PCT

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 sheffieldchris 28 Jan 2020

Anyone on here done a through hike of the PCT northbound

 IainL 29 Jan 2020
In reply to sheffieldchris:

There is a whole series of articles on the Supertopo archive from a family doing it in sections over a number of years.

In reply to IainL:

Cheers,

I am looking through lots of resources right now and will have a look at this.

 Lankyman 29 Jan 2020
In reply to sheffieldchris:

I'm sure Chris Townsend has done it and written a book about it (or the Divide Trail).

 brianjcooper 29 Jan 2020
In reply to sheffieldchris:

> Anyone on here done a through hike of the PCT northbound

I'm guessing you've read the book 'Wild'. Gives a bit of an insight.

In reply to sheffieldchris:

I did it last year, I've a blog up if you want to have a look. The blog only goes up to Shasta, I'm missing a few (50ish) days from the end. They are all written out, I'm just crap at sitting down and uploading them, plus I've a fair few photos to go through.

It may be of interest to you that I went through the Sierra section in the second highest snow year on record (alright, I'll stop swinging it about!). That's all documented in the blog.

Its an amazing journey, I'd recommend it to any one interested in hiking and backpacking. Any questions get in touch.

davidsverybrillianthike.wordpress.com

In reply to brianjcooper:

Good book, that.  A searingly honest bit of autobiography.

T.

 Chmusar 29 Jan 2020
In reply to sheffieldchris:

if you check this out 

youtube.com/watch?v=ZcdhpKpTR8E&

the youtube channel is darwin on the trail and has lots of great advice about long distance paths and has done the PCT , also advice on gear etc.

Post edited at 19:18
1
In reply to Chmusar:

cheers this guy has been my main go to guy for info on youtube

In reply to Boris\'s Johnson:

good blog will spend time looking through it.

my questions just to you are did you get a permit to start from the Mexican border, closest I can get one for any dates in April are paradise cafe at mile 151.

I see only around 12 people out of the 50 permitted started on your start date, so lots of extra space in your slot.

When was the first time your permit was asked for/checked. I know it will get checked at any park or wilderness area where a day hiker would need a permit.
I am really not sure I want to do the hike if I can not go border to border.

 OwenM 30 Jan 2020
In reply to sheffieldchris:

Through hiking will break your heart, by Carrot Quinn is also worth reading. As is her blog.

 Darron 30 Jan 2020
In reply to sheffieldchris:

I walked 110 miles of the JMT in 1978. Met a guy on the way called Cliff Gantz who was walking the PCT. He said he would be writing a book. Anyone know of him/it?

In reply to sheffieldchris:

> good blog will spend time looking through it.

Thanks man.

> my questions just to you are did you get a permit to start from the Mexican border, closest I can get one for any dates in April are paradise cafe at mile 151.

I got a permit to start from the border. I went through the permit lottery in November and by the time I'd got to the front of the queue April was full up and that was the start date I preferred to starting in late May. Starting early I got a few comments about weather and such but in the end I was prepared and it all went well. I think I preferred starting early as it was less busy on trail and the desert was still pretty cool, in both senses, plus there was plenty of water about. 

If you want to start in April then one option is to start at Paradise cafe and hike south to the border then hitch/ bus it back up to paradise and head north from there. That's a totally legitimate way of doing things when the border start permits fill up.

> I see only around 12 people out of the 50 permitted started on your start date, so lots of extra space in your slot.

Yeah, not many people started on their permit date due to the high snow. I don't know if they started later, I did meet one guy in San Diego who had a March start date but was delaying his start till April, it's not really how the permits work as the PCTA tries to spread out the amount of people starting to prevent overuse of town services and to preserve trail conditions. 

> When was the first time your permit was asked for/checked. I know it will get checked at any park or wilderness area where a day hiker would need a permit.

The first, and only, time I was asked for my permit was in Washington state, 5 months into my hike. I heard of and talked to other people who were asked on the first day, some in the first week and some in the first mile of the trail.  I hiked the second half of the Sierra with a guy who had a permit but didn't have a physical copy of it, prior to us hiking together he'd been 4 days into the middle of nowhere and was asked for his permit. Because it wasn't a physical copy he was turned back and had to hike a day back down the trail to the nearest exit point to get a printout. Some people are lucky, some people aren't. 

> I am really not sure I want to do the hike if I can not go border to border.

I was adamant I wanted to hike border to border and I thankfully was able to in the end but I met loads of people who were skipping up and down the trail to miss the areas of heavy snow and they were still having a great experience. A lad I hiked the Sierra with got sick of the trail in North Cali and headed off for a few weeks then skipped Oregon and went north through Washington to the border, he also had his heart set on a "true thru" but in the end he still had a great adventure.

Before I went I was all into planning everything out, looking at daily mileage and rest days and had some spreadsheets set out with it all in. By the second week all that was out the window and I was seeing what came and dealing with it day by day. I found reading blogs very helpful and to some extent watching youtube videos. 

In reply to Boris\'s Johnson:

cheers man,

read a fair few of your blogs and did get that impression.

never thought of hiking back to the border then hitching back to Paradise, something to think about and look into.

Have now got my permit from Paradise cafe and booked my appointment with the US embassy.

Are the guys checking permits really anal that the dates have to match up with where you are or are they more interested that you actually have a permit.

Even thought of trying a little doctoring of the permit but the background embossed picture put paid to that, bet that one has been done before and they thought ah we will stop that.

e-mailed the PCTA about cancellations and very late changes to permit and waiting for a reply.

Read that about 40% of people who drop out off the trail do so in the first 150 miles, bonkers that is a place for the committed lost.

Where are you based in the UK and do you have any stuff from the trail you would want to donate/sell

In reply to sheffieldchris:

> Are the guys checking permits really anal that the dates have to match up with where you are or are they more interested that you actually have a permit.

They just want to see you have a permit. When I got asked for mine the ranger  just wanted to see a physical copy more than anything. She asked me when I started so I told her the date that was on the permit and then she went through a little speech about "leave no trace" and bid me on my way. I wasn't asked for dates of where I'd been previously on the trail and haven't heard of that happening.

> Read that about 40% of people who drop out off the trail do so in the first 150 miles, bonkers that is a place for the committed lost.

Yeah, I think people have an idea of how it will be and then it doesn't meet expectations in the first week so they bin it off. I started the first day with a lad who ended up sacking it off in the first week, as soon as we got to the first exit point he was inquiring about lifts back to San Diego. He seemed a bit under prepared and when I chatted to him during the day when we crossed paths he'd complained of being cold on a night and not sleeping well. Getting decent gear is a must. I don't know if you're into the lightweight side of things but I would not skimp on sleeping gear, I met many people on trail using quilts who complained of being chilly on a night or getting random drafts that wake you up. For the minimal weight penalty I'd say a sleeping bag is the way to go, I also added a liner in the Sierra, to stay toasty on a night and get a good nights sleep.

> Where are you based in the UK and do you have any stuff from the trail you would want to donate/sell

I'm in West Yorkshire. I use the tackle I got for trail in my weekend exploits so I don't really have any spare gear, sorry.

If you decide to document your own journey I'd be interested to follow along.

Edit: Typo.

Post edited at 22:45

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