[pct-l] Latest date one can safely start a NOBO thru-hike

[Eric Lee]

Bear Can wrote:
>
I've been planning on a 5/9 start date in Campo, but my knee is still
recovering from an injury I sustained in December.  My doctors suspect I'll
need another month yet to heal, and then could start the weight-bearing
rehab I'd need to do to get back into trail shape.  Because that timeline
doesn't leave much room for error, I'm looking into Plan B and Plan C
options.  My Plan B would be going NOBO, but leaving as late as possible. 
My Plan C would be a SOBO thru-hike, starting around 7/1.  I am a fast
hiker, did mostly 20+ mile hiking days on the AT, and probably 2-3 weeks
worth of 30+ mile days.  
>

There are two issues with a late NOBO start: SoCal gets more and more
unpleasant (i.e. hot and dry) as time goes on, and you have a shorter and
shorter window before snow falls in Washington.  A four-month thru-hike
isn't unreasonable if you're strong and fast, but I wouldn't want to be
walking through SoCal in June.  (I'm a Pacific Northwest native, though, so
I'm a wimp about hot weather.)  Keep in mind that if you're recovering from
a serious knee injury, you might want to take it easy at first and not slam
straight into a high-mileage trail routine, either.

Another option would be to start somewhere north of the border,
approximately where you figure you would have been had you started on 5/9,
continue up to Canada, then flip down and finish up the southern leg in the
fall.  Not quite as classic as a straight-through thru, but it makes a lot
of logistical sense.

SOBO is certainly an option but it takes a certain kind of person to be
happy with a SOBO hike.  The social scene is much smaller, navigation is
harder, and services that NOBOs take for granted may not be available to
you.  On the other hand, some people like SOBO for exactly those reasons.
:-)

Eric