[pct-l] A few questions

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Hi Flo, here's my experience. I went into this as a newbie not  
knowing what to expect.

On Jan 14, 2012, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> I'm planning on starting the trail at the annual kick-off and possibly
> seeing how far I can get. Should I instead aim to reach somewhere  
> (say Big
> Bear City) and plan on that being my exit point? Would you suggest  
> a good
> place to end my section hike, if I'm planning on hiking for around  
> 3 weeks?
> According to Craig's PCT planner, it would take me around 20 days  
> to get to
> Big Bear City, which seems like a good amount of time to me.

In 20 days you might be able to get further than that. I was pretty  
surprised I could hike further than I normally am able to on the PCT.  
So if you can be flexible and figure out what to do if you gat  
further than Big Bear then you can just enjoy your journey without  
being hemmed in too much. It might be a good idea to figure out how  
to get home from Idyllwild too, just in case.
>
> Do I need trekking poles if I'm ending my hike at around Big bear  
> city?
If you normally use them they'll be helpful. Otherwise there isn't  
much in the way of difficult obstacles in your section other than  
some snow in the San Jacintos. They can be useful there, but lots of  
people do not use them at all.

> Where do I get information on trail angels and how to contact them?
I got a lot of info from other hikers who seemed to know way more  
than me. Information flows rapidly up and down the trail. Usually  
there is some place in each town where the hikers end up that has  
information available. The Post Office usually, the hardware store in  
Wrightwood, sometimes right on the trail there will be a note posted  
on a sign or something.

> Would trail angels be willing to pick me up from along the trail?  
> (as I'm
> really not keen on the idea of hitching)
Some will leave a number on the trail. Some hikers will have phone  
numbers pre-programmed in their phones for people in town who give  
rides. I have no idea how they got them. And sometimes a trail angel  
is the person who just happens to be at the trailhead who offers you  
a ride.

> And is it normal to send re-supply packages to trail angels in  
> advance?
Only to a few like the Sauffley's. You'll have to ask in advance. The  
post office works great for resupply. Just send General Delivery. You  
can find all the addresses on the PCTA website. They have a little  
program that'll print out the addresses for General Delivery for any  
towns on the trail.

> Obviously I would be more than happy to reimburse for any help I  
> receive.
> My main concern is just getting on and off the trail and food and  
> water.
> Finally, do I need to get Yogi's PCT planner if I'm just doing a small
> section? Or would a PCT southern california guide suffice? It would  
> cost me
> about $50 to get Yogi's guide, as I would have to pay for shipping  
> all the
> way to London.
You can use either. I suspect (but don't know for sure since I don't  
have it) Yogi's guide has more names/contacts for actual businesses  
and individuals that can help and it's probably updated every year.  
The guide books have post office info, and for towns without post  
offices, contacts for businesses that will hold a package, but you  
should verify in advance in case the business (or these days the post  
office) has closed or changed their policies.

> Hope it's alright to ask so many questions, I would just hate for  
> something
> to go wrong being out there on my own.

You won't be on your own. Others will help you. They'll love to help.  
It's fun to help fellow hikers and once your hike is over, you get  
joy from helping as a non-hiker. That's why there are so many trail  
angels and so many people who will appear out of nowhere to help.
>
> Thanks so much,
> Flo