[pct-l] Leaving Date

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

In my opinion, it could possibly be kind of oppressively hot to start  
on May 25. The little seasonal creeks will be dry but the springs  
will still be running since many are for cattle. A lot of the caches  
are there to save you the effort of hiking off trail a quarter mile  
or two miles off the trail for water so you would probably end up  
relying on those off-trail sources instead of caches. Up in the So  
Cal high country the more reliable streams ought to still have water.

I don't think your dates will impact your experience in the Sierras,  
except the mosquitoes might be pretty bad.

Do you think it might be possible to start the 2nd half this year and  
do the first half next year? Maybe next year you can arrange life for  
an earlier start time. I always thought the perfect hike would start  
in Sierra City for both halves so both halves have a terminus ending,  
with the 2nd ending being the Mexican border in the Fall when So Cal  
is really nice.

On Mar 8, 2013, at 8:28 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> From: John Herrin <johndavidherrin at gmail.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] Leaving Date
>
> My wife and I, we'll be 57 and 59 when we leave, are planning on
> backpacking the PCT over two summers. Our plans are to hike the CA  
> portion
> in 2014 and OR & WA in 2015. This is the only way I can get her to  
> agree as
> 5 to 6 months is just to long to be away from our 5 grandbabies. We  
> are
> fairly experienced backpackers and over the years have spent many  
> summers
> out west though our longest trip to date was the JMT in late July/ 
> August of
> 2010 (we went SoBo).
>
> It seems most thru hikers leave the US/Mexico border somewhere  
> between Apr
> 15th and the 25th with plans to head out of Kennedy Meadows and  
> into the
> Sierras no sooner then June 15.
>
> Now we are concerned with snow in the mountains. If we left Campo  
> around
> May 25th with plans to reach Kennedy Meadows on July 15th, will we  
> be to
> late to hope for the occasional stocked water cache in the desert?  
> Should
> we expect the heat to be really oppressive? Are all the Trail  
> Angels/Magic
> done for the year?
>
> Heading into the Sierras around July 15th will we find the water  
> crossings
> to hazardous? I realize there is no way to predict the snow levels  
> in 2014
> but from what I have been reading most folks try to cross before  
> the snow
> bridges are gone and the creeks become rushing torrents. Anyone have
> experience heading NoBo into the Sierras around July 15th?
>
> I love the emails listing the daily posts and answers. I have been  
> pouring
> over them and saving some of them. I can't wait to get out of  
> Chicago and
> back on the trails.
>
> Thanks to you all,
> John & Tina