[pct-l] Which Sections to hike for first time hiker

[Barry Teschlog]

Gerry wrote:

"We wife and I are planning to hike part of the PCT this summer, and perhaps
complete it in sections.  She teaches so we can't start till July.  Does
anyone have a favourite section that would could be done in 1-2 weeks and
would be relatively easy to get on and off of? We have done some backpacking.
We will be flying from BC.
We thought about starting at section A, but that may be a bit to hot and dry
for July."
Reply:
Since you're living in BC, I'd suggest starting close to home.  You have some of the best sections of the entire trail in northern Washington, just across the border.  


If you can delay your start until late July or into mid August, I'd highly recommend starting at Stevens Pass (where US Highway 2 crosses the trail) and hiking south to Snoqualmie Pass (where I-90 crosses the trail).  IMO this is the best combination of scenery, difficulty, accessibility and length of section in Washington.  You'll get the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in all its glory.  The ~74 miles can easily be done in a week.  Getting to the trail:  Take either Amtrak or Greyhound from BC to Everett.  Public transit (Community Transit route 270) can take you quite a ways east on US2 (Gold Bar), although not all the way to the pass.  Hitching to the trail angels place in Baring (The Dinsmores) shouldn't be too difficult.  They could likely help out with the final logistics of getting to the start point.  From I-90 it should be relatively easy to arrange / hitch a ride back to the greater Seattle area and from there to get home (Greyhound, Amtrak,
 Seatac / flying).  The nice part of exiting at Snoqualmie is there is food and lodging there, so if you need to wait a day for an arranged ride, you have a convenient spot to do so.  There's also plenty of traffic that stops at the pass for the coffee shop, travelers rest area, restaurant, etc so the hitching opportunities are plentiful for a well mannered person.


If after that section you're looking for more, I'd suggest reloading food and fuel and begging a ride up to Rainy Pass (US Highway 20 / North Cascades Highway) and walking "home" to BC & Manning Park by doing the last section of the trail.  The logistics of getting there are more difficult, however getting back to Vancouver post hike is a breeze via Greyhound.