[pct-l] New to the pct-l

[John Abela]

>
> Hey my name is Joshua, I'm from Arizona and am interested in hiking the pct
> in 2011. I'm a little behind the eight ball as far as planning is concerned
> and I would appreciate as much input as possible! Cheers
>


Hey Josh,

At this point you've got five major things you need to deal with:

(1) Permits - check out the official PCT website for these
(2) Maps & Guides - buy your maps & guides ASAP and study them every waking
moment
(3) Drop points - learn the trail (via above) so you know where to send
stuff
(4) Gear - if you do not already have all of your gear, learn fast.
(5) Education - educate your home support (wife, sister, buddy, whatever) on
#1 and #3 above.

You only have 15-20 weeks before you have to leave if you plan to do the
2011 season.

Hit the mailing list archive - I have learned most of what I have needed to
learn over about a three month period from asking questions on this mailing
list. I still do not have all of the drop locations figured out, though a
number of people have posted the exact locations a person *must* use due to
distances and other location based issues.

If a person were to read through the following twelve archive links, I think
90% of people could learn 90% of what they need to learn to take on the PCT.

http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-December/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-November/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-October/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-September/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-August/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-July/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-June/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-May/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-April/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-March/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-February/thread.html
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2010-January/thread.html


Best of luck getting up to speed Joshua!! It'll be a fun and educational
process!

John