[pct-l] Slowest PCT Thru Hike -- sorry

Scott Bryce sbryce at scottbryce.com
Mon Sep 24 00:02:57 CDT 2012


On 9/23/2012 8:20 PM, Nathan Dreon wrote:
> However, all of the journals I found on my own were written by folks
> who did the trial in less than 6 months.

There is a reason for that.

For most hikers in most years there is a less-than-6-month window of
opportunity if one wants to hike the entire trail in one year. The
reason for that narrow window of opportunity has a lot to do with snow.

Starting too early means hiking through snow that has not yet melted off
of the various mountain ranges one will encounter in California.
Finishing too late means playing chicken with early season snowstorms in
northern Washington. This window of opportunity runs from late April to
mid to late September in a typical snow year. Thus a shorter than 6
month long thru hike for most hikers.

If you are prepared to hike in snow, you can stretch that window wider.





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