HELP! I NEED SOMEBODY. NOT JUST ANYBODY - PCT VETERANS
NEEDED! In the spring of 2010, I am planning to do the PCT. I am not a veteran thru hiker, infact I started backcountry packing 3 years ago. I did the entire John Muir Trail, and I was hooked. Summited Mt. Whitney 3 times the last three years. Am I over my head even thinking about it? How do you plan for a PCT trek? So far, I am trekking solo…
Hawaii 5-0
No, you aren’t over your head. That is exactly how I started.: Whitney as a day hike, saw the back country of SEKI and wanted to hike Whitney from the western side, but needed to take up backpacking for the multi-day approach. That led to the JMT. Ray Jardine’s book was instrumental in helping define what I wanted from a PCT thru and how to organize and gear up for a thru. You probably have more backpacking experience when I started the PCT.
BTW, Jardine has a new book that will be out 12/10. I suggest finding and reading a copy of How to Hike the PCT , Beyond Backpacking and probably the new book, too.
GottaWalk
Aloha from Makiki in Honolulu. I did the PCT this summer, also with the JMT as my main past experience. I was surprised to find a few other kama’aina out on the trail, though it seems they were all from Maui or the Big Island.
My way of getting organized for the PCT involved buying the guidebooks and the data book, and then reading a LOT of trail journals on trailjournals.com while taking notes. At first i was marking down how long it took for someone to get from one town to the next. Then i started adding little pieces of advice from the journals. By the time i had gone through 10 journals or so, i had a good idea of how the timing, calendar, gear, and resupplies might work for me.
Then i got out for a couple of 4 day try-out hikes.
Check out Craig’s PCT Planner. I don’t know the web address, but google will find it. It helps too. Another shortcut for planning is to buy Yogi’s PCT book. It’s a collection of advice on the same things i mentioned above. I’m kind of glad i planned my own way though, even if it took me longer to gather information and make decisions than if i had just bought the book and followed the instructions.
Feel free to ask a million questions on here. Everyone will have a different opinion, but you’ll get lots of ideas. My journal is at www.trailjournals.com/markvpct08 . Some really good ones from the past are 2007 Cloudspotter, 2007 Scout and Frodo, 2007 Out of Order, 2003 The Northerner. Keep in mind that conditions, water, store hours, and everything else changes a little from year to year. So as prepared as you may be, there will always be surprises.
Good luck!
P.s. Have you backpacked Makua Rim? I’m looking to do that next month and i can’t find the Ball book that has info. Any advice would be welcomed.
markv
Just back from 10 days on the North Shore (Keep the Country COUNTRY 
Didn’t get any hiking in but picked up Ball’s book while we were there. What info do you need from the book?~J.
Journey (AT 2003)
Journey, i’m just going to do an overnighter, one day in one day out. So i’m looking for an idea of where to aim for as a campsite, what route to take, etc. I have the permit info, can piece together some maps, and i take it there is no water up there, right?
I’ve been up in that area on a few dayhikes from Kealia and some other trail from the Waianae side, but i can’t remember much detail about possible camping. And, since i have the overnight, i could this time explore further in some direction if its worth it.
markv