[pct-l] two-car hiking

[wandering_bob at comcast.net (Bob Bankhead)]

I had a hiking partner several years ago who did a long multi-section hike
that way, but he hiked north to south, not south to north as your 2 car
system requires. He used an old pickup truck and a motorcycle. He loaded the
bike into his truck, drove to the north end of the section and dropped the
bike there, then drove the truck to the south end of that section, parked
it, and hiked north to his bike. He rode the bike back south to the waiting
truck, loaded the bike, and drove to the north end of the next section. He
just repeated this section by section - always leaving the truck in the
south and the bike in the north (it's easier to carry a small pack on a bike
rather than a full one). It worked. The bike was easy to hide off-trail and
no one wanted his beater truck.

Smart guy!

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <pcnst2001@att.net>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 3:26 PM
Subject: [pct-l] two-car hiking


> > always have trouble getting hitches anyway. Must be my
> > ugly mug? :-)
>
> I have noticed that young women have better luck than old men,
> like me.
>
> And that got me to thinking.   Has anybody tried a two-car hike?
>
> Works like this:
>
> You get a buddy to drive your other car to Campo, leave it and
> drive him back to the San Diego airport.
>
> You drive to Warner Springs in your other other car, leave it there
> and hike to Campo.    Pick up your other car, and drive it to West Palm
> Springs (or Idyllwild if you prefer).   Leave it and hike back to
> your other other car in Warner Springs, then drive it to Tejon Pass.
> Repeat... eventually you reach your other car at Rainy Pass with your
> other other car parked at Manning.    Then you go to the Seattle airport
> and pick up your buddy (remember him?) and drive him to Manning to pick
> up your other other car and both drive home.
>
> Advantages: no hitching, cars parked close to trail, cars can carry
> drift boxes, and it's relatively easy to drive to shopping in Lancaster,
> Tahoe, Ashland, Leavenworth, whatever.    Self-sufficiency!
> You don't need to FIND a trail
> angel, you can BE a trail angel as need arises.    If you start at
ADZPCTKO,
> you'll meet the same people over and over as you travel north while always
> hiking south.    In some sections, you can choose to do day hikes or
> overnight backpacks instead of long backpacks and thus travel ultra-light
> or ultra-heavy.     You'll still be challenged from Kennedy Meadows to
> Tuolumne Meadows, same as the conventional through-hikers.
>
> Disadvantages:  in this process you walk 2658 miles and drive about 5316
> miles, not counting the miles driving both cars to and from
> Campo and Manning.     This does have the advantage of giving you
something
> to do on your "zero" days.    The cost of gas and wear and tear on the
> cars should be considered.   A more serious problem is that cars left for
> two weeks at remote or busy trailheads may not be in real good shape when
> you retrieve them.    Inconspicuous mechanically sound but visually
> unappealing would seem to be optimal here.     And worst of all,
> numerous people will tell you or email you that you're not doing/didn't do
> it right.
>
> Somebody must have tried this...
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