Pacific Crest Trail - our thru-hike experience is with the John Muir Trail and Camino de Santiago, but we are section hiking the PCT - 1675 miles so far.

My definition of long distance hiking is hiking trips that are three or more weeks.  The amount of preparation, and the mindset seems to change around that point.  We covered the John Muir Trail and the Camino de Santiago on other pages of this site. On this page we have the Pacific Crest Trail and some tips we have learned along the way.

Pacific Crest Trail:

Runs for 2650 miles from Mexico to 12 kilometers inside the Canadian border.  This is a national scenic trail.  Roughly 300 people start it each year, and about 60% complete it.  The Pacific Crest Trail Association maintains a web site that is the primary source of information about the trail.  They have a store on the website that carries the most important publications.

Permits:

 If you are going more than 500 miles on the PCT, a permit for the trip can be gotten directly from the association above, including the Mt. Whitney access permit.

If you are section hiking then you must get a US Forest Service Campfire Permit, as well as wilderness permits appropriate for the sections you are hiking. For 2008 download, print and fill out this presigned permit:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/passespermits/campfire_permit/campfire-index.html
 The permit is good for any National Forest in California.

The wilderness permit is more of a problem as there is no standard procedure. So far we have gotten one from the 1st area we enter, and the later areas honor it. Call the areas you are going to enter weeks in advance, and try to get a permit by mail or fax. 

If you are planning on PCT section hiking thru the Desolation Wilderness (near Lake Tahoe), be sure to call the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit's permit line directly at 530 543-2694 to get a wilderness permit, rather than the normal Desolation Wilderness permit process . They'll waive the usual reservation fees, let you jump the line in front of the April "opening day" of permit season, and the permit you are issued will be different in one significant way: It allows you to camp in Desolation on the PCT without having to go through the LTBMU's zone system for overnight use. Thanks to David P. from PCT-L for the info.

Map Resources:

For useful planning maps, get the official Forest Service maps, at 1" to the mile. pcta.org has some of them, but to get all that are available, go directly to the forest service store site , select Purchase Your Maps Now, then select Specialty Maps. Browse thru those maps, and select the ones you want. These are beautiful, sturdy but heavy maps. You might not want to carry them, but very good for planning. They aren't all together - you can search for ca-60, ca-61, ca-68, wa-15, wa-17.

I use National Geographic Topo State software to print the maps I carry with me. I also carry a gps which I turn on a couple of times a day when I need an exact location. I display the gps location using UTM coordinates instead of latitude longitude, because everything is in 10ths and easy to estimate. This means that I have to print my Topo maps with UTM grids. It is important to specify that you want your grids at 1000 meter intervals, not miles, so you can easily estimate distance between grids.

For the John Muir Trail segment, the Tom Harrison map pack for the JMT is excellent  http://tomharrisonmaps.com/

Get an excellent free set of PCT topo maps for some of California that you print from the web from http://www.hikertrash.net/  The PCT is marked in red. These are 1:50000 maps from TopoUSA. If you expect a lot of wet weather I recommend buying the map paper from REI and printing on both sides of the paper. Otherwise normal printer paper printed on both sides works fine.

http://postholer.com/ is an excellent map, journaling and forum site. They have a Google maps version of the entire PCT
http://postholer.com/gmap/pct.php

PCT Elevation Profiles - Rob Bedicheck has a well done, easy to print out set on his PCT website: http://bedicheck.org/robert/pct/elevation_with_labels.html - there are five pages of profiles, each covering about 500 miles - (sometimes this website is not up). If not up, he also has the profiles at this link: http://arctic.org/~robert/pct/elevation_with_labels.html

A new set of profiles that is interactive - you select by section - very nice: http://www.bearcant.org/elevation.php

http://pctmap.homeip.net/data/pct/ mirrored at http://mattmaxon.homeip.net/data/pct/  This is Matt Maxon's great resource for those having Topo software. Also has gps waypoints, some tied to data book. Use with the understanding that nothing is guaranteed to be permanent or error free.

GPS waypoints, topo versions, pdf versions of sections A thru K at Halfmile's excellent site http://www.pctmap.net/ .

If you have National Geographic Topo Software, they have the PCT route thru California in their mapXchange: http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/topo/

For those of you using the above Topo PCT route on mapxchange, there are two places in Calif. section D where the route doesn't match the guidebook map. One is on Map E3 of guidebook where trail goes thru Bear Spring, and topo route shows it thru Big Oak Spring. The other is on Maps E9 and E10. Just after the sag pond (3810-0.6) the guide book route turns north while the Topo route continues a couple miles east before turning north. In both cases, the Topo route is wrong.

You can go to the www.postholer.com  section E gps points and copy and paste into Topo just the coordinates for E9-E10 trail segment in question, and it will match the guidebook. The postholer gps points for the E3 route are partly missing and partly match the Topo route. In both these cases you can get correct routes and waypoints from Matt Maxon's link above. Halfmile's info should be correct as well.

 Another excellent set of maps at 1:24000 is at http://pcnst.oakapple.net/maps/sc/ . This is provided by David of www.emeraldlakes.com , who also has an online town guide listed later.

 This 3 set CD will allow you to print detailed topo maps for any part of the PCT, plus include a wealth of additional information: http://morethanamile.com/
 
Erik the Black's maps are no longer online since he published his guidebook. http://www.erikasorson.com/ . He has started publishing (in spring 2008) a series of guidebooks with maps and data points included: PCT Trail Atlas.

PCT on Google Earth: http://snipurl.com/lfft  once you click this, click the placemark. You have to have downloaded Google Earth free software for it to work.

PCT Magnetic Declination: For map and compass work, critical to know. This site will give declination for any latitude and longitude, and has tools for finding latitude and longitude: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/jsp/struts/calcDeclination 

Water Consumption:

 In the desert sections the general rule is to carry 2 gallons per person per day. Another guideline for water consumed is by miles per liter: 4 mpl normal weather, 3 mpl hot weather. Cook your meals at a water source if possible, even if it means main meal at midday so that you only have to carry enough water to support your hiking. If it is very hot, start about 5am, hike till 10, take a break till 3pm and hike till 6 or 7pm. To carry water, four 2L soda bottles or two 4L Dromlite or platy bags are commonly used. We find a meal for two takes 1.5 liters.
 
 Some people use a rule of drink a liter carry a liter. We have tried this and it works fairly well. You can drink an entire liter at a water source, though it might take you 5 minutes or so. That will carry you 3 to 5 miles, and the liter you carry will take you another 3 to 5 miles. If that gets you to the next water source you have a plan that works. If you do this, carry a pump or steripen, as treated water needs 4 hours to kill everything.

Early Season Fording Techniques:

If you are a PCTer, you will have a number of fast deep crossings requiring extreme caution.  Evolution Creek is the deepest, sometimes chest high at the normal crossing point, but not very fast. Others are not as deep but fast and dangerous. Usually early morning is best - may be 12 inches lower than late afternoon. Tyndall Creek, Bear Creek, south fork of Kings River, Rush Creek, Kerrick Canyon (northern Yosemite) are some of the others. Consensus from PCT-L forum is to use hiking poles or sticks to get 4 points of contact, keep body facing the opposite shore, angle upstream to keep the force of water from collapsing your knees, wear synthetic fast drying clothes, take off long pants, unfasten waist belt. If shoes and boots are already wet leave them on. Walk between rocks, not on them. If wearing trail runners leave them on - some people take socks off. During dry weather if you have to cross in your boots, remove socks and boot liners, wipe out boots after crossing and reinsert liners.  You will walk dry quickly.  You need something to protect your feet (I have gone barefoot in midsummer and it is painful. I have carried lightweight kayak shoes for camp and river crossing - better than bare feet. I don't want the weight penalty of Tevas).   With normal sierra weather you will dry as you walk fairly soon.  If chilly, put on fleece after crossing.

Water Reports: 4jeffrey  http://pct.4jeffrey.net/ . A table with line for each water source, box for comments and date reported. People support it by sending updates. Still going strong in 2008. Just covers Southern California. All updates done by AsABat.

Postholer's Snow Depth Chart:

http://postholer.com/cgi-bin/postHoler

Trail Angels we have met:

Warner Springs Monty was our first

http://www.hikerheaven.com/ is the site of the famous trail angel team at Agua Dulce - Donna & Jeff Saufley - a mandatory stop on the PCT.

Right at the intersection of the PCT with highway 138 in section E is Hikertown and Bob Mayon. See www.hikertown.com for details.

Walt & Laurie in Wrightwood

JoAnn in Mt. Shasta

Jim P for a ride down to Etna

Don't remember their names, but the Hiker Hut in Etna

The trailer court in Seiad Valley providing a hiker area

Diane for those car shuttles

Bob Ennis of mtwhitneyshuttle.com for above and beyond service

Remember that receipt of trail magic is a gift, not an entitlement. Leave a donation, and leave them looking forward to the next hiker.

Blisters, etc:

The best preventative I've found by far is breathable first aid tape.  Put it on hot spots before something more serious starts. Johnson&Johnson makes 1/2 in and 3/4 in cloth tape, but best product we found is Hartmann Omnifix in 2 inch by 10yd rolls - enough to wrap entire ball of foot. Google for medco omnifix for the only U.S. source I've found. Once you get a blister, Spenco 2nd Skin dressing works, but it is bulky to carry, hard to find, and you may need a lot. 2003 Update - on grueling 8 day trip, got blister with new boots, used Compeed to cover blister.  Worked well. The Johnson & Johnson product sold in US but licensed from Compeed is not the same as the original. Susan got hot spot on ankle, used Spyroflex Skinsaver - no more problems.  Better not to get blisters - use preventative measures, socks off every stop, soak in cold streams every chance, lots of tape.  There are many ideas on foot fixing - all in John Vonhof's Fixing Your Feet which we got before doing the Camino. John's new edition (4th) is out and you can order from Amazon
 
  However, a French pilgrim who had already walked hundreds of miles, told us about taping, when she saw Susan's feet, and it worked.

Kenesio Tex tape - 1 inch and 2 inch widths. We just learned about this stretchy breathable tape from John Vonhof's newsletter, and ordered some from KMS. It is similar to Omnifix above, though we find it doesn't stick to skin as well - sticks to itself just fine.

Gear: Weight is critical. See our gear page for packs, etc., see our John Muir page for detailed equipment list for JMT. Most thru-hikers use alcohol stoves, packs in the 1 to 2 lb range, low topped well ventilated running shoes for the desert. For couples a canister stove is more efficient.

Re Resupply Boxes and Fuel:

It's best to buy at resupply point. Fuels can't be flown. US Postal Service will allow butane/propane canisters and alcohol to be mailed ground only provided they are packed and labeled properly.  See Ken Power's link on this: http://www.gottawalk.com/shipping_fuel.htm . I mailed an unopened can of alcohol to Mt. Laguna for our section A hike, properly packed - wrapped with paper towels inside a ziplock inside a well padded box. Good thing I followed the rules because it did leak - not a lot, but all the paper towels were damp - nothing into outer box.

Food and Lodging Info

You should have Yogi's handbook http://www.pcthandbook.com/ , but also take a look at David P.s page on food and lodging: http://www.emeraldlake.com/pctguide/

San Diego area help:

If you are looking for a trail angel, Bob Riess has been very helpful in the past. You can contact him at robert.riess at cox dot net. He is out of the area in 2008. Check the links in the ADZPCTKO link below.

ADZPCTKO - Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kickoff website: http://pct77.org/adz/ If you want to go to the kickoff this is the site. Usually the 3rd week in April, this is the place to get the latest water reports, meet other PCTers, lightweight gear vendors and start walking. This creates a glut of hikers, overwhelming trail towns and trail angels, so if you can, make this a separate trip and start your walk earlier or later. Check their link for more info, as well as transportation to Campo info:   http://pct77.org/adz/rides.htm    Go to their directions to the Southern terminus of the PCT at the border link, and you will see a very cool combination of a video and topo map where a pie wedge of the topo map is outlined as the corresponding part of the video moves by. http://pct77.org/adz/getting_there.htm#border

Kennedy Meadows General Store address change as of 2008:

Kennedy Meadows General Store
96740 Beach Meadow RD
Inyokern, CA 93527

Shuttle Hint for PCT section hikers:

When we did section A we parked in Warner Springs and a trail angel drove us to Campo. When we did section B, our trail angel was hiking, so we parked in Warner Springs in the school's little outer lot, and when we reached interstate 10, called Enterprise Rentacar in Palm Springs. The PCT comes out at Tamerack Road, which is in their pickup range.  They will drive up to about 12 miles to pickup someone who wants to rent a car.  They will also drive you back after the rental.

Another good source of shuttle info, shower locations, etc that is kept current: http://climber.org/data/index.html

For a Mojave shuttle, the Days Inn will give you a ride to and from either trailhead (Oak Creek or Cameron Rd) if you are staying there. Cell is good at Cameron Rd, not at Oak Creek. There is also a taxi service. Taxi: 661-600-2771 or 661-824-4242. Day's Inn 661-824-2421. Verify numbers ahead of time, as numbers and businesses change.

In the Walker Pass area (SR-178) we have these untested numbers, and know there is no Verizon cell reception. Maybe Att ok. Ridgecrest Taxis, (760) 793-7374, (760) 384-2424, Enterprise Car 760-384-2816, Avis 446-5556, Dollar 446-4554. You would have to hitch east into InyoKern or Ridgecrest to get the car rentals. Enterprise will drive up to 10 miles to pick you up.

There is an Eastern Sierra Shuttle service that does trailheads from Yosemite to Kennedy Meadows (south) http://www.mtwhitneyshuttle.com/ (760) 876-1915 Call during evenings. They gave us excellent service in May of 08.

There is a west side shuttle service into Sequoia-Kings Canyon Nat'l Park from Visalia:
http://www.ci.visalia.ca.us/depts/transit/sequoia_shuttle/

The important long distance forums:

I monitor the Yahoo BackpackingLight forum, as well as the PCT-L, AT-L and CDT-L listservs.  Backpacking Light is very useful - a lot of good comments on gear.  PCT-L has high activity, some off topic, but usually good info. AT-L has lots of activity, more than half of it off topic, so you have to sift thru a lot if you get the daily digest.  CDT-L low activity, usually on topic.  I recommend the BackpackingLight for all backpackers.  If you are planning to thru-hike or section hike one of the others, join the appropriate listserv. (CDT is Continental Divide Trail).  Also, Backpacker Magazine's website www.backpacker.com, click on community and there are a variety of good forums - the southwest destination forum would include the southern PCT.

Trail Journals:

It can be very helpful to read daily journals of thru-hikers. To get a sampling of these: www.trailjournals.com an excellent place to follow current thru-hiker journals on the PCT as well as all the other major trails. This website can also be reached via www.trailforums.com .

www.postholer.com as of 2008 has added journaling capability with good features.

PCT Section E Current Info: http://www.pct1e.blogspot.com/

PCT-L Achives

The PCTA site doesn't point directly to them. Look here: http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/

PCT Fire Info:

We have a separate page on this: Backpack45 Trail Pacific Crest Trail Fire Info Sources

U.S. Forest Service PCT site - good info: http://www.fs.fed.us/pct/

PCT Open Trail Directory: http://www.pctwiki.org/   new as of 2006 setup by Chance (trailname) - similar to 4Jeffrey water reports but for entire length of trail, updated by anyone.

Current Snow Conditions: http://postholer.com/cgi-bin/postHoler  This site is new as of Feb 2005 - a good graphical representation of how much and where.

Temperature Change with Elevation: If you carry a thermometer, it is sometimes useful to estimate expected temperatures at higher elevations. There is a normal temperature drop of 3.6° F for each 1000 feet increase in elevation. i.e. if you are at 10,000 feet, the temperature is 40° F and it is raining, expect snow at 13,000 feet.

Wind Speed Estimating:

You expect a range of weather on the pct, from snow to triple digit temperatures. What some people do not expect is the possibility of winds that you can knock you off your feet in the desert sections of southern California. See http://www.mountainweb.com/learn2climb/view_single.jsp?learntoclimb=38 to estimate wind speed. A summary is that 40 mph takes concentration to walk, above 70, almost impossible to walk.

Ice Axe Tether: To see how the strap should be attached to your ice axe, go to http://www.climber.org/gear/IceAxeStraps.html

PCT Fire Information Sources:

We have a separate page on this:

Satellite Phone:

If you have to have more reliable service than a cell phone, check into Qualcomm 1600 satellite phone, which Outfitter Satellite sells for about $350. This will cost you about $1.50 per minute for calls, but has reception most places, weighs about a pound, battery lasts for weeks if you only turn it on when you need to make a call. Note: this phone is for Globalstar service, which  is currently unreliable.

Another source for satellite phone is http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/satellite/phone_rentals_iridium.html They recommend only the iridium phone as the Globalstar serviced phones have a number of failing satellites and service is spotty.

Also consider SPOT a satellite personal locator. Takes about 20 minutes to get a gps fix. One button is checkin. Send Text msg to your friends with gps location & google map link. Means you are ok. A help message sends similar info, but says come get me. 911 sends msg to search & rescue. Has associated rescue insurance.

Solar AA battery charger: See http://store.sundancesolar.com/flsobachfor4.html

Triple Crown Talk (PCT, CDT, AT) by the Powers:

Saw an excellent presentation (Dec. 2003) at Sunrise Mountain Sports in Livermore by Ken & Marcia Powers on their triple crown trips.  They are one of the few couples to complete the triple crown (Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, Appalachian Trail).  The show was excellent - good visuals and enthusiastic team presenters - both up front and giving a coordinated talk. They started with the Pacific Crest Trail, northbound, then did the Continental Divide Trail, northbound, and finally the Appalachian Trail, northbound.  I've checked out their website www.gottawalk.com .  It has an excellent equipment list, item by item and ounce by ounce for each person for each trail.  Also a detailed food list.  This is an excellent resource and anyone planning to thru-hike any of these trails should look at their website. Since their talk they have thru-hiked the American Discovery Trail as well. For 2007 they plan to walk the PCT again. Follow them on: http://trailjournals.com/GottaWalk/

Pacific Crest Trail Talk: by Matt Geis

We went to our local REI and heard Matt Geis talk and show slides of his 2002 Pacific Crest Trail trip . If you ever get a chance to hear him, do so.  There are now water caches in the desert part of the PCT, where PCT supporters put out gallon bottles of water for PCT thru-hikers.   He did hit a spot, where all containers were dry, and he had to hike out to the nearest town to get water. The convention on these caches is that you do not depend upon them. Carry enough water to get you to the next guaranteed source. At a cache, drink your fill, but only take more if essential for safety. When Susan and I did our 2005 section A and B hikes, we would use about two liters from a cache.

Two tips from his talk: Your feet expand. His went up a size and a half over the course of the trip (back to normal now).  He was using low cut running/walking shoes and went thru I think six pairs during the trip.  Some PCTers bought all their shoes up front, and put them in their resupply boxes, but were only able to wear the first pair. The other tip is not to forget you own your equipment.  Do not be afraid to modify it to fit your needs.  In his case, some cutting of his shoes saved a lot of pain, and could have been done days earlier.  This is also something Ray Jardine suggests. Re blisters, foot problems, he had some the first few weeks due to too many long days and not enough rest days, also did not take boots and socks off at every break at first - did later. A third tip - he said it was fairly easy to get sponsors for such things as shoes.

One of his highlights was the Vermillion Resort, as was mine on the John Muir Trail. They make a big thing out of the PCTers and JMTers that come thru.  1st beer and 1st night free.  Muir Trail Ranch is another resupply point slightly farther south of Vermillion Resort, but they have guests that take priority over walk-ins, so have a reservation if you want a meal and place to stay.

He talked about the experience of being on the trail, and being back in the city after finishing the trip. What he said was like a flashback to me. There is no such thing as post trail depression.  What happens is that you are on this high - you understand the stresses other people are having with everyday life, but you can't be mad at anyone, its been weeks or months just thinking about food, shelter and other hikers along the trail.  The feeling gradually wears off, but at the same time, the memory of the more difficult parts of the trip start to fade, so you have this great experience to draw on. (There are lot of times on the trail when you think: Why am I doing this? This is NOT fun, but somehow the good parts outweigh it.)

Pacific Crest Trail Slideshow by Scott Williamson:

We've seen this several times - at PCT kickoff as well as REI. Absolutely stunning slides from his what - 9? PCT trips including two yoyos. Not to be missed - still being shown in REI locations in 2007. Also, check out Scott's website, a huge amount of information: http://www.pctthruhiker.com/

Kiwi Link: I got detoured from checking my email for several hours when George Spearing - a New Zealander - sent me a link to his  PCT trip in the early 90s. An entertaining and informative narrative. Check it out: http://www.angelfire.com/trek/nz_usa
 

DVD/VHS on a PCT thru-hike.  Walking the West.  A documentary of two people who walk the PCT - won Best Documentary at the California Independent Film Festival, also played at Ashland Film Festival.  A realistic account of the trials and tribulations of thru-hiking the PCT.  You can only buy it through the Pacific Crest Trail Association website, but the filmmakers website www.walkingthewest.com has buy buttons that go directly to the PCT association site.
 

PCT 2005 DVD by Whistler & H of 2005 hikers

Another great free DVD, similar to Weathercarrot's - mostly just music and images, but kept me enthralled. Some great high sierra snow images.

WeatherCarrot's DVD of 2004 PCT hikers.

This is a truly inspirational DVD - just images and music, the images contributed by some 70 2004 hikers. It was shown at the 2005 kickoff and is being distributed free if you can find a copy. To me, it represents all the good parts of a PCT thru hike. Look at some of the following DVDs to get a more complete picture of a thru hike.

This is slightly off topic from PCT DVDs, but relevant. Bob Kenan was a backcountry ranger in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park for 30 years. He has put together a DVD of his experiences, including interviews with other backcountry rangers, and some 50 interviews with backpackers and PCT thru-hikers. I haven't seen it, but sounds good. Order from his site at http://www.messagefromthemountains.net

Pacific Crest Trail Records:

I've collected these from various places. Please email me if you have corrections, new candidates, etc. at rbalcorn at gmail dot com.

Fastest Assisted Record:

Definition: Assisted means crew following hiker and providing food & shelter at every opportunity. Hiker just has to walk the PCT.
David Horton - 2005 - 67 days - June 4 to Aug 9 at age 55
http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2005/08/full-friday-bag-o-blog.html
http://www.backpack45.com/newsletter2005.html (Sept newsletter)

Fastest Unassisted:

Definition: Unassisted means normal PCT hiker, no slack packing.

71 days 2 hours in 2008 - finished Aug 18 - Scott Williamson & Tattoo Joe (Joe Kisner)
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2008-August/019696.html
a little controversy in that they went thru an active fire area (Clover Fire)  that was closed to pct hikers, however, they did get permission from the firefighters and rangers on the spot.

79 days 21 hrs in 2007 - finished Aug 7 - Tattoo Joe http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-August/009353.html

81 days 8.5 hrs in 2005 by Squeaky (Mat Hazley) http://www.trailforums.com/detail.cfm?PostNum=5674

83 days set in 2003 by Ray Greenlaw http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/0308/msg00119.html

85 days in 2001 by Brian Robinson as part of his 2001 triple crown. http://www.trailrunner.com/news/2005_david_horton_pct_record.pdf

Catra - dirt diva - attempted fastest unassisted (2007).
 http://catrapct.blogspot.com/2007/07/days-67-68-sun-mon-july-29-30.html  had to abandon attempt in Sisters after Giardia & injured knee

74 days in 2002 - RocketGirl - (Terry Wiemer?) (pct 02, cdt 04)
http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/0311/msg00244.html
http://friends.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-May/007827.html
http://www.trailforums.com/detail.cfm?entryID=35868
Someone said RocketGirl is a madeup hiker. Yogi's journal entries indicate she knew Rocketgirl.

Fastest California section

Andrew Skurka - 45 days - 2006 http://www.andrewskurka.com/PCT06/index.php

First Yo-Yo (round trip)

Scott Williamson - Completed in Nov 2004 - 197 days, and in Nov 2006 - 191 days http://www.backpacker.com/article/8846

Most Completions:

Scott Williamson - Completed 10th PCT in Oct 2007

Oldest man to complete the PCT

Age 75 Per email from Meadow Ed: "Back in 96 my friend Calvin (Batch) did from Mex to Sierra City. In 97 he came back out to redo the trail and actually rewalked up to Kersarge Pass then jumped to Sierra City and made it to Canada. He was 75!"
 
 Age 78 Per pct-l post from Jim (Bigfoot) & MIna : "John Olley aka JohnnyO, from Dunsmuir, who is 92 finished section hiking the Pct in the early 90's and finished the AT in 1994. John was the volunteer trail maintainer at Castle Crags state park for about 15 yrs, quitting at 90 yrs old."
 http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-August/009583.html (My estimate for age is completed in 93, age 92 in 2007 makes him 78 in 1993)

Oldest woman to complete the PCT

Tough Old Broad (Jane D.) Age 70 2006 http://www.wild-ideas.net/news/blogger.html

Eleanor Guilford in 1989 at age of 71 http://redwood.sierraclub.org/articles/October_05/EnvironmentalForum_Nov.html

Oldest man to thru-hike the PCT

???

Oldest woman to thru-hike the PCT

???

Longest number of years to complete hiking the PCT

Per email from Meadow Ed: "I ran into a feller up to Stehikin back in 01 who was doing it on horse back, Ralph Looney! It took him 49 years to complete it! I asked him why he did not wait til 02 and make it 50 years! His answer was Hell at my age i felt i should do it now , who knows what another year will bring."

Jim Batdorff - 26 years - started in 1981 and completed in August 2007 at age 65
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-August/009567.html

   in progress:
 expected 29 years per pct-l email from barney rubble: " Kieth who is known as St Alfonzo, started section hiking in 1980. He has completed everything north to Cascade Locks. He plans on doing 1/2 of Washington in 08, and the other 1/2 in 09. I have seen him on the trail the last few years."
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-August/009585.html

expected 44 years per pct-l email from Steel-Eye: "I began hiking the OregonSkyline Trail in late July or early August of 1965, several years before it was incorporated with other trails in California and Washington to form the PCT, and have hiked portions of the PCT most years since. Substantial portions were: Oregon thru-hike in '99, Cascade Locks to Stevens Pass in '00, Stevens Pass to Manning in '02, and Campo to Sierra City in '07. About 480 miles remain, but I'm only 65 so I should complete it in '08"
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-August/009586.html
 

Oldest man section hiking in 2008

Chuck Ward (aka "Catalina Chuck") - 73 in Dec 2008 - A, F, G and part of H in 2008
Ralph Alcorn 72 contender - 72 in May 2008 - Agua Dulce to Cottonwood Pass, Ashland to Shelter Cove in 2008

Oldest woman section hiking in 2008

Susan Alcorn 67 contender

Oldest woman to have hiked a section of the PCT

Oldgal (Marge Prothman) 73 in April 2000 Section B , also something in 2005.

Youngest person

2007 - Oblivious (Brian McCarty) age 12  - hit Oregon 8/2 - did AT in 05. Traveling with father Troll (Bill). Both in kilts. Finished PCT on 9/16/07. Planning on CDT in 2009.

2004 - Scrambler (Mary Chambers) age 10. Travelling with Barbara Egbert & Gary Chambers. http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/0410/msg00542.html

1977 - Strider (Greg Hummel) age 11. http://www.backcountry.net/arch/pct/0410/msg00542.html

First Thru-hike:

1952 Martin Papendick - (North to South) http://www.aldhawest.org/Gazette/V3_2_EarlyPCT.asp

1970 Eric Ryback - challenged due to rides accepted. http://www.pcta.org/about_trail/fun.asp

1972 Richard Watson (confirmed) http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail

First women to thru-hike:

1972 Mary Carstens -  http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Pacific_Crest_Trail

1984 Joanne and Marion (Mugs) Knezacek - (source http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/chronicle/AL_CHRON_1984_2.pdf )

Other:

2001 Brian Robinson PCT, AT, CDT all completed in one calendar year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20011027/aponline213001_001.htm

Ken and Marcia Powers completed the "Grand Slam" - PCT, AT, CDT, ADT. http://www.discoverytrail.org/news/powers/index.html They are now (2008) on the Arizona Trail.

PCT Early History

The Pacific Crest Trail exists mainly due to the efforts of Clinton Clark and Warren Rogers, starting back in the 1930s. The family of Warren Rogers has gathered the early history together and built a website: http://www.pct.com/ . It makes for interesting reading.

Our Gear List for PCT or JMT:

The gear list is a google spreadsheet. To get an xls file you can save, click on  http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pPFto0EzOaDvrKYt_NSZZEg  - on the bottom right of the resulting google spreadsheet is an edit button. Click that, and you will be able to view it in a form that can be saved off to your hard drive as an xls file.

Trail Journals: To follow some of the current PCT and other thru-hikers, click on the following to go to www.trailjournals.com

- also a good place to see detailed gear lists - an example is Ken and Marsha's American Discovery Trail 2005 journal.

Backpacker Magazine Wisdom of the Week:

Their website www.backpacker.com is an excellent resource - far beyond the normal retail outlet site.  Look in the community section and you can find useful forums that I check at least weekly - broken out by topic.  Several on regions such as international, northwest, book reports, backpacking with kids, just for women, etc.. The magazine is published by Rodale Press - publisher of Organic Gardening, etc., and has strong environmental roots.

A Training Resource - BLM Lands Near You:

An alliance of conservation organizations has recently put together a site promoting the crown jewels of the BLM system. You can click on the following and find the selected areas by state: http://www.conservationsystem.org/conservationsystem

More Temperature Data than you can ever use:

Six PCT hikers carried data recorders during their 04 and 05 through hikes. You can look at temperatures for selected days, time of day, etc. Keep in mind that these recorders may have been in a pack, or exposed to direct sun, so don't represent average air temperatures. For example, that 126 F day probably was inside a hot pack pocket.
 http://www.michaeljaylissner.com/pct-temperatures

Other Links:

Crow's blog - a huge amount of PCT gear info along with some interesting stories http://asthecrowflies.org/ 

An excellent but huge site dedicated to lightweight backpacking is www.backpacking.net, forums, archives, gear, the works.

Another good homegrown website on ultralight hiking - lots of good links - visit Michael's Ultralight Backpacking Page

Joe Valesco's lightweight gear includes belt bags and shoulder strap bags for carrying cameras, etc. http://www.zpacks.com/

Also, Joe's www.ultralightbackpacker.com is an excellent non commercial site with the best writeup on Tyvek that I've seen.

www.adventurealan.com - another non commercial ultralight site with good info and great photos that load fast.

Great Grand Canyon site for anyone thinking of hiking the Grand Canyon www.hitthetrail.com

4500 mile trail in North America - the ECT - Eastern Continental Trail - Quebec to the Florida Keys - find more about it and the Alabama segment in www.alabamatrail.org

Ray and Jenny Jardine have a lot of interests beyond long distance hiking.  Check www.rayjardine.com for comments on ultralight hiking, among other things. They run Adventure Lore Press, and you can probably get an autographed copy of Beyond Backpacking from www.adventurelore.com.