I suppose the answer depends a lot on the snowpack in the Sierras. But I’d like to do a thru hike S to N starting in March '08 and finishing in July. When is the earliest that folks recommend hitting the Sierras.
Goldylocks AT '03
Foolish?: 4 month thru hike starting march 7th?
system
#2
I’ll go ahead and answer this one too. I bet all the real PCT vets are out hiking anyway!
I’ve never heard of anyone fighting all the way through the Sierra before May, and even that is unusual. Sure people can use snowshoes and do short trips in and out, but to work your way from pass to pass, withoug getting lost in the snow (no blazes, no cairns), in snowshoes for the whole section…borderline impossible. Traditionally people will say enter the Sierra June 10 or June 15, but in reality in normal or low-snow years, many thruhikers will start to enter a couple of weeks before that. But not in April or early May. Even the SoCal ranges may be impossible in March.
If you bump your plan up by a month, drop me an email. I might be starting section A and a little of section B in March and April before i have time to start the “thru” part of my thru hike in mid-May. That’s if i do it…still giving myself a couple months to decide to commmit or not.
markv
system
#3
First of all, many people have done the PCT through the Sierras in May. It use to be normal before Ray Day became popular when packweights were heavy. However, they normally used snowshoes and occasionally got snowed on and some were forced to exit the mountains for up to a week until the weather cleared. Even today, a few people still do a May entry date. The Funk Brothers PCT journal from 1975 had a May 9th entry date. I’ve also talked to a few others who did a mid May entry. They said a may entry in a normal year is easier then an early June entry in a heavy year due to the weather being cooler and thus the snow more solid and less snow cupped.
People have snowshoed parts of the Sierras in March and April. And some people have even skiied the entire JMT. SoCal ranges are passable in march if you know what you are doing and have crampons/ice axe for a few areas. But you would have to be prepared in case there was a major storm.
Now 2007 would have been an ideal time to have done an early start. Several people entered the Sierra in early june last year when conditions were more typical of May without any trouble. This year, similar conditions would have been late April/early May. So, if you were properly prepared, a late April entry this year would have been very doable.
So to answer your question, a good early starting date really depends on the weather and the individual’s skill/comfort level. If next year is as dry as this year, I’d say go for it. I’m personally planning for a mid May entry for my thru-hike in 2009 subject to the weather.
Miner
system
#5
An example of how the weather in the Southern Sierra varies from year to year:
Memorial Day at Horseshoe Meadow - just east of Cottonwood Pass. 2006 you couldn’t even get across the meadow without difficulty. Continuous deep snow in the meadow, more on the slopes. One would have to be a skilled winter hiker with all the proper equipment to travel north.
Memorial Day 2007: no snow anywhwere.
booger
system
#6
Cant be done, but you should try, I think your exspiration would make a great addition to my my book “how i screwed my life up long distance hiking the pct”.
ldh
system
#7
I’m impressed with anyone who would try to hike through the Sierras before the snow cleared. Even in the best of weather hiking the sierras is challenging. The PCT is not very well marked though its fairly easy to find your way when the snow has cleared. As MARKV noted, there are few markings. Even some of the Cairns can be hard to see even in good weather.
If you try it I would advice you to go with a group and to bring good maps and know how to use a compass.
Read some of the journals of hikers who did it to get an idea of what to expect. I like Rolling Thunders Journal from last year as an example.
Of course I absolutely hate being cold so I’m probably more pessimistic than most.:cheers
jalan
system
#8
I went in June 14th, 2006 (straight through to VVR in 12 days, including Whitney) - toward the front of the pack last year, but by far, not THE front. As I said at Trail Fest in Seattle back in March, the high Sierra is quite passable to a well equipped, well skilled, and DEDICATED hiker well before ‘Ray Day’. You would need to be equipped to deal with the snow and the fords (which I thought were more difficult than the snow). You have to be able to navigate, especially in the forest (up above treeline, the navigation was trivial).
I’ll observe:
- About 122 days of hiking. 21.7 miles per day, every day, with no zero’s. With 10 zero’s, it’s 23.7 miles per day.
4 months with a March 7 start implies a rough schedule as follows:
April 7th - in the Mojave to Walker Pass area (Mile 555 to 650).
May 7th - 1/2 way in time, but probably less that 1/2 way in distance (the miles go faster north of Tahoe roughly). You’d probably need to be in the Sierra City to Belden area (roughly mile 1155 to 1250).
June 7th - You should be somewhere well into Oregon by now, call it roughly Sisters to Timerline (~mile 1800 or so).
July 7th - Finish.
Oregon folks will have to answer if the Cascades there are passable for the mileage you’d need to do starting in late May through June. The north Cascades of Washington generally aren’t clear of snow until July. Based on my experience last year, it would be quite a challange to make the miles you’d need in the Sierra with the snow you’d likely encounter.
If you can do it, the more power to you.
Token Civilian
system
#9
I don’t think you folks have been in deep powder that you had to swim chest deep in, dead snow that will suck a man in over his head, or hit a head wall (any sierra pass) that could drop a couple of tons of corniced avalanche snow on you. How about wakeing up to three feet of snow, that fell the night before, in the drift zone you camped in, choking you inside of your tent. Oh the beautiful Sierras, are not so kind to those that fail to grasp her vast greatness.
that said, it’s do-able. happy hiking!
magic ‘hellkat’ dinsmore
ps. in the sierras you don’t have to worry about getting lost, good navigational skills and an altimeter( or a cheap gps unit) will over come that. early sierra hikers dont even worry about trail, they blaze over snow pack with out reguard. trails and blazes are for east coast AT hikers.
hellkat
system
#10
Thanks for the different points of view. It’s probably a toss up even in a dry year. The idea of skiing the JM trail is appealing, but really deep powder on a set of skis is not so cool. If this were my second PCT through hike and I had a better feel for what I was taking on, I might be a little more confident about an early start date. + I like to hike lite and am not enamored with the idea of carrying extra cold weather gear as insurance for an early start.
How deep are the fords?
Goldylocks
system
#11
In '06, I did multiple waist to belly button deep fords (I’m 5’10"). Some of the gals I talked with ended up swimming / floating across.
One guy next to me on Evolution creek stepped into a hole and went in chest deep - I was only waist deep. Oh yeah, that was the ‘easy’ crossing in the meadow, 1/2 mile above the ‘trail’ crossing. At another creek I watched a guy several inches taller than me go in chest deep - I picked a different spot and was only waist deep.
In talking with 9 of the '07 crew (I did some trail angeling over labor day weekend) I heard from multiple folks “I only got my shoes wet once in the Sierra”. Apperently, Evolution creek was only shin deep. It sounded like rock hops and logs were as plentiful as the bugs this year.
So, bottom line, it depends on the snow year and when, relative to the melt, you go, and quite possibly, what part of the day you do a particular ford as to how deep it will be.
Of course, if you can find a good log, it really doesn’t matter.
Token Civilian
system
#12
last year i’d say you can do it. you are going to be one of the first to go. the people i’ve met who have left early were taking their sweet time. you will need topo maps and know how to use them. i know this dude that didn’t know how to read them very well and he ended up spending more time and effort than he had to finding the trail in the snow. this year the passes weren’t horrible in may and i know of at least 5 people who went through in may. but it only snowed 25 percent of normal. the fords were cake. evolution creek was knee level in mid may.
what i would consider is that hiking in the snow is gonna wear you down a bit more. slow you down. ect. but it’s not something to dwell on. if you go through that early you will have the whole place to yourself. maybe get lucky and find a hiking partner. i learned from a wise dude that if you get to oregan too early you might find tons of snow as well. something to keep in mind.
you wouldn’t need snowshoes. no way jose. the snow can be funny. if it’s cool out it will stay hard and you don’t have to worry about postholing. anywhere around boulders you are going to posthole. if you leave early enough you can hike on harder frozen snow. maybe crampons? 4 point? and a lightweight ice axe.
if you get snowed out then you get snowed out. just have WARM enough clothing please.
lazy
system
#13
To give a little perspective, this year was a really low snow year, and IMO, a really easy yr to hike the PCT (weather wise).
Eric D. who is well on his way to yo-yoing the PCT hit Canada on July 29th, leaving in mid-April. It took him about 3.5 months presumebly going as fast as he could (30-40 mile days) with little to no snow. Leaving March 7th and keeping a fast pace, you’d have snow most of the way through the hike (besides parts of the desert).
That being said-a) I’m not trying to discourage you and b) I think anything is possible these days thanks to people like Squeaky, Scott Williamson and Tatu Joe. However you do it, have a blast, it’s awesome out there!
A-Train