Alright, so I know when I first announced I was doing this PCT hike I said I was going to try and update you all through my blog, much like I did on the Appalachian Trail. That’s not at all what’s been happening and I apologize. Honestly, I want to share my experience with you, and for many of my close family members this is how you’ll know how I’m doing. So this is going to be a general overview of what’s been going on so far and let you all know I’m still alive and kicking.
First I want to explain why I haven’t been keeping up my blog like I did on the AT. WordPress has an IOS app that lets you start blog posts offline and then upload them when you have service. It’s a really handy tool, but has one major downside. You have to type on your phone. Using my thumbs to write blog posts is really annoying and I quickly resorted to only typing posts out when I had access to a keyboard on the AT. So far on the PCT I only could have used a computer a handful of times and each time I was busy doing other town related things. I’ve thought about bringing a small bluetooth keyboard that could hook up to my phone, but that just adds weight to my pack. I also spend the vast majority of my time walking and don’t really want to take time away to write these posts.
Major Differences of the PCT and AT
The Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail are two national scenic trails. That’s about were the similarities end. Seriously, they are so different from each other! I usually don’t like to compare the two because of this reason, but I think it could help to make sense of what I’m doing now.
On the AT I had a lot more downtime. I think this is mostly due to a difference in trail grade. One comparison I’ve heard and now agree with is that a 20 mile day on the AT is the equivalent to a 30 mile day on the PCT. The PCT is just a much smoother trail. There are tons of switchbacks, turning steep uphill slogs into gradual climbs. Because the trail is so much better graded your body doesn’t get as tired as soon, so walking for 12 hours a day is a lot more doable.
My backpack is also significantly lighter than it was on the AT. I’m not bringing as many clothes, switching to a quilt helped, and I’ve definitely cut down on the amount of luxury items I’m carrying. I’m not sure anymore what my base weight is because I’ve changed things up quite a bit from when I started the PCT, but my estimate is around 11 to 12 pounds. For those who might not know, your base weight is the weight of your pack (including the weight of your pack) with everything in it except water and food.
The PCT is also undoubtedly more scenic. I’ll have my dad upload some photos with the blog post and you’ll probably agree. The vast landscapes uninterrupted by human development just can’t be beat. I also love how much more wild it all feels. On the AT, you’re never far away from a town or a road crossing, but out here I feel much further from civilization. Another thing that has made the PCT amazing so far is the complete lack of rain. That’s right, so far I haven’t had a single drop of rain on me. It certainly has been a luxury I don’t think many PCT hikers have in Washington.
Washington State
Washington was broken into five different sections for me. I’d say overall, each section going south got a little less climatic, but goat rocks which was in the last section was by far my favorite section of trail that I hiked so far.
Things that stood out in Washington were the snowcapped mountains that surround you and passing each of the volcanoes of the Cascades. Going south in order I walked past Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams. Then in Oregon I walked by Mount Hood.
Seeing each peak far in the distance at first and then grow day by day was a really cool experience. It gives one a perspective of the ground they are covering rather than just traveling through a green tunnel of forrest and not realizing how far you’re walking (although that has its own benefits).
Because of the large amount of snow in the Cascades it was advisable to start with traction devices and an ice axe. Spring was pretty warm in the mountains and by the time I started most of the snow had already melted. This meant I didn’t use either my micro spikes or ice axe. I’m still glad I brought them though, the peace of mind was worth the two pounds it added. Stream fords weren’t much of an issue either.
There was only one ford that was memorable and it really wasn’t bad at all. Nothing like the fords people going nobo (northbound) faced. This year was definitely one of the most dangerous years on the PCT, but not for a sobo (southbound) hike. The dangers were all in the Sierras. A near record amount of snowfall mixed with a few heatwaves led to river fords that ended up killing several hikers this year.
At the midpoint of Washington I took my first zero day in Seattle. My good friend Kaitlyn was able to pick me up and brought me to a surprise barbecue with all my friends. It was a real treat and I’m really thankful for it. Probably one of my favorite zero days I’ve had so far.
Me and my friend Melisa went to the beach and lots of food was consumed. I left feeling rested and excited to finish Washington state. Thanks guys!
The rest of Washington I didn’t really see the same people twice. Each day I saw more and more nobos. I also started feeling my trail legs coming on and decided to just keep doing 30s until it didn’t feel good. Turns out you can do them for a while on the PCT.
Coming into Cascade Locks though I decided would be a good time to take another zero. I also reunited with two sobos I already knew I liked hiking with. Dirt Squirrel and Pretty Boy both went into Portland which gave me a chance to catch up after my zero in Seattle.
Oregon State
Oregon presented a challenge that I haven’t had to face while hiking so far. Fires. Two sections of trail in Oregon were each closed on the PCT, and both of them didn’t have reroutes that were on trail. Each one would have involved a certain amount of road walking. I think the first fire re-route would have been about 40 miles on highways, the second one was closer to 16. This was road walking on windy highways, very small shoulder, and lots of blind turns.
Because of the dangers and the shittiness that is road walking I opted to hitch around each closed portion of trail. I was torn about doing it. How it effected the purity of a thru-hike is something I’m still grappling with. Ideally I would have wanted to have a continuous hike from Canada to Mexico, but this year that would have involved the road walking. All in all I skipped 62 miles of PCT trail, not something I’m happy about. I don’t consider this yellow-blazing though. I didn’t skip trail to hike with friends, or to skip a boring section. The PCT was closed and roped off. There was no good re-route. Had there been other trails that provided an alternate I would have taken them. That’s what I did in Crater Lake.
Besides the fires, Oregon was great! The trail is super flat, over the span of 30 miles it would usually only gain and lose 5000 ft. The mosquitoes weren’t as bad as they were for the nobos which was nice. They definitely get old quick. There were a few longer water carries but that wasn’t an issue. I upped my water capacity to four liters and there were water caches for the longest stretches.
The scenery in Oregon wasn’t as spectacular as it was in Washington, but the forests were really nice to walk in.
Having shade was nice and it was a welcomed change of pace. Even the most mundane sections of the PCT have been pretty. One thing that was really cool was walking through the lava fields of the Deschutes National Forest. There was very little vegetation and the smoke from the surrounding fires made it feel like I was backpacking through Mordor.
Heading South From Here
Right now I’ve been on the trail for 39 days. I’m off right now camping with my dad and brother waiting to see the solar eclipse. I got off the trail at Calahan’s which is a resort in southern Oregon. I have about 26 miles to go until the Oregon California border which I’m very excited for. Walking home into California is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. It’s always difficult to describe what it’s like for me out on the trail, and not doing an update for a whole 900 miles definitely doesn’t help. Again, I do apologize about not doing these updates more frequently, but my main focus out here has been on hiking. I just want everyone to know how great I’m doing out here and that the PCT has been nothing but amazing.