What does it mean to successful hike the Pacific Crest Trail in one season?  Is that even possible?

The orthodox answer is to hike straight from Campo, California to Manning Park, British Columbia with footprints on the trail the whole way.  When I leave the trail, I always return to the exact point that I left.  I always hike the PCT and never deviate from it.

Unfortunately, to hike the actual 2650.1 miles is impossible.  There are sections of the trail that are closed and will remain closed.  For example, a fire near Idyllwild, California in 2013 damaged the trail.  By order, the trail is closed between miles 168.6 and 177.3.  There is a section in Southern California that has been closed since 2013 to protect an endangered mountain yellow-legged frog.

The forest fires in Oregon and Washington have closed significant portions.  In many cases, there was no alternate route to take.  One simply skipped that part.  The heavy snow in the Sierra Mountains in 2017 forced a majority of hikers to skip that section, continue north, and return later in the season when it was safer to hike.

To make matters more complicated, there are trails that split off the PCT that are ascetically more pleasing than the trail proper.  There is an alternative route that allows you to walk the rim of Crater Lake.  Do I skip that?

Finally, there are some additional alternative routes to avoid dangerous sections.  For example, there is an alternate road hike between miles 187 and 191 that allows me to avoid hiking Fuller Ridge during heavy snow and high winds.

So, what am I going to do?

My hike is my hike.  The trail is what is presented to me when I get there.  If a section is closed, but there is an official alternate route, and that route is safe, I will take that alternate.  I will monitor the weather when I’m in town.  If conditions are dangerous, I’ll stay in town an extra day or two.  Despite my best efforts, if a commonly unsafe section like Fuller Ridge is dangerous when I physically walk there, I’ll take the alternate.  If snow conditions in the Sierra Mountains are the same in 2018 as they were in 2017, I will consider flip-flopping.

I may be crazy, but I do not have a death wish.

That leaves the ascetically pleasing alternates.  I may have only this once chance to do this hike.  I will choose the best quality over orthodoxy.  I’m going to hike the rim of Crater Lake.  I’m going to see the best there is to see.

What I won’t do is skip a section because it is too hard.  If I have to flip-flop, but the clock runs out, I will not consider it complete until I hike that section.  However, if a section is closed, I’ll consider that section as not part of the trail.  I’m not going to wait until the endangered section is reopened to claim victory.

Does this mean that I will hike 2650.1 miles?  No probably not.  I’ll be short a few.  Will I say I completed it?  If I skip a section with the intention of returning, but do not return because I ran out of time?  No.  Otherwise yes.

But, you didn’t hike all 2650.1 miles!!!  How can you say you hiked the PCT if you didn’t hike all 2650.1 miles!?!

Sometimes in life you just have to say close enough.  Get over it.

 

 

The logistics of hiking the PCT are complicated. Fortunately, I’m not packing food for one really long hike. I’m really determining the logistics of a series of three-to-five day hikes. Just thirty of them in a row! Regardless, after a couple of days in the wild, I will reach a town. Some of them will be full-service. It will have everything I need including a gear store. Some of them will have just a gas station and a mini mart. Some of them will have no resupply options at all. Nearly the entire State of Washington has no resupply options.

Now, I could buy all my food in bulk at home and mail boxes to each resupply point. In theory, this would same me money, because I could buy in bulk. Costco is your friend The problem with this method is that eventually you will get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. Also, what do you do if you don’t finish?

Buying local is a better solution. However, not every town has a grocery store. Sometimes it is just a gas station. I’m not sure how many calories there are in a urinal mint.

So, I have been spending hours researching each and every town. I’m also using the Halfmile Anywhere 2017 Survey as a guide.  Based upon that survey there are thirteen towns were I will need to ship a box.  They are the following locations:

1. Warner Springs (Desert)
2. Kennedy Meadows South (Sierra)
3. Kennedy Meadows North (NorCal)
4. Sierra City (NorCal)
5. Belden (NorCal)
6. Crater Lake/Mazama (Oregon)
7. Shelter Cove (Oregon)
8. Timberline Lodge (Oregon)
9. Trout Lake (Washington)
10. White Pass (Washington)
11. Snoqualmie Pass (Washington)
12. Stevens Pass/Skykomish (Washington)
13. Stehekin (Washington)

It turns out that my very first resupply point after about five days is one of the towns on the list — Warner Springs.  So, before I leave, I will ship a single box to Warner Springs.  That box will have four-days of food in it.  That may be overkill, because will stop at the Paradise Cafe for lunch and get a burger.  It is a rite of passage on the trail.

For Kennedy Meadows South (Yes, there are two towns with the same name in California), I will do a gear swap.  Before I can enter the Sierra Mountains, I will need a bear canister, an ice axe, micro-spikes for my shoes and a warmer base layer.  I will keep this heavier gear only as long as I need it.

For the Northern California towns, I will ship boxes myself.  I will ship a box from Tuolumne Meadows to Kennedy Meadows North.  From South Lake Tahoe, I will ship a box to Sierra City and Belden.

For Oregon I will use a similar strategy.  From Ashland, I will ship a box to Mazama and Shelter Cove.  From Bend, I will ship a box to Timberline Lodge.

That leaves Washington.  There are not many options there.  The most likely strategy there is full resupplies from home.  I’ll worry about that when I get there.

Using this strategy, I only have to pack one box before I leave.  That makes this trip much simpler.

I was completely settled on the Altra Lone Peak 3.0 trail shoes for my hike, but Altra has upgraded them to 3.5.  I tried ordering version 3.0 on-line, but they are discontinued.  So, I’ve ordered a version 3.5 and I have to say they are an improvement.

From a size and foot feel, they are the same.  What has changed is that there are now four points to connect your gaiters, they have improved the outer structure by reinforcing the skeleton, and they changed the ventilating fabric.

My Dirty Girl gaiters only have two connecting points, so the four point gaiter doesn’t help me.  The outer structure improvement will hopefully improve durability.  The biggest complaint about them on the trail is that you go through four or five pairs.  I didn’t have any issues like that with my 3.0’s and they have a good 400 miles on them.

The fabric change might be a big deal.  They are now using a fabric with smaller pores.  This should reduce the amount of sand and dust that gets in while still allowing the shoes to breathe.  Reducing the sand and dust will reduce one of the key ingredients to blisters.  On my six-day shakedown, my feet were always wet and muddy.  The 3.0 shoe did a great job of drying itself off as I walked.  We’ll see if the 3.5 version does just as well.

Last year was a pretty tough year for the PCT.  There were a number of emergency rescues on the trail and unfortunately a few thru-hikers died.  That has led to a discussion on survival skills.  One of the side effects of ultra-light hiking is that you do not need to be a manly mass of muscle to attempt it.  I certainly could not do it if I took my camping gear instead of my light weight backpacking gear.

So, what skills do I have verses what skills am I lacking?

As a small-town kid from Wisconsin, I spent much of my time outside.  I lit fires.  I made shelters.  I hunted and fished.  I’ve camped in the snow.  I hiked a good portion of the Ice Age Trail as well as the Superior Trail and the Boundary Waters.

As a young man, I was in the Boy Scouts until I was 16.  While I wasn’t an Eagle Scout, I had quite a few critical merit badges for this hike like, camping, first aid, hiking, life saving, weather and wilderness survival.  I still know my knots.  I can read a map and use a compass.

After high school, instead of going to college right away, I joined the Navy and was a Sonar Operator on the P-3 Orion aircraft.  Before I could hunt submarines, I needed to complete the training program which included Aircrew Candidate School and SERE school.  I also was Red Cross trauma first aid and CPR qualified, although it has been a long time since I renewed my certifications.

So, I have a good base of survival skills for this hike.  I’m also modest enough that I’ll avoid endangering myself too much.  I won’t walk the knife’s edge and take a selfie at the same time.  I won’t make a water crossing alone.  I’m modest enough to wait for others.

However, I’m still missing a few skills, some of which I will not be able to learn here.

The Desert

While many of my classmates are concerned about the snow, I’m more concerned about the desert.  I generally get 5 miles per liter of water when it is hot.  For the 43 mile stretch without a reliable water source, that means I’m going to have to carry about 10 liters if all I can get is 5 miles per liter.

The Sierra Mountains

I will have little training for high altitude backpacking.  It is a concern of mine that I might push myself too hard at 10,000 feet.  The thought of hiking one mile-per-hour is kind of scary.  I have watched videos on self-arrest, and I will take an ice-axe, but I have never done it.

Foot Care

The one part of my body I’m going to push the most is my feet.  I am hopeful that three years of aggressive hiking means my feet are strong enough to handle this, I feel like I do not know enough.  I’ve bought a book on foot care and I’ve been following what I have learned there by taping my toes and feet, but if anything is going to fail, it is my feet.

Moving Forward

I am in the process of updating my skills.  Having done two shakedown backpacking trips has given me quite a bit of confidence with my gear and what I’m capable to doing. I’m renewing my first aid and CPR certifications.  I’m learning how to be a better photographer.

For the desert, I’m going to take advantage of night hiking and sleeping during the day.  If I get up before the sun rises, take a siesta when it gets too hot, and hike until dark, I should still be able to get my miles in while avoiding the worst of the heat.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do about the Sierra Mountains.  I’ve considered buying a high altitude mask and start hiking with it, but they are expensive and probably overkill.  As water is plentiful, packing more food and taking my time is probably my best strategy.  Honestly, with 800 miles under my belt by then, my heart, legs and lungs should be very efficient.

I’ve watched videos on self arrest.  I have not found any courses here, so I’ll have to practice when I get there.

Feet?  Tape and stretching, tape and stretching.

Do I know enough to go?  Yes.  Do I know all I need to know? No.  What I don’t know, can I learn it when I get there?  Yes.

My very first day of hiking on the PCT will be in an arid desert. There is water creek at mile 4.4 and possible water at mile 6.0. After that, there is no water until after a huge climb into Lake Merino at mile 21. Water is something I will have to prepare before I can drink it.

On the different Facebook pages for the 2018 hikers, there have been a number of discussion on which tool to use. I chose the best in class Sawyer Squeeze. I ordered my before I did my first training hike on the IAT in Taylor County. When it first arrived, I gathered some Milwaukee River water and ran it through it. It worked great.

However, I discovered a major limitation on my first shakedown. At my very first water stop, the source I found had quite a bit of stuff floating in it. To save weight, I did not bring anything to screen the water, nor the method to flush it. My Sawyer was degraded almost immediately. It took nearly 15 minutes to filter a liter. My initial attempts to flush it were unsuccessful.

On my second hike, I had the means of properly flushing it and it worked great.  I’ve seen some videos on using the sport cap from a Smart Water Bottle to flush the filter, but for now, I’ll bring the syringe.  I also designed a simple contraption to filter the bigger chunks before I start filtering.  I cut the top off a water bottle and using a bandana, I can significantly reduce the larger solid deposits in the water.  The bandana ties to my backpack.  The water bottle is slightly larger than a smart water bottle, to it takes no room in my pack and the extra weight is essentially nothing.

The big decision I have been mulling over is whether to take a backup method of purifying water.  The most likely way my Squeeze would fail is if it freezes.  I’ve slept with it in my pocket on freezing nights.  I have Aqua Mira drops as a backup.  However, they weigh three ounces.  As of now, I’ve decided to not take a backup.  Three ounces is three ounces.  In a worst case scenario, I would just drink the water.

Yesterday I sent an e-mail and filled out a form on Scout and Frodo’s website.  You need to do both.  They answered me today.  I now have a ride from the train station to the Southern Terminus with an overnight stop at their house.

I wanted to stay there for three main reasons.  First, they supply at cost a couple of items I will need for the trail that I don’t want to take on the trip down.  The biggest item is a gas canister for my stove.  Second, it is going to give me an opportunity to meet a couple of my fellow hikers leaving on the same day.  While we are all hiking our own hikes, for the first couple of days, these are the people I am going to walking and camping with.  Finally, it will give me a chance to take some items on the trip down and mail them home before I leave for the trail.  I will do one last shakedown, so some will be from my kit, but mostly it will be the clothes I wore for the train drive and my tablet and charger.  I will bring a prepaid box from the post office.

Most importantly, they do not accept donations, so it allows me to learn to accept kindness from strangers. I will not be successful without the support of complete strangers. What a weird concept!

I checked off another box on the logistics checklist. How am I going to get to San Diego? I am going to take a train. Taking the train is the perfect choice because it is going to force me to slow down. Flying there takes four hours or so. Taking a train takes two days!

So, I’ll board an Amtrak in Milwaukee, switch in Chicago, and relax and meditate until I reach San Diego. I also notified Scout and Frodo, so that on April 5th, I will look out for a van with a yellow pom-pom in the window. At their home I’ll switch everything over and try to go to sleep. I will fail to do so.

Then, in the wee hours of the morning on the 6th, I’ll pack up my gear and they will take me to the Southern Terminus. Pictures will be taken. Once the goodbyes are done, I will face north and take that first step. In my pack will be five days of food, a fresh canister of fuel and four to six liters of water depending upon conditions.

When I reach Hauser Canyon which is slightly more than 15 miles up trail, I will decide whether to camp there or continue the last five miles to Lake Morena and celebrate with dinner at the Oak Shore Grocery. There is no water at Hauser Canyon, so six liters seems about right.

That is it.  That is the plan.  Beyond that is all preparation.