PCT recommended section

Seeing a lot of questions on the forum, and justly so. May I suggest, as I have before, buying Yogi's PCT Handbook/Town Guide. The pair of books will efficiently and conveniently answer all of your questions at a price of $40...then you can actually take the books/corresponding pages with you on the trip. Most know this, but I didn't before I found out about them. The forum is great for up to the minute info, but Yogi really does answer all the questions. It saves you time and energy in so many ways. It's not just her opinion; rather, she has summoned the opinions of at least 20 thru-hikers and the book was updated for the 2010 season. BUY IT. I can't imagine a reason not to.

gmushial@gmdr.com

W/re Sections PQR - transport is pretty easy: one can fly to SFO and then train or bus to Redding, or Dunsmuir. If you end up in Redding, I can drive the two of you up to the beginning of P - it's about 50 miles up the road from here. If you go to Dunsmuir it's only a 3 mile walk form the train station to the trailhead. [you can also fly directly to Redding (airport code RDD) from SFO, but there are only 3 flights per day... so making the connection might be more trouble than it's worth]

As far as resupply: at the end of P generally one has to either have someone meet you there, or one can hitchhike 6 miles into town - sometimes the hitch is easy, other times people spend 3 hrs. You might check Yogi's book. The end of section Q is easy in that it ends in Seiad Valley, right across the street from the post office. You could mail your resupply from Redding to there, or my wife or myself could send it 3 or 4 days before you're expected there - that way it'd be waiting for you. The end of R is in Ashland Oregon - a major city (relative to what one sees along the PCT - about 40k population) - so resupply is easy there.

One can extend the hike either to the north or south. P+Q+R is 350ish miles. On can start one section earlier, ie, section O, which is where I'll be starting in June. Sect O is 80+ miles. This is the one I got skunked on last summer on - I tried in August, didn't realise that the water sources were going to be further between than on halfmile's maps... and faced a 35 mile section, with only 2 liters of capacity. I gave up and headed home - ended up doing 36 miles the first 24 hrs on the trail. This year I'll start 10 weeks earlier, and carry a 4 L platy in case I have dry stretches.

To extend to the north one can continue to Crater Lake - that'll add another 150 miles beyond section R. The PQRA hike is a pretty common hike in the summer here [since the Ashland->CraterLk is in Oregon, the section names start over again with A]. Likewise OPQRA.

Challenging:

Mojave to Kennedy Meadows - because of the heat and distances between water

sources

Jaw-Dropping:

The Sierra from Cottonwood Pass to Donner Pass

Virtually all of WA state. It just keeps getting better the farther north

you go, all the way to Canada. I found it especially scenic from Snoqualmie

Pass to Canada, but you'll miss Mount Adams, the Goat Rocks Wilderness, and

my personal favorite - Hypothermia Ridge on Old Snowy, that way.

If I had only 2 or 3 months to hike, I'd start from Callahan's Lodge on I-5

south of Ashland, OR - section B - and go north to Canada. Oregon is easier

walking (relative to the rest of the PCT) so you'll be in good shape when

you cross the Columbia River and start into WA. Come back another year and

do the rest. July is mosquito season in OR, but you might not have a choice.

Alternatively, start at Campo and do as much of CA as you have time for.

Just remember, that's 1600 miles.

Wandering Bob

Portland, OR

diane@santabarbarahikes.com

I highly recommend doing the first section in Washington State, from

the Bridge of the Gods to White Pass. It has everything that is

wonderful about Washington plus what I thought was the absolute

highlight of the whole trail: the Goat Rocks. If you do it in August

you stand a chance of having great weather for your Goat Rocks

passage. The views are absolutely stunning.

My favorite part of the entire trail was California's Sections P and

Q. That's from Castle Crags to Seiad Valley. I think the guide book

says that's about 10 days worth.

Sean 'Miner' Nordeen

If you had more time, I'd recommend the 150miles from Tuolumne Meadows to Echo Summit by Lake Tahoe since you can get public transportation to Yosemite and from S. Lake Tahoe. Another idea would be from Burney Falls S.P. to Castle Crags at the I-5 (about 85miles) as you can use the Amtrak to go to Redding and take a local bus up to Burney. You can catch the Amtrack in Dunsmuir off the I-5 when you are done.

rbalcorn@gmail.com

It's a little north of your specs, but from Elk Lake Resort to Timberline

Lodge is really a wonderful section - about 140 miles. Elk Lake Resort to

Big Lake Youth Camp is about 40 miles and also nice.

The John Muir Trail. for August

Google Sites

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PCT recommended section

http://thru-hiker.com/articles/PackLightEatRight/recipes.htm

<http://thru-hiker.com/articles/PackLightEatRight/recipes.htm>

Craig's PCT Planner: Adjust

resupplies/settings<http://www.pctplanner.com/plan.php>

Team Creason: Pacific Crest Trail Gear List

2008<http://teamcreason.blogspot.com/2009/01/pacific-crest-trail-gear-list-2008.html>

Alex&#39;s 2009 Pacific Crest Trail Gear

List<http://www.hikerbiker.org/2009pct-gearlist.html>

Pacific Crest Trail Border To Border

Hiking<http://www.trailquest.net/pctbtob.html>

pacific crest trail, resupply,

points<http://www.planyourhike.com/planning/resupplypoints.php>

Pacific Crest Trail Association -

FAQ's<http://www.pcta.org/about_trail/faqs.asp#CostToThruHike>

PCTA Long Distance Permit

Form<http://www.pcta.org//planning/before_trip/permits/thru_permit_form.html>

The Books | Pacific Crest Trail <http://pct.wildernesspress.com/the-books/>

Pacific Crest Trail Association - Trip

Calculator<http://www.pcta.org/planning/before_trip/resources/calculators.asp>

Youandhim - Pacific Crest Trail Journal -

2012<http://postholer.com/journal/viewJournal.php?sid=1f6af60af8c609c8217b80753aac7944&entry_id=28660>

Erin/Wired's 2011 PCT Thru Hike Journal<http://erinspctjournal.blogspot.com/>

Pacific Crest Trail Border To Border

Hiking<http://www.trailquest.net/pctbtob.html#Gear%20Suggestions>

pacific crest trail, thru hike, planning <http://www.planyourhike.com/>

Beginning your PCT thru-hike

planning<http://pct-hike.randsco.com/Planning/04-GettingStarted.html>

A Quick and Dirty Guide to The Pacific Crest Trail |

PMags.com<http://www.pmags.com/pacific-crest-trail-planning-info>

Practical Backpacking™ Podcast: PBP Episode 23 - PCT Thru-Hike

Planning<http://www.practicalbackpacking.com/blog/archives/000027_pbp_episode_23_pct_thruhike_planning.php>

Yogi's Guides <http://www.pcthandbook.com/product.php?productListId=1>

PCT Links <http://pct77.org/adz/pct_links.htm>

The "Walk" series - Home <http://www.walkpct.com/>

Water Reports from the PCT <http://www.4jeffrey.net/pct/>

Pacific Crest Trail - Home <http://www.fs.usda.gov/pct>

Pacific Crest National Scenic

Trail<http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5353479.html>

www.pctmap.net/pctdownloads/halfmiles_pct_trail_notes_scal.pdf<http://www.pctmap.net/pctdownloads/halfmiles_pct_trail_notes_scal.pdf>

General Backpacking Stuff:

[at-l] Calories per ounce<http://www.backcountry.net/arch/at/9909/msg00100.html>

9 Pound - Full Comfort - Lightweight Backpacking Gear

List<http://www.adventurealan.com/lw_gear_list.htm>

Overview | Bears <http://sierrawild.gov/bears/>

Food Storage Map | Bears <http://sierrawild.gov/bears/food-storage-map>

Hiking H.Q. <http://hikinghq.net/>

Hiking, Trekking and Backpacking Training and

Conditioning<http://www.bodyresults.com/hiking-training.asp>

Giardia Lamblia and Giardiasis with Particular Attention to the Sierra

Nevada by Robert L. Rockwell, PhD<http://pweb.jps.net/~prichins/giardia.htm>

Trekking food <http://www.aktrekking.com/food.html>

How to ice-axe self arrest - YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM3xLshmNnk>

hike pct with dog - Google

Search<http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=hike+pct+with+dog&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8>

[pct-l] Hiking the trail with your

dog<http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/0403/msg00430.html>

Adventure Alan's Ultralight and Lightweight

Backpacking<http://www.adventurealan.com/index.html>

Adventure Alan's Ultralight Backpacking: Backpacking

Food<http://www.adventurealan.com/food_general.htm>

water reports are found at:Pacific Crest Trail Water

Report<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AnjydhFdh1E2dEtQWEFXOGVHeWtsQVlCSnFXcTh2VXc&gid=0>

Cleveland National Forest

Contact the office in Alpine for a permit.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland/contact/

<http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/cleveland/contact/>I wouldn't say you can camp

'anywhere', but there are plenty of places you can camp. Trailside

wilderness camping is not permitted in the Laguna Mountain Recreational

Area. Bring a copy of Halfmile's maps to help find suitable campsites and

to know where to avoid camping.

http://www.pctmap.net/

If you're going now, it can be quite hot and even dry which will cause many

water resources to dry up soon, but there are several very reliable water

resources. Bring a copy of Asabat's PCT water report instead of gambling

with your water situation. It can also be cold, so make sure you bring a

suitable sleeping bag. Take care of your feet. You need them to get you

down the trail. You don't have to finish your hike with your feet covered

in blisters, or any at all. You might consider taking a zero or nero day at

Cibbets Flat Campground to cool off and rehydrate. A 1/4 mile trail leads

Alex's 2009 Pacific Crest Trail Gear