[pct-l] Oregon in April?

[Eric Lee]

J-Rab wrote:
>
To mediate this problem, it occurred to me that I perhaps I could Flip-Flop,
hiking Oregon in April, then traveling down to Campo to start with the main
rush in early-to-mid-May, and arriving at the High Sierra in mid-June. I
could then skip straight to Washington after finishing California, and stand
to finish by mid-August without having to rush myself.
>

That's probably not going to work.  Flipflopping on the PCT can help
compensate a late start date and allow you to finish later than normal but
it's not really going to help you finish earlier than normal.

Generally speaking, everything north of the Sierra melts either at the same
time or later than the Sierra.  Oregon and Washingon are lower in elevation,
yes, but the northern latitude makes up for it.  Oregon will be entirely
under deep snow in April and Washington doesn't become mostly snow-free
until mid-July.  Southbounders often start at the Canadian border in
mid-June but they're usually hiking >80% on snow for the first couple
hundred miles.  It's dangerous and brutal.

It's possible to finish a PCT thru-hike in mid-August - usually a few people
manage to do it every year - but the strategy is pretty much just
brute-force.  it's usually only the strongest and fastest hikers of the year
can who do it.  You have to enter the Sierra as early as possible then slog
through snow off and on for up to 1500 miles, through Oregon, depending on
how the weather shapes up for the year.  A very low snow year like
California had this year would make things a lot better, of course.  Many
people are well into the Sierra right now, for instance, but you can't count
on that every year.

You also have to be comfortable with hiking 30+ mpd on a regular basis,
particularly through Oregon.  A 25 mile day would count as a relaxing break.
:-)

Another possible strategy is to just start hiking and be ready and willing
to get off the trail whenever you run out of time.  The rest of the trail
will still be there for you to pick up later.  Yes, I know that's not as
cool as a continuous thru-hike but it's a valid approach.  You get an
awesome summer and still have something to look forward to for your next
adventure.

Or you can say, "Screw it, I'm thru-hiking the PCT and the rest of my life
is just going to have to wait!"  Finishing by September 1st is a lot more
doable than mid-August (though it still means a pretty brisk hike).  Could
you postpone your obligations for that long?

Eric