[pct-l] Southbound Hiker

[Eric Lee (GAMES)]

Sandi wrote:
>
Have you thought about starting as a NOBO and then flipflopping?
>

I agree with Sandi - one attractive option would be to join the northbound stream when you start: probably at Kennedy Meadows.  Hike north to Canada, then flip back down to Kennedy Meadows and head south to Mexico.  That puts you in a much better position with respect to snow in the Cascades and you can enjoy the trail community for the majority of the time if that's important to you.  You'll be hiking the desert in the fall when it's very dry but that's no different than if you started at Canada and went south.

The only major downsides of this plan are that a) you have to figure out the logistics of the flip and b) there's something psychologically satisfying about hiking straight through from border to border, which you'd be giving up.  But being able to start strong in Late June without wrestling with a big Cascades snowpack probably makes it worth it.

Eric