7 weeks on the PCT
The Pacific Crest Trail, or PCT, runs 2650 miles from Mexico to Canada, through California, Oregon, and Washington. I hiked the northern third or so, starting at Stevens Pass in Washington and ending 865 miles later in Etna, California, a little bit southwest of Mt. Shasta. I hiked 19 days, took 2 rest days on the Washington/Oregon border, then hiked another 29 consecutive days to Etna. If I learned anything, it’s that I love hiking through shady forests wih lush undergrowth, and I need to take more rest days!
I chose to go north to south for this trip. Most PCT thru-hikers head the other way, south to north, traveling from Mexico to Canada because a longer snow-free weather window gives them a better chance of completing the trail in one go. I chose to start in the north and hike south for two reasons. I liked the idea of walking toward Lake Tahoe as an endpoint, and I’d get to pass through the northbound hiker bubble on the way, offering the opportunity to meet a lot more hikers. Plus, as I wasn’t planning on trying to cover the entire 2660 miles of the PCT in one fell swoop anyway, I could start later and wait for the northern mountain passes to melt out before starting.
Why the PCT?
Three reasons, I guess. I wanted a long, easy trail, simple logistics, and a good amount of social opportunities along the way.
By ‘easy trail’, I mean fairly smooth and easy to follow, rather than rocky or overgrown. The kind of path you can follow without putting a lot of thought into each footstep. The miles I covered were almost all very well maintained, and although many were very strenuous physically because of long climbs or descents, the tread was easy to walk and provided the meditative, easygoing miles I was looking for.
The logistics of resupply and access were very simple for the section of trail I chose. A friend shuttled me to the start at Stevens Pass, joined me for the first half day of hiking(thanks, Jim!), and a couple easy bus connections ferried me from the end in Etna back down to family in the Bay Area. Resupply was also very easy, as I had food drops mailed to towns or hiker-friendly businesses that were spaced every 5-6 days or so apart by trail. I'd simply walk to the post office or business, pick up my general delivery box packed with another week’s worth of food, and be off again. Easy peasy.
With just a couple exceptions, the social aspect was awesome. I was expecting to meet lots of hikers as I worked my way through the northbound bubble, and I was not disappointed. It started as a trickle of just a few hikers and built to a couple dozen each day as I worked my way south. Surprisingly, the peak of hikers crossing paths with me reached 150 to 170 per day for a few days. This definitely broke up the rhythm and peacefulness of the trail on those days, but fortunately was short lived. I came to learn that fires had closed hundreds of miles of trail ahead of me in Northern Cal and Southern Oregon, and the hikers had to evacuate and skip those sections. Hundreds of hikers ended up resuming their hikes pretty much all at once at just a couple of trailheads on the OR/WA border, resulting in a much denser clumping than usual. Fortunately, the worst part was over in a couple half-days, and the hiker traffic started thinning out again.
Just about every day I had the opportunity to stop and chat with hikers of all ages and from all over the world. Some wouldn't break stride, and would call out a quick greeting as they cruised by. Many others would stop for a bit and chat. I met hikers from around the US, England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. I'm sure there are many others I don't remember! Ages ran from 19 to 76, with hikers in their twenties being the most common, followed by the older crowd in our first years of retirement. The twentysomethings were usually in transition, often changing careers or heading back to school.
Overall I had a fantastic time, and enjoyed every day even if the hiking was hard(Well, almost every day!). I ended up leaving the trail 3 weeks earlier than expected in the small town of Etna, just southwest of Mt Shasta, rather than by Lake Tahoe as originally planned. As I reached Northern California, I learned that many of the remaining miles to Tahoe had been recently burned, and even after a winter or two, still had powdery ash that would get stirred up just by walking through. It stained skin, clothes, and gear black, forced hikers to distance themselves from each other to avoid breathing it in, and made taking breaks and finding campsites very difficult. After tossing options around with my expected hiking partner for that section, I called the trip good in Etna. It's a very friendly little town for hikers, and will be a great place to start again.
