What is the normal duration for a storm system on the PCT? Anywhere else in the country you could have up to 5-6 days of drizzly conditions with intermidtent thunderstorms. I am curious because I’ve never spent an extended amount of time near or on a coastal mountain range(s). I understand this will vary depending on elevation, geography and time of year. What are the worst storms other PCT hikers experienced?
Ohioan
On my PCT thru-hike in 05, I had phenomenal weather. I don’t remember any storm systems! That’s not to say it never rained, but I think in California and Oregon combined I was rained on(this includes everything from sprinkles on up) about 3 times. Nothing lasted more than a day. In Washington I had one day of all day rain that lasted til afternoon the next day. Then several other days of misty weather and a few rainstorms that lasted overnight or or a few hours.
Anish
The “norm” for the Sequoia/Kings Canyon area is a cyclic build up daily increasing clouds until you have a day or 2 of afternoon thunderstorms lasting a few hours. Next morning, clouds are gone and the cycle starts again.
The term “norm” when referring to the Sierra should be viewed with great distrust. Last year I was rained on the first 9 days of my late July 15 day loop out of Horseshoe Meadows. Folks starting later were never rained on.
booger
Every year is different. In the south the storms usually only last a few hours to a day or so. In June-July you may end up with daily thunderstorms. They may only last an hour or two, but they can be ferocious when they hit. Up in Washington the storms can last from a day to two weeks. Some years hikers have terrific weather in Washington, others have non-stop rain/snow or clouds.
In 2000, we had three snow storms in September - but our total precipitation was only 8 days in Washington state. We only had 8 days of sunshine there too. The rest of the time was cloudy/foggy. Some people have no rain in California - we had rain on our second day out, and a blizzard as we were attempting Forester Pass.
Ginny
Thanks for building an image in my mind to what I might run into this summer. It’s hard to get the big picture of weather while reading others journals. I am currently reading “The Weather Identification Handbook” to help me “read” the cirrus clouds before fronts come storming in. Outdoor enthusiasts should know that when they see building cirrus clouds there will most likely be a storm or storms within 24-48 hours. I’m thinking that being able to recognise trends in the weather will help me logistically and give me confidence.
Ohioan
Glad to see someone is actually studying-up on the weather before heading to the PCT. I’ve found that a lot of hikers are astonishingly ignorant of weather patterns (frontal systems, which clouds mean what, etc). I’m not an expert myself, but a little knowledge will go a long way out there. Of course, on much of the California PCT odds are the weather will be benign for most of May/June/July/August… Then again, the odds are you’ll get hit with at least some weather.
I picked up a book along the PCT at Crater Lake titled “Northwest Mountain Weather”… very handy!
-Jonathan
Jonathan
Another book to check out is the Cloudspotter’s Guide. He really helps explain what creates different types of clouds as well as any patterns that go with them. It also happens to be delightfully tongue-in-cheek.
Sharon
in 2005 Freebird and I walked through the most miserable storm of my hiking life right around Whitewater Creek in SoCal. Walking through the storm was really the only way to stay warm; there was nowhere to take any kind of shelter. Caught up to where Freebird was camped and we started walking together getting pelted by rain and swayed side to side by the strong gusts, wading through the current running down the PCT with every step. Then we forded waist high Whitewater Creek and walked up onto the ridge of the mountains and got whipped around even more. It was pretty much the one and only day of the entire trip where I seriously questioned what the hell I was doing out there. The storm ended after just a couple of hours though, and the sun came right out and we were able to dry everything and laugh, although the storm made getting through the Mission Creek area quite interesting!
Smack
I’ll add that a couple of days can make a huge difference in the weather you experience.
First few days out I was drizzled on up to Laguna - those several days ahead got snowed and rained on.
I left KM on June 14 and went straight through to VVR in 12 days. Perfect weather the whole time - the afternoon I got to VVR was the first thunderstorms / rain I had in the Sierra. I heard from folks only a few days back of having thunderstorms every day - of having to run down off of passes to get to safer terrain.
Later in Washington, a couple of zeros at Snoqualmie Pass and another at Stevens Pass / Skykomish let the worst of the Washington fall weather blow through. Had one real rainy day in between Snoqualmie and Stevens, but other than that, PERFECT weather to the end of the trail.
Bottom line - there’s a lot of the luck of the draw in the weather. I’d suggest to hold some zero’s in the schedule and some $$$ in reserve to allow yourself to take a few days off to let weather blow by. Remember, there are no shelters to speak of (yeah, yeah, 4 or 5, but they’re SO far apart as to not matter) on the PCT to hole up in at the end of a rainy day - you’re stuck in the weather.
Token Civilian