[pct-l] This will be more than you're bargaining for.

Wed Apr 20 18:49:52 CDT 2016

Great suggestion Jeffrey and this section of trail gets more really
beautiful scenery than just hiking the length of Oregon.  The Trinity Alps
is, or at least was, Billygoat's favorite part of the PCT, and that's
saying something.  It would be a tougher start, but the Trinity's and
Marble Mountains are beautiful in such a green and almost pastoral way.
And anyway around that waterless stretch is a good detour for a new hiker.

Sabrina, if you have a year to plan, spend as much time walking with a pack
as you do planning and you'll have a much more pleasant time of it.  Most
of the high drop out rate on both the PCT and AT at the beginning of the
hikes, involved  folks who found that backpacking was simply too hard on
them physically.  It's not your everyday physical stressor for most
Americans, but if you can toughen your feet, muscles and connective tissues
slowly before your hike, all the better.   Just get hiking now.  Get to
like long walks.  Also, find a few books on ultra light backpacking, and
start googling it on the web as there is tons of info out there, and start
looking into really light gear.  Warner Springs Monty says, "As the weight
goes down, the fun goes up."  And I totally agree.  Getting your base
weight (everything you'll be carrying except food, water and stove fuel)
down to between 10 and 16 lbs or so, will bring you a much more pleasant
experience.  It's just not as much fun being a mule for a week, than it is
being a "day hiker" with a really light pack who is going out for more than
a day.

As for your timing, your availability is in season at one part of the PCT
or another, so you need to decide which end of it you'd like to experience
and which life zones.  The PCT traverses every life zone in America except
the Florida tropics, so it's a wonderfully diverse trail with endless
possibilities, deserts to the rarest of high country Alpine beauty.  Ask a
few specific questions and there will invariably be lots of folks putting
out some good info on this site.  There are great Facebook pages as well
devoted to the PCT.

Happy hiking,

Shroomer

On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 3:57 PM, Sabrina Harrison <troopharrison at gmail.com>
wrote:

> This is just awesome. Any specific tips for someone new to backpacking who
> is planning just one week? I could start anytime from mid May through late
> August 2017.
> Thanks Shroomer!
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Apr 20, 2016, at 4:06 PM, Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hey Alexandra,
> >
> > Welcome to a wonderful outdoor fellowship.  You'll meet more great folks
> on
> > trail than you'll find concentrated just about anywhere else on the
> > planet.  But I'm not biased or anything.  All that has been said so far
> is
> > right on the mark so I'll try to address other aspects.  If you've got a
> > month, and you're new to hiking, I'd say a great place to start would be
> > Ashland, or just outside of Ashland at Callaghan's Resort off Hwy5, just
> > below Siskiyou Pass, the southern entrance to Oregon for PCT hikers.
> > Ashland is a wonderful town with a world famous Shakespeare festival and
> > the home to Southern Oregon University, making it a very cosmopolitan
> small
> > town, with great gear shops and food stores to get ya started.  Then hike
> > north just as far as you comfortably can, always getting closer to
> Portland
> > as you go.  That's about 500 miles.  If you've got more time at the end,
> > shoot on up into WA for a bit.  You'll still be close to Portland.
> >
> > For me, the most important thing I do before every long hike is to walk a
> > lot in the months preceding.  Gear, food, maps, plans and all the rest is
> > secondary and subject to change and modification all along a trail.  I
> went
> > through 3 packs on my first thru hike on the PCT and didn't settle on
> one I
> > really loved till Oregon.  But that pack has gone all the way on the CDT,
> > AT, Camino and other long walks.  I thought I had it right when I started
> > only to find better and better stuff all along the way.  But what you
> can't
> > trade out or modify is your feet and knees and ankles and just being
> > comfortable walking long miles, day after day.  So I train 3 or 4 and
> more
> > days per week, as much as I can, and that may only be 45 minutes for some
> > of them, and all day for others, including some 20 and 25 milers, but
> then
> > I back way off to only 10 to 12 miles per day the first week of my hike,
> 15
> > to 17 the second and only hit 20 by the third week.  A plan for 18 miles
> > per day over a month is a lot of miles if you're new to hiking.  Over the
> > course of my PCT thru hike, the folks I was traveling with became so
> strong
> > by mid hike they were all knocking out 30 to 35 miles per day by Oregon.
> > Over time, the miles and the ability to do them comfortably will come on
> > all of itself.  But for me, I can't force it too soon.  Over the course
> of
> > a month, you may not have the break in time a full thru hiker has.  But
> > while you're at home at this point, walk somewhere as often as you can,
> and
> > add in every hill you can find.  For training, the hills are your
> friends.
> > They really give you the fitness.  Start with a light pack and work up
> to a
> > full carry as your training continues.  If you're already strong as an
> ox,
> > do what you think is best, but for me, every mile I get before hand is
> less
> > pain and more fun when I'm actually on trail.
> >
> > Several friends I've trained with this past winter are on the PCT right
> now
> > and suffering from pressure blisters.  These are not caused from the
> > rubbing of ill fitting shoes or other mechanical issues, but simply from
> > too many miles too soon.  Check out different people's blogs on
> > Trailjournals and Postholer or Wordpress.com and see how some of the
> folks
> > are doing early on.  From what I'm hearing from these friends, lots of
> > people are suffering from blisters and overuse issues.  Folks are excited
> > and hiking too far, too soon.
> >
> > When I began the PCT, my first long hike, I followed the formula as
> > outlined above, forcing myself to hike low miles at first, stopping early
> > and enjoying the first days.  I had no serious pain and no blisters at
> all
> > on that hike, but friends on trail who started at 20s and continued for a
> > week or more, all ended up off trail with overuse issues and blister
> > complications for several weeks before they could come back and start
> > slow.  Several years later, I started the CDT with a plan for 12 miles
> the
> > first day, but the trail angel's truck broke down on the way to the
> Mexican
> > border and we had to do a 20 mile first day to get to water.  By the next
> > day I had a pressure blister, simply from the miles.  It's the only
> blister
> > I've had in 15,000 miles or long trails.  On the AT, I adhered to my slow
> > start and had no physical problems due to foot or ligament issues.  Noro
> > virus in the Shenandoah, yes.  That trail is infected!  But no foot
> issues.
> >
> >
> > A very important quality for a long distance hiker is flexibility, so
> > although we all start out with some "plan" in mind or drawn out quite
> > concretely on paper, it is really important to be able to flex out of
> that
> > plan due to weather, blisters, exhaustion and other unforeseen
> exigencies.
> > If you can remain flexible, whatever you do, and that might be hiking
> over
> > the Bridge of the Gods and knocking out some of WA before you're done,
> will
> > make for a wonderful experience for you.
> >
> > So my advice at this point is do all the prepping you can, Yogi's guide
> and
> > Halfmiles maps are great places to start, but mainly walk every chance
> you
> > get, start the trail slower than you're planning at present and stay
> > flexible so that you have a great time.  Then, have the summer of your
> life!
> >
> > Good luck and wonderful adventures!
> >
> > Shroomer
> >
> > On Mon, Apr 18, 2016 at 4:28 PM, Kaercher, Alexandra <
> akaercher at liberty.edu>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> I think that people who are avid backpackers get a little frustrated
> when
> >> newbies get excited (in my experience thus far) and don't know what
> they're
> >> doing but jump right in.
> >>
> >> So please don't get upset with me, but I am a newbie, but I'm trying to
> >> prepare as best as I can before embarking on the journey I hope to take
> >> this summer.
> >>
> >> My hope is to hike for a month (35 days allotted since I don't have
> >> experience with this) from June 5 to July 10, last stop being Portland
> (I
> >> know I'd have to hitchhike to get there) where I'll meet up with friends
> >> who are there. I live in Lynchburg, VA. I've never done this, I hope to
> >> cover 560 miles in the time that I'm on the PCT (eventually averaging 18
> >> miles a day).
> >> I'm in the beginning planning stages so I'm researching gear, comparing
> >> reviews and costs as best as I can in my blank slate of hiking knowledge
> >> other than a handful of hikes I've done for sunrises and whatnot. I
> think
> >> I'll need a long distance permit, since I hope to go more than 500
> miles. I
> >> can't quite determine where I should start yet (presumably 560 miles
> south
> >> from the last stop I'd make before getting a ride to Portland), but I
> don't
> >> know where that is.
> >>
> >> Basically, I'm trying to do this in an educated manner as best as I can
> so
> >> as not to frustrate people who know about doing section thru-hikes and
> also
> >> to be wise, but I'm a little uninformed about a lot. So if anyone is
> >> willing to help me in a way I can understand, I would be very grateful.
> >> I've got about a month and a half to plan this. I know, that's not a
> lot of
> >> time. But hey, that's okay.
> >>
> >> Anyway I have reached out to people I know directly, I just thought
> people
> >> actually doing the PCT would be a good place to seek out as well for
> advice
> >> and guidance.
> >>
> >>
> >> Thanks homies!
> >>
> >>
> >> Alexandra
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