I’m throwing around a hypothetical schedule for a possible thru-hike this summer. Is a start around 10-17 May asking for trouble? Will the heat be unbearable? Will all the cache’s be tapped by the big groups? Any other logistics/weather issues I might run into? Cold/snows in Washington wouldn’t be a big issue as I’d still try to finish by mid- Sept. Thanks for any help. Oh and the feasability of hiking it in 4 months for someone who took 5 on the AT?
A-Train
Leaving mid may shouldnt be a problem at all. I started my thru hike this year on April 26th and ended up finishing on Augist 21, just under 4 months. It was just starting to get cooler nights by then (50’s) and the rainy season was starting by my last day. I didnt feel like I was rushing but I definately kept a consistant pace, hiking 6am - 9pm and taking roughly 15 zeros. By the end I was averaging 35+ miles a day. Thats like doing 25’s on the AT. You should have plenty of desert cache water left, since the crowd will be ahead of you and you’ll get into the sierra’s around prime time (mid to late june) so probobly lower snow levels meaning higher miles. Just go into the desert with the metallity that’s it going to be hot then it wont be so bad. Just take afternoon siestas and you’ll be fine. You’re a strong hiker and even if you start by the 17th, you’ll still have potentially 4 and a half months. Good Luck!
Pepper PA
It is certainly possible to start in mid-may. It will be hotter, you’ll have to be a bit more careful about the caches and you won’t be able to take as many zero days.
I think it should be said that at least from my point of view Pepper was considered one of the fastest (miles/per hour and miles/day) hikers out there this year.
Hiking 30-35 miles per day is vastly different than 20-25 miles per day. You can’t take much time at all for breaks or even taking pictures. You probably won’t be doing any side trips (and there are quite a few nice side trips on the PCT). You won’t be hanging around camp and you might have a hard time finding people to hike with you at that pace.
I managed to get a stress fracture doing 25-30 mile days in Oregon. When I do the trail again, I’m going to get a shoe with a stiffer sole and I’m going to bring my miles/hour pace down a bit (which makes 30-35 mile days harder).
Radar
A-train,
Starting around May 10th - May 17th should be fine. I started April 26th and finished Sept 12th. Or…just under 4 1/2 mos, AND I had to force myself to slow down because I was meeting a friend!
If I had started May 15th, means I would have finished Sept 31st. It is on the cusp of possibly getting a snow storm in the Cascades, but nothing that (generally) sticks around for any length of time. After October you are rolling the dice.
If you do a 4 month pace you will finish in the middle of September when the weather is very nice in Washington.
Just do an honest assement of your abilities and you may want to factor in some time for unexpected delays (i.e the desert heat being harder to deal with than you expected).
As an side, people were a bit skeptical when I said was going to do the Colorado Trail in three weeks. And I did it.
I am just a a “joe average” hiker. Guess what I am trying to say if you are mentally prepared and physically ready to do a 4 month pace it can be done, esp. if you did the AT in 5 mos. A 4 month pace is a a nice middle ground between smelling every flower and rushing by every flower, too.
Best of Luck!
Mags