Re: [pct-l] ALL 3

["Brett Tucker" <blisterfree@hotmail.com>]

>If you start at the Mexican border [CDT thru-hike] on 1 April, you'd 
>probably have to
>road walk southern Colorado (probably most of Colorado) even in a light
>snow year.  The snowpack normally doesn't clear in southern Colorado
>until at least mid June.  Then you'd probably hit more snow in the Winds
>and, if you're lucky, only the end of the snow in northern Montana in
>July.  That's either a lot of snowshoeing or a lot of roadwalking.  That
>doesn't bode well for doing a 4 month hike.

Were I to attempt a triple-crown-thru (and I have no such intention), I 
would probably shoot to complete the trek in a year's time. I think this 
would linger a bit more impressively (in my mind) than simply hiking all 
three trails "nearly" back to back. There would be a lot of gray area to 
such an accomplishment, but less so on the 1 year plan.

So, doing the hike in a year's time, this would call for a faster pace along 
each trail, and in some ways this might be beneficial. For instance, I'd 
probably wait until early May to begin the initial CDT portion, in New 
Mexico. I know little about the flow of that trail, save for the CT portion 
and the basic geography of New Mexico. But I do understand that the 14'rs 
and high elevation trail doesn't begin until southern Colorado. Starting 
early May, on a 4.5 month plan, might place the hiker in CO under reasonably 
favorable snowpack conditions, especially in a low-snow year. With any luck, 
the hiker continues on toward Canada with PCT-type patchy snow, completing 
leg#1 of the journey by mid-September.

>And that would put you in the Sierras in Oct/Nov if you did a 4 month PCT
>hike.  How much snow?

Let's say we skip straight from the CDT to the PCT, in perhaps 3 days time, 
heading south from Manning. All that conditioning gained along the CDT 
should allow us to hike the PCT in just under 4 months (this is certainly 
reasonable if we've maintained our health, physically and mentally). We'd 
probably make it through Washington without a snag, and Oregon and northern 
CA feature lower elevations. I'm not entirely certain where weather and 
trail condition problems might surface, but certainly reaching the Sierra by 
late November or early December would pose serious hazards. And considering 
this, I think selecting an alternate route through that area would be 
justified. After all, no one hikes either the PCT or the CDT in purist 
style, because it's utterly impractical and basically meaningless. (I think 
"purist" is a term best left to AT circles, where it actually means 
something.)

Jumping back on the PCT at, say, Trail Pass, the hiker continues south and 
with extreme good fortune, a bit of specialized equipment, and a vast 
willingness to night hike, makes it to Campo in time to ring in the new 
year. New Year's resolution: the AT, of course!

>Then there's the AT - not a major problem if  you start maybe Jan 1 -
>that would get you to Katahdin in May for a 5 month hike.  No point in
>doing it faster - Baxter State Park doesn't generally open until sometime
>in May except to those who are part of a group with heavy duty
>mountaineering equipment and experience.

The early January start date shouldn't pose a huge problem, agreed. The 
hiker would find the AT's winter, even in the Smokies, to be child's play 
compared to his PCT experiences. When the occasional snow storm hits (did 
any hit this past winter?), we break out the snowshoes, etc. Or layover. We 
have plenty of time, after all. Completing the trip in a year's time means 
finishing by the beginning of May: 4 months, once again. That's an eon for 
the hiker fresh off two other mega trails, especially considering the AT's 
puny 2100 mile "distance." :)  Sure, the Whites and Maine would feature snow 
and ice during April, but only of mountaineering concern at the higher 
elevations, which are come and go along the AT route. And yes, we'd arrive 
at Big K before opening day, but at this point we couldn't care less about 
the laws set down by Percival Baxter back before the golden age of 
thru-hiking. Last I checked, the Park did not feature checkpoints along the 
AT route, except for the nearby ranger stations at Daicey Pond and Katahdin 
Stream, neither of which would be staffed in April. (or would they?)  
Anyway, I wouldn't plan an AT hike around the Katahdin admission season, 
regardless of the journey's ambition.

>Of course, a lot of that snow can be walked around on lower routes - but
>why?  The only reason to do it is ego - you certainly wouldn't see - or
>hike - a lot of the trail.

I believe we all see something uniquely ours out there, just as in all other 
aspects of life. The person choosing to walk all three NS Trails in one 
year's timeframe would require a very unique vision, and I can't begin to 
imagine what the trails would look like through his or her eyes. Perhaps 
something profound beyond words. Would ego lie at the heart of the goal? It 
could, but then that can be true of any accomplishment. And even a single 
thru-hike is a huge accomplishment, requiring a force of will beyond that 
necessary to simply enjoy a walk through the woods. I think it would be a 
mistake to write off a triple-crown-thru hike as an ego trip. Most 
thru-hikers complete their journeys so they can later reflect and think to 
themselves, "I did it." Not so that they can hear others say, "You did it."

- Blisterfree




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