[pct-l] Favorite Parts of the PCT

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Oct 12, 2009, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> I think one of the best things about the PCT is that just about  
> every part
> can be awesome under the right circumstances and it is never  
> exactly the
> same experience for any two hikers.

I agree. Last year it was hot and dry for me hiking across the  
Antelope Valley out of Hikertown. I started in early morning and  
sweltered through the hike in the heat of the day, arriving at  
Tylerhorse Canyon for my camp. This year I left Hikertown in a  
thunderstorm at 3 in the afternoon and chased rainbows and storm  
clouds across the desert, arriving at Cottonwood bridge for camp  
after dark. It was a completely different experience.

Same thing with the traverse of Jawbone Canyon. Last year I started  
to cross early in the morning on a hot, dry day. I sweltered through  
the day miserably, camping at Bird Spring Pass at the end of the day.  
This year I crossed half of Jawbone Canyon in the afternoon in a  
thunder storm and half the next morning in sunshine. I saw amazing  
double-rainbows from my campsite in the middle of the desert. Nothing  
smells better than the desert in the rain. I found it to be a  
beautiful place and a much better experience the second time.

I think I would like to do Oregon again someday, but not in July like  
this year. It was hard to enjoy in July with all those mosquitoes.