[pct-l] Starting a thru-hike in January from San Diego?

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Of course everybody piled on to tell you it was suicide. One  
suggestion: prolong your schooling one semester and start in the  
Spring. Another: Get a crap job for a couple of months and start in  
the Spring. If you have a job already lined up, then choose a  
different trail or become a section hiker. The PCT only has a short  
window to start a thru-hike and the low altitude segments in Southern  
California don't last long enough to start in January.

On Jul 26, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> Hi everyone. I've known about the PCT for a while and I've hiked it  
> once or twice but it never dawned on me to do a thru-hike. I've  
> always wanted to do a thru-hike on the Appalachian trail but that  
> is on the other side of the country. Anywho, this idea was switched  
> on in my head like a lightbulb and as such, I'm trying to find out  
> how feasible it is. I'm a 23, almost 24 year old college student.  
> I'll be graduating in the fall of 2012 and I want to attempt my  
> thru-hike then, as that's really the only opportunity I would have.  
> This means that my hike would start at the beginning of January,  
> after the holidays. Is this suicide or is it possible? I'm in  
> decent shape, I know I can get in a lot better shape and I would  
> have a year and a half to prepare for this. I have hiking and  
> camping experience, not much in the winter though. That's my  
> biggest worry, going through the Sierras and Cascades during the  
> winter and early spring. Is this suicide or is it
>  possible?
>
> Thanks
> -Mike