Anyone who knows. please post your start and finish date for a complete PCT hike. Planning a month or so to get in shape on the AT in the spring of 05, and then get my thirsty butt to Cali. I am thinking starting pct mid to late april, but I know snowpack is a variable, as well as many others…
Man, I should get yogi’s book…
Help a guy out.
Jester
I am thinking about hiking from mexico to canada, it is a big undertaking and a lot of help from friends has made it possible to even get this far. it would help my cause if you could offer any printed input that you can, be it your book or just an exerpt from the title page thru the index. See you on the trail, if I can afford to make the trip.
Jester
Go to www.pcthandbook.com.
On that site, you’ll find links to example book pages.
Save your money, and make your hike happen!
yogi
yogi
I know I’m just an old out dated fart (PCT '81), but I really think that people start too late. Granted, I’m a moutaineer and ice climber, so I’m a lot more comfortable on snow than many backpackers, but I’ve got to believe that it is better to go through SoCal while it’s cooler and with more water and then deal with the mountains on their own terms. Remember that when we did it there were no water caches, no water alerts, and no trail angels (well, maybe a few, we just didn’t have the term) but I don’t recall ever getting jacked up about the water. maybe because we started on 4/3.
Anyway, the plan is to do it again in '08 after the kid goes off to college. And we’ll be starting around 4/1, if not earlier. I guess I’m a heretic, but I think it’s complete lunacy to start at the end of April.
Pappy
everybody’s tolerance for heat & dryness is different, but for me Pappy is right. when we’re finally able to take a shot at the whole PCT (2010, here we come!) we’ll start in early April. i’m a S. California native and it just starts to be too damned hot here. the weather is different every year and we’re just going to take our chances with the snow in the southern mountains. if it’s too bad, we’ll just chill out at lower elevations until it melts off a bit.
tarbubble
Pappy and tarbubble make good points about the SoCal heat. But that’s not your only concern when choosing a start date. If you begin your trip at the beginning of April, you will reach the Sierra too soon. Most PCT hikers shoot for a June 15 Kennedy Meadows date, and work backwards from there to determine a start date. If you enter the Sierra too soon, you’ll be faced with dangerous ice/snow conditions.
An ideal start date for me would be May 1. But, the Kick Off is before May 1, so I usually begin at the Kick Off, then watch my mileage so I don’t reach KM too soon.
Be careful both in the heat and the snow.
yogi
Looks like some differing opinions, But keep em coming. I will default back to my snowboarding philosophy:
"you never know til you go"
but please empower me further with your knowledge.
I feel like the earlier I start, the less math I have to do. Just get to KM and wait until the snow provides you can continue, and head for canadia.
Jester
I started in 85 in mid-April, blazed thru S. Ca. and got to the Sierras too soon. Flipflopped up to Belden,finished Ca, then went back down to do the Sierras. I hit some early snow but had a decent amount of water(well for the PCT) and did alot of high mi days. If you can ski, you would not have the issue of snow. If I thruhiked again, I would start in early April, hike lower mi days and flipflop if neccessary. I enjoy section hiking the PCT for now and when the snow/rains start to fly in the NW, head down to Ca for a few extra weeks of hiking. It can be dry, but I am amazed at the number of trail angels down south. Eventually, there will be enough water caches so that the days of hiking with mucho water will be history, Happy Trails,2 Spirits
2 spirits
April 20, 2000, left Kennedy Meadows on June 1, and ran into just enough snow to make some people nervous. But we had fun with it. 2000 wasn’t a particularly high snow year so there was only 3-4 miles of snow before and after each of the passes. Only Forester and Mather Passes and the fords at Evolution and Bear Creeks were really tricky. We lost it and got wet at both of the fords, but then we needed the baths by that time anyway. 
But the most dangerous part was the snow blindness that developed when Ginny didn’t use her sunglasses one afternoon. That cost us two days at Vermillion Valley, but even that was sorta good cause we got to spend those two days with Butch and Peggy.
Yogi’s right - snow and ice “can” be dangerous. But what’s REALLY dangerous is hiking “by rote” – as in actually believing that a “set date” like “leaving KM on June 15” will guarantee safe passage. The June 15 date is an artifact - a mantra - that originated with some of those who were too lazy to actually read Jardine’s book and figure out what he really said. The actual “safe” date varies considerably, depending on the winter snowpack and spring conditions. We left KM on June 1 and hit high snowmelt - those who left KM a week later barely got their feet wet and had clear passes and very little snow. We have friends who left KM on June 1 in other years and never walked on snow the whole trip. And other friends (different years) who left KM on June 15 and hit massive snowpack and truly dangerous stream crossings. It depends on the “year” – the snowpack and snowmelt conditions. So don’t get lazy - do your research or you might be unpleasantly surprised.
Actually, though - I’m not a believer that there is any real “safe date”. I agree with Pappy that if you’re gonna hike the trail, you need to learn to deal with the mountains on their terms - not yours.
Jim
i did some sections in 2003. the kickoff party is awesome. good support, good info, good (and not too much) company for the start of a challenging journey. its just me, but i will take some higher temps as a tradeoff for a bunch of new friends. i left KM around the 21rst, and really enjoyed the few slippery or dangerous spots but was really glad there were not more. it was more or less a walk in the park, which i love. dont get me wrong there was plenty of snow, it was just more beautiful than dangerous. if you like biblical conditions (and ice axes), you may choose to set out earlier, but as for myself i plan on starting at the kickoff, getting to KM, hitching to the coast for a lazy great week or two, and then hitching back for a fairly easy walk.
thats just the way the freewheeler does it.
milo
It feels like an april start is what I want. always thinking about revising the gear, but most of the main items are in place. I have been toying with the idea of just using a windshirt instead of waterprooof breathable.
Reading Ray Jardine’s book right now and it is very good to question everything in the pack and its purpose. So much to think about.
Jester