As most of us know, California has been in the throws of a terrible drought for the past 5 or so years. This has meant there has been very little snow pack in the mountains ranges such as the Sierra. Well, old Mother Nature has decided to make up for all of this lost water in a two week period. From all accounts, it has been snowing like crazy pretty much everywhere above 6 or 7,000 feet down there. The picture below was taken at Donner Pass near Reno this week. And, guess what. The PCT goes through Donner Pass.
This is a photo of a chairlift at Mammoth Mountain. Guess which trail also goes right past Mammoth Mountain!
Oh well, I am planning a late start (May 2 or 3) so hopefully most of this will be melted by the time I get there.
So you would think that the matter of hiking a trail would involve little to no paper work. Well, that is true of the PCT, but there is some. Got my campfire permit for California (you need this to operate an open flame stove in the wilderness of that state), joined the PCTA (not compulsory, but I like what they do) and prepared my application to enter Canada at an uncontrolled border crossing. The next big one will be January 24th when the actual PCT permits go up for grabs. They are free but are limited to 50 per day.
One very odd thought has crept into my melon lately. All the hiking I have done up to now has involved fairly rigid itineraries. We had to make it to such and such a camp or refugio because of reservations or lack of opportunities to camp past that point. Well, on the PCT, there are no such restrictions other than the availability of flat ground to lay my tired body upon. So, I will have to work out which philosophy is going to work for me. Do I start out in the morning aiming to hike to a predetermined flat spot, or do I start out in the morning aiming to hike a certain number of hours and then find somewhere to camp. May sound like potatoes potattoes to some but it is an intriguing dilemma.
Hi Jack,
ReplyDeleteClass of 2015 here. I hate to tell you but, there are more pinch points on the PCT than you might think. Scheduling water, food, and town stops will cause you to keep a close eye on your itinerary. There will be some care-free days, but usually when you leave camp you will have a pretty clear goal for the day.
What I will say is, do NOT plan anything more than a week or so away. If someone wants to meet you on the trail either they pick a time and meet you wherever you happen to be, or they meet you at a certain spot on the day you happen to get there. I made plans to hike around Tahoe with my Dad, and he wanted to make plane reservations a month ahead of time, and it kind of ruined Yosemite for me. I got delayed by a storm and then I had to hike too fast to try and catch up.
Good luck! I look forward to following you!
-Glide