[pct-l] Pacific Northwest Trail

[blisterfree at isp01.net (Brett)]

I asked PNT thru-hiker Bernie for his thoughts on the 
experience, for the benefit of anyone on this list who might 
be interested. Will CC to the CDT list as well.   - 
blisterfree

The PNT turns out to be a very weird trail.  From everything 
that I have heard and read, no one has hiked the PNT from 
start to finish since the 1980's and it seems that the 
people who did hike it were not what you and I would call 
experienced long distance hikers.  When the newest edition 
of the PNT trail guide came out, I think in 2001, there 
seemed to be a flurry of interest in the trail, and a bunch 
of people set off from Montana to hike it.  At the PNT web 
site, they have feed back from hikers who were hiking the 
trail in 2001 and 2002.  The language they used sounded very 
negative indicating that they had a rough time of it, 
especially through the official cross country bushwhacks. 
They all apparently dropped out before they reached Idaho, 
so it seems, at least.

Ron Strickland, the founder of the trail, is a bushwhacking 
junky, whereas, the general public fears this type of hiking 
immensely.  The trail is virtually unmarked and some of the 
route is very very overgrown using trails and roads that 
have not been touched in 50 years or more.  So it seems at 
least.  The last person who was closest to finishing the 
trail was a woman who works for REI in Seattle who got only 
2/3 of the way through the trail.  The same year Stacey and 
I hiked the trail, some guy continued where he left off in 
Idaho in the bushwhacking section of the Selkirks and 
injured himself right away.  Therefore, it seems like the 
PNT is a great barrier for most people.  If someone fears 
getting lost, then they will tighten up and will get injured 
easily and will drain their energy quickly.

Having come off of the CDT the previous year, Stacey and I 
decided to challenge ourselves in 2004 by being apparently 
the first to go the opposite direction, relying only on the 
maps the book had to offer.  Stacey talked to Strickland on 
the phone, and he basically said that it was impossible to 
hike more than 20 miles a day on the PNT and that if we used 
sandals, like we did, that we would not complete the trail. 
We ended up hiking 25 to 35 miles a day easily, just like 
any of the long distance trails.  However, we could only put 
in 18 to 20 miles a day in the bush whacking sections of the 
trail.

I'd have to say that the PNT does resemble the CDT in many 
ways with its complement of road walking and problems with 
loosing one's way along the official route.  For most of the 
trail, we only had to carry a liter or less of water with us 
except for when we were in Eastern Washington State, which 
is the dry region of WA and in the shadow of the Cascades. 
It's big time cow country there.  We carried two liters of 
water each in this region.  This was Stacey's least favorite 
part of the trail, but I didn't mind it.  At the same time, 
it's not the CDT, but is closest to it compared to any other 
trail I have hiked.  It's an interesting trail in that it 
encompasses the wild and beautiful wilderness of the Olympic 
Mountains and Olympic Coast and then suddenly transitions 
into beach and road walking and the private property of 
Puget Sound.  But this has its beauty.  I don't care too 
much for the lowlands of WA state where clear cutting has 
had its toll on the environment.  We saw our share of clear 
cuts on this trail.  But then the North Cascades and the 
Pasayton are heavenly and beyond compare.  Then its a hodge 
podge of roads, dirt roads, pseudo trails,  cowboy trails, 
forest service trails, bush whacking, private property 
issues, all the way until the Kettle Crest National 
Recreation Trail.  The Idaho and MT sections are very unique 
and include quite a lot of actual trail and I've been told 
that the association is close to getting national recreation 
status for those two states only.  They are currently 
working to re route the bushwhacks that the forest service 
does not approve of.

So I guess the trail is not for a beginner unless those 
beginners have some guidance from someone who knows the 
ropes.  But power to the people who have never hiked a long 
distance trail before.  I think it's fun.

enjoy,
bern