[pct-l] North to South

[wandering_bob at comcast.net (Bob Bankhead)]

Lonely? Perhaps, but think of the valuable trail intel you'll be getting as 
you go south. It is logical to expect the start and end of your hike to have 
fewer people around so you do need to be more self-sufficient than if you 
are constantly surrounded by the northward-moving thru-hiker community. That 
isolation can be a real blessing - less competition for campsites and town 
hitches, better stocked stores, greater opportunity to tune in to the 
natural world, etc. Of course if you get in trouble, it can also be a curse.

>From experience, the only difficulty in going south is turning the guidebook 
around in your mind (or on paper, which I do) so you keep the mileages 
straight between points. All else is easy - just do the exact opposite of 
what the guidebook says. If it says go left, you go right; if it says go 
steeply downhill, you go steeply UPhill; etc. In those few places where the 
authors felt that the referenced waypoint might be difficult for 
southbounders to find or recognize, the book warns you of this. CAVEAT: 
their definition of difficult will probably be different from yours. As in 
any hike, it's up to you to know where you are at any given point in time 
relative to where you want to go and/or have been. There is a huge 
difference between a guidebook and a guide.


Wandering Bob


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chance Money"
To: "Stephanie Thayer"
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 9:48 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] North to South


>  People starting the hike in June often get on the trail at Walker Pass. 
> This way they can fall in with the social life of the northbound hike. 
> There are only a few southbound hikers so it can be a lonely, technically 
> difficult hike while there are several hundred northbound hikers.
>
>  Chance
>
>
> Stephanie Thayer  wrote:
> Hey,
> Have been wanting to through-hike the PCT for a while and would like to 
> this year.  I am
> graduating (from college) mid June and would like to start then, and I 
> figure it's pretty much only
> possible for me to hike from North to South if I start so late.  Does 
> anyone know if this is
> possible, or know of anyone who has done this before.  Thanks,
> Steph