tackle Oregon in August and early September and can expect good weather to predominate. There will be the occasional thunderstorm and hikers must be prepared for rain and even snow. Forest fires have been a problem in recent years, so don’t be surprised if a section of the PCT is closed for this reason.
Washington
Only 480 miles remain before you reach the Canadian border. Southern Washington is rather like Oregon and, assuming you are fit, you can manage high mileages. In Goat Rocks Wilderness, however, you return to a spectacular alpine landscape. Mount Rainier and Glacier Peak, both covered by large glaciers, dominate your hike through Northern Washington. You are back in terrain characterised by long steep climbs and descents, and your average hiking speed will be closer to two than three miles per hour.
THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PCT
The first documented hiker to complete the PCT was Martin Papendick in 1952, long before the trail was officially recognised. The impetus for the creation of the trail as we know it today was the passing of the National Trails Systems Act by the US Congress in 1968, which granted the PCT the status of National Scenic Trail.
The PCT was the main feature of the June 1971 edition of National Geographic Magazine and this, together with the publication by Wilderness Press of guidebooks to the trail, led to a spate of hikers attempting to thru’-hike it.
For the pioneers in the 1970s, there was little knowledge about how to tackle such a long wilderness route. Very little lightweight equipment was available and little was known about finding water or locating supplies. The PCT was simply regarded as a longer example of the backpacking trips to which hikers were then accustomed.
Hikers had to carry extremely heavy packs, often with more than ten days’ food, and averaged about 15 miles a day, completing the trail in about six months. Then, in 1992, Ray Jardine wrote a best-selling handbook about how to hike the PCT. He advocated an ultra-lightweight hiking style that made distances of 20–30 miles a day achievable and his methods soon became the norm. They have been taken to the extreme by some: in 2009, for example, Scott Williamson completed a thru’-hike in 67 days, averaging 40 miles a day.
The methods publicised by Ray Jardine are outside the capabilities and inclinations of most hikers and the introduction to this book is designed to redress the balance by combining the advantages of the lightweight revolution with the traditional methods of the pioneers. The guide’s map sections should be useful to all hikers, whatever their hiking style.
Washington’s Cascade Mountains have a reputation for rain and you will be hiking through temperate rainforest. In August and September you can expect long settled periods but must be prepared for periods of rain. Most thru’-hikers will be in Washington in September, a good month for these mountains. You could get snow but it shouldn’t be too much of a problem and the first heavy snowfall of winter is unlikely to fall until well into October.
Few roads cross the Cascade Mountains so supply points are widely separated and you will often carry a heavy burden of food. The absence of roads makes it difficult for weekend hikers to tackle some of Washington’s PCT sections.
Planning
Can the ‘ordinary hiker’ thru’-hike the PCT?
The most difficult thing about thru’-hiking the PCT is making the decision to attempt it. To most people, the idea of a continuous 2650-mile hike sounds such a daunting expedition that they assume it is only for the super-fit young person. It is actually a challenge that is achievable by the ordinary hiker.
My experience prior to my successful 2002 thru’-hike is worth relating, as there are lessons to be learnt. By 1997 a foot injury became so serious that my surgeon said he could do no more for me and recommended early retirement from teaching. By 2000 I was able to start walking again and I hiked a section of the PCT in the High Sierra, averaging eight miles a day. In April 2002 I arrived in Campo to thru’-hike the PCT. I only managed 10 miles on the first day before I had to camp, because I was exhausted and hurting. Yet five months later I stood at the Canadian border.
I hadn’t done any training but I had done a lot of preparation. In particular, I had worked out a strategy to complete the hike and had prepared a detailed schedule, which recognised that I was very unfit. In fact I finished about 14 days ahead of my schedule. Most of all I succeeded because I had the mental strength to overcome the difficulties I encountered (others would say I was too stubborn and pig-headed to give up!).
Billy Goat:‘How much training did you do for the PCT?’
Ancient Brit:‘None – I wasn’t fit enough to train!’
However, between 20 and 30 per cent of thru’-hikers give up in the first week. Many of those are ill-prepared ‘ordinary’ hikers; a good number of those succumb to injury. That means that between 30 and 50 per cent of those who fail to reach Canada actually give up in the first week!
Examples of mistakes made by hikers in 2006 include Ladybird, who set out from Campo carrying two bear boxes packed with enough food to last 12 days; Luigi, who had a 75lb load on his back; and Three Gallon, who set off carrying three gallons of water. That latter example might sound like good planning until you learn that it was a wet spring, it was raining and 10 creeks were running within the first 20 miles.
Despite those early errors, all three made it to Canada. Each started with an easy schedule, which meant that they got the most important part of their planning right. If you prepare properly and give yourself enough time you should be able to achieve a successful thru’-hike.
How long do you need for a thru’-hike?
The length of time you need to complete the PCT’s 2650 miles will obviously depend on how many miles you walk each day and how many zero (rest) days you take. If you average 15 miles per day, you should complete the trail in 176 days, or just under six months. Upping your daily mileage by two miles will bring the number of days needed to reach Canada down to 154, or five months. If you were capable of averaging 20 miles per day, it would take you 132 days – just under four months – while a hiker capable of hitting 25 miles per day should be able to cover the entire distance in 106 days, just three and a half months.
To those figures, you would need to add the number of zero days you might have in order to calculate the total time it might take to complete the hike. Most thru’-hikers take between four and six months. If you take few zero days, you can do a low daily mileage hike in five or six months. The data in appendices E, F, G and H illustrate how a thru’-hike can be completed with relatively low daily mileage. The longest realistic schedule to allow you to get through the High Sierra after the snow has melted and get through Washington before the winter snows is 180 days.
There are many reasons for doing relatively low daily mileages. The main one is the avoidance of injury. Many hikers are injured early during their hikes, primarily with blisters and repetitive strain injuries. Unless you are trail-fit before you start (and very few hikers are), you shouldn’t be hiking for more than between five and seven hours each day in the first week. Even when fully fit, your body won’t be able to cope with walking 25 miles or more a day, day-after-day, without a rest. Those exceptional hikers who set trail records have been building up their strength and stamina over years rather than weeks or months.
Do you want to enjoy your hike? Many people think the best parts of any hike are the rest periods! You’ve earned those
