[pct-l] planning ahead, but how thoroughly?

[judson at jeffnet.org (Judson Brown)]

Mark-

On shorter trips, I like to have an itinerary for that kind of thing. That
allows me to avoid long climbs in the afternoon, get to towns with enough
time to resupply, etc. But on longer trips it pretty much falls out the
window. On my trip from Echo Lake Resort to Quincy last summer, I had this
beautiful itinerary all set up which had me doing 17-18 mi. days. When I got
on the trail, however, I found myself doing 20-25. Then an unscheduled stop
at Pooh's Corner...

I was ignoring the itinerary (as far as mpd were concerned) by the 3rd day
out. On the other hand, excessive planning does keep someone with OCD busy
during those wet winter months...

Judson
Ashland

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net]On Behalf Of Mark Wright
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 5:35 PM
To: Pacific Crest Trail Mailing List Pacific Crest Trail Mailing List
Subject: [pct-l] planning ahead, but how thoroughly?


Looking for some trip planning suggestions here for a 2005 though hike.
I'm wondering just how thoroughly I should plan things. For example,
how far ahead do people plan their campsites? I'm sure some people plan
every place they plan to camp all the way up to Canada, but I can't
even stick to such plans for a week long trip. I figure it ought to be
good enough to plan out my first week's campsites and after that just
try to plan a couple days ahead. I know I'll want a pretty good idea of
which towns I will visit for resupply so that people back home can send
me things, though even these plans will likely change over time except
when I know I have a package waiting for me.

So basically, any thoughts from pct veterans on how they planned
everything and how their plans changed over time would be appreciated.

One plan of mine which I would like feedback on is to start out hiking
about 10 miles a day and work my way up to 20+ miles a day. My goal is
to be at 20 miles a day no later than 100 miles into the hike. Does
that sound reasonable? My reasoning behind this is that no matter how
much I prepare physically my body will not be accustomed to hiking 20
miles a day every day and I don't want to hurt myself, especially my
feet. And I understand that a lot of people overexert themselves at the
beginning and their feet (and other parts) pay the price.


Thanks,
Mark

-----
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