[pct-l] How late can one start the PCT and expect to finish.

[Jeffrey Olson]

I met a guy at Dorothy Lake in northern Yosemite in 1994 who had started 
about the 1st of June, and was only a couple days behind the small pack 
that hiked that year that had started a month earlier.  He'd discovered 
Ray Jardine's book, "The pacific crest trail hiker's handbook" and 
bought Ray's way hook line and sinker, and was hiking 25 to 30 mpd.  
When I asked how it was he was covering so much ground he said, "I don't 
hike any faster than anyone else - I just hike more hours." 

I remember this because it made sense.  So, it would seem if  you're 
willing to hike from dawn to dusk every day, or average around 12 hours 
a day, you could beat the weather in the northern cascades...  Just an 
opinion of course...

Jeff Olson
Martin, SD 

Greetings, this is Todd
>> I was known as Uberdude for people who did the AT in
>> 06.
>>
>> I'm graduating from grad school on May 23rd and really
>> want to do the PCT. I'm afraid that starting the 24th
>> or 25th of May might be too late to do the PCT as a
>> thru-hiker. Any thoughts?
>>
>> I did the AT in 5.75 months which is an average pace I
>> guess.  I imagine I'll drink a lot less this time and
>> the trail is graded a lot easier so I imagine I can
>> get more miles in a day with the same effort.
>>
>> But I want to find out from the people that might
>> know.  Can a "normal" PCT thru-hiker make the PCT
>> starting May 25th?
>>
>> thanks,
>>
>> uberdude
>>
>> aka
>> todd
>>