will take up at least one of your suggestions in January, and more in future years. This is yet another testament to the wonderful utility and community of this board.

[wildhiker]

We've done both New Zealand and Patagonia as mid-winter (ours) trips in January or February - high summer there, with long days. New Zealand is cheaper and easier to travel to/within and has more options for hiking, camping, and backpacking (they call it tramping), so I'd go there first. The Lonely Planet book "Tramping in New Zealand" is an excellent introduction. The New Zealand Department of Conservation web site is also amazingly detailed and helpful - far better than our own US National Parks and Forest Service websites, in my opinion. One thing is that December and January in New Zealand are the school summer holiday months. Camping and hiking are a big part of New Zealand culture, so you will have lots of company/competition in those months. All schools start again around February 6, which is their national holiday "Waitangi Day" that celebrates the signing of a treaty between the Maori tribes and Britain that created the nation of New Zealand. Then you have a whole month of summer weather in the rest of February and continuing into March when the trails and camps are less crowded.
-Phil

[ofuros]

If you ever do get down under....from the tropicical north to temperate Tasmania I'm sure you'll find something that tickles your fancy.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=over ... 60&bih=512

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=hinc ... 60&bih=512

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=kaka ... 60&bih=512

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=sout ... 60&bih=512

https://www.google.com.au/search?client ... 1GL9MYk7BE

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=carn ... 60&bih=512