[pct-l] PCT Elevation Gain / Loss Stats

[Barry Teschlog]

FWIW:  Pre-thru hike back in '06, I went through the WP guidebook and made a spreadsheet of all the data points.  Yep....too much time.  It was done so I could make a detailed elevation profile of each section - the data book profiles weren't detailed enough.  Note that I agree with the previous comments on the limitations of such a course resolution.


Anyways, said spread sheet indicates the gain is +338,509'.  It also indicates the loss is -337,603'.  Net, +906 feet.  


There are undoubtedly some typos in there as it was manually typed in as I read the guide books.  There is also a few points where it was obvious that the data points didn't capture large climbs or descents, so I broke a few into estimated intermediate points and plucked intermediate elevations from the maps in the guidebook.  

As to the OP's question regarding a by State breakdown:  


Cali (Sections A-R, so this really has a bit of Oregon in it):  Gain of 219,614 feet, loss of 218,288 over 1710.5 miles.  Approx 128 feet of gain per mile average.


Oregon (less what is in Section R / Section A):  Gain of 42,825, loss of 46,865 over 433.5 miles.  Approx 99 feet of gain per mile average.


Washington:  Gain of 76,070, loss of 72,450 over 507.2 miles.  Approx 150 feet of gain per mile average.


My subjective feel:  Cali goes on forever.  Oregon is flat and fast.  Washington will remind you what hills are, doubly so from Stevens Pass to ~20 miles south of Stehekin.