[pct-l] How late can one start the PCT . . . .

[Jonathan Blees]

Dear Uberdude aka Todd,

If you start on May 25 and finish four months later on September 25 (as late a planned finish date as is safe; earlier is better), that's about 18 weeks of hiking to do about 2700 miles.  That's 150 miles per week (=  25 miles per day with one zero (rest) day per week).  Is that feasible for you?  Let's see . . . .

You hiked the AT in 5.75 months, which means that you went about 2200 miles in about 25 weeks, which is about 88 miles per week (= 14.7 miles per day).  To get up to 150 miles per week means you'll have to increase your mileage by 70%, or about 10 miles per day.  Hmmm . . . that seems like a lot.  Working in your favor is that, as you noted, the PCT is graded more gently (and it has fewer roots 'n' rocks), so you can hike faster and probably longer.  (As Jeff Olsen suggested, following Ray Jardine's admonition, hiking more hours is, for most people, a much more effective way of increasing miles than is trying to hike faster.)  Working against you is that you will almost certainly have scorching heat in the desert, and, regardless of how hot it is, you'll have to carry more water, as Diane said.  In addition, the distances between resupplies will be longer, which means you'll have to carry more weight, which will also slow you down.

So it's not looking good.  BUT -- if you did the AT in boots, I'll bet you could pick up 5 miles per day simply by switching to running shoes.  And if you were carrying a heavy pack (more than 15-20 pounds w/o food, water, & fuel), you could add extra miles by going light.  

A few more things:

Mark V's suggestion that you put in some miles during a long weekend or two in the winter or early spring is excellent (as are the several suggestions concerning flip-flopping, if you're willing to have a non-continuous hike).  Via this list, you could probably find some trail angels to help you with transportation.

Disclaimer:  I'm "just" a section hiker (so far:  Campo to Taboose Pass junction (between Pinchot & Mather Passes)), but I've learned some things from my mistakes and more from this list and thru-hikers on the trail, so I am not totally bereft of wisdom.

MOST IMPORTANT:  hike your dream!

Wildheart
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Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:08:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: todd harvey <uberdude06 at yahoo.com>
<snip>
I'm graduating from grad school on May 23rd and really
want to do the PCT. I'm afraid that starting the 24th
or 25th of May might be too late to do the PCT as a
thru-hiker. Any thoughts?
I did the AT in 5.75 months which is an average pace I
guess.  I imagine I'll drink a lot less this time and
the trail is graded a lot easier so I imagine I can
get more miles in a day with the same effort.
<snip>
thanks,
uberdude
aka
todd
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