[pct-l] Info about PCT

[Eric Lee]

Gary wrote:
>
The answer to these questions depends on what part of the PCT you'll be
hiking. In southern California fires are only allowed in developed
campgrounds, and sometimes not even then. There are fire restrictions in
many other parts of California depending on many factors.
>

Echoing what Gary said - if you've hiked primarily on the east coast then
you might not have a good appreciation of how serious the fire danger can be
in the west.  It's very, very important that you understand and follow all
fire regulations for the area that you're in.  If fires are not allowed,
then don't have a fire.  Period.  End of subject.  Even if they are allowed,
be extremely careful and paranoid.  Starting a forest fire, even
accidentally, can financially ruin you for the rest of your life.  Depending
on the jurisdiction you may be held financially liable to the tune of
hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars of fire-fighting expenses.
This is serious stuff.

With that out of the way, for the end of July to August I'd suggest either
the John Muir trail in the Sierra (the PCT coincides with it for most of its
length) or pretty much anywhere in Oregon or Washington.  To narrow down
Oregon, you might consider a north-bound hike ending at Mt. Hood, then
calculate how far you want to walk in two weeks and start that far south.
To narrow down Washington, you could do Snoqualmie Pass to Stehekin or
Steven's Pass to the Canadian border, again depending on how far you want to
walk and how you want to arrange transportation.

Eric