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Why the PCT?

I've hiked on the PCT before. The first time, I just didn't even knew, I just wanted to hike in Yosemite because I was on holidays and I wanted to hike and Yosemite was famous and it had to be so for a reason. I then knew about this JMT trail and thought it'd be great for the scheduled week I had. Then I knew the JMT shared the tread with something much longer.

I loved that JMT section. Even in what is considered a crowded trail stretch for north american standards, I felt it was different from anything I could do in the really crowded environment I grew in. You Americans have to come and hike in Europe before you can use the word crowd properly.

I came back to the PCT a few years later, this time fully aware of the trail and looking for the best I could find in the one month I had. We had, actually, as there were two of us. We hiked along the northern Cascades and it was fantastic, we enjoyed so much being out there, having no other choice but being on our own, meeting nothing but like-minded people doing basically the same thing we were doing.

By then, I knew I had to hike the whole thing some time. The PCT's got this added value over anything I can find in my corner of the world, this nice mix of wilderness and a safe environment where I can forget any worries, it's just about hiking and enjoying. It's not that I don't like to be aware of my surroundings (I actually do) but the peace of mind it gives me to know what to expect. Civilization is always there, never too far but (and this is important) hardly ever too close.

Hiking at home I can't relate to most of the people I meet on the trail.They're doing things different from what I do. That's fine with me but I can't forget how nice it was to meet anybody along the JMT or the northern Cascades and feel there was something in common.

I'm not looking for the ultimate wilderness experience nor am I prepared for such a thing but I love being out there for days with basically no other option but being on my own. And I love the travelling, the feel that my steps are taking me somewhere different every day, the fact that I can go on for thousands of miles just by walking.

I look forward to the moment this happens. As I recently read from another hiker, and I agree, my hike has actually began already, it started the moment I decided I wanted to do it.

Background

The PCT is not a particularly difficult route but it’s probably true that one needs some know-how and experience to do it. Just wanting to do it is not enough, this is not a stroll in the park (nevermind it’d be a long stroll).

At this point I feel I have that experience and I’m confident I can do it. Most probably, I could have done it much before but I wasn’t that sure I could. Now I am. I know there’s people who feel this right away (then, some will be right, some will be wrong), that’s something that depends on each one’s character. I’m of the cautious kind and I need a solid base before attempting something.

I’ve been backpacking for quite a few years now and I’ve basically done before everything I’ll be doing in the PCT. The only new thing will be hiking for such a long time and distance. We’ll see how I handle that.

I’ve gone through long distances, big mile days, rough terrain, trail-less sections, snow covered landscape, bad weather (white-outs and everything), big loads, long stretches without ressuply… not all at the same time (fortunately) but I know it all. I’ve also gone through the what-the-hell-am-I-doing here feeling that strikes sometimes and I’ll be ready for that when I’m so far away from home, alone for such a long time. Or so I think. Again, we’ll see…

Light is right

I’m into the lightweight thing, maybe ultralight, whatever is the line, doesn’t really matter. Lightweight philosophies seem to make the most sense in a route like the PCT so much that I can’t even think of thru-hiking the PCT in a traditional style of backpacking. I’m sure it can be done but it must be very tough. Light is right not only for the obvious, the weight savings, but also for letting you get somehow closer to the places you traverse, or that’s how I see it at least. Thru-hiking the PCT is a great way to test oneself and see how far this lightweight thing can go or how well it works for the long haul. That’ll be fun by itself.

Strategies

I’m not going that far (to America, from Europe) to try to visit civilization as much as I can during the hike. Long wilderness sections (or what for me is considered wilderness and what is considered long) is where the added value is so it’s my idea to try to take advantage of that. I’m aware I may change my mind after a good reality check though. So I’ll try to stay on the trail as much as I can and whenever I leave the trail I’ll try to not go too far from it. Or, rather, I’ll choose my ressuply-rest stations such that I don’t have to go too far from the trail and such that I don’t have to stop too often.

I like to depend as little as possible from logistics and schedules. I’ll try to be reasonably free of them and if that makes me carry a bit more weight sometimes or taking an odd menu, that’s fine. I appreciate the convenience of a well planned schedule (I’ve done that before too many times) but it’d have less sense as the trip gets longer. Besides, I’m positive I can do without that convenience. Again, that’s my idea. We’ll see…

Schedule

This is a very rough estimate, the only thing that'd made sense for such a long trip but one that's so necessary, at least to plan the ressuply stations in order to know how much food one needs from one to the other. So this is basically a ressuply schedule. It reflects the strategy I was describing above: I'll try to stay on the trail as much as possible and will choose the ressuply points such that they're on trail or as close as possible to it. Wherever on trail ressuply is not possible, I'll usually favor a mail drop over a hitch to town... but there are towns too atractive to be left behind.

So here it is my PCT 06 plan

Comments:

• Whenever there are different options, I've indented them on their cell. On the trail, I'll choose one of them. The next fixed point will show distances from all of the possible options in respective order.
• Wherever I'm not sure if I'll buy on the spot or use a mail drop, I've used parenthesis in the relevant mail drop information.

Gear & philosophy

Gear is important. It shouldn't be more important than the trip itself but it's so fun to play with gear, to try things, to see what works and what doesn't, to add weight to the equation and play again...

Weight is important. It shouldn't be more important than the trip or the gear themselves but it's so fun to play with gear when you consider how much it weights. I'll not be making this a discussion on the benefits of lightweight gear but it's clear to me trail life is much better when your load is not a burden. Not only that, trail life is also so much better when there are less things between you and your environment. Lightweight gear is not only lighter, it usually is also simpler. But, finally, lightweight gear is sometimes not too durable.

I routinely go under 7 lbs. base weight for short trips. For the PCT, I'm aiming at 9 or 10 lbs. I'll not be taking more things but I'll be using gear that I can reasonable expect to keep for the whole trip. The really fringe items will be left behind, the philosophy stays.

I like the idea of heading out from the trailhead with all the things I'll need. It gives me this independence feeling that's so nice and exclusive to this kind of situation. And while this gets impractical as the length of the trip increases (and it's obviously not feasible for such a long trip as the PCT, not just for the consumables), I'll try to keep this feeling with me, even if that means carrying some more weight at times.

I expect to not replace anything from my gear (except shoes and socks). The PCT is quite consistent as far as conditions along the way go so it quite makes sense to use the same gear all the way through. I know it can be a bit overkill to be prepared for rain and cold in southern California (is it, after all?) but I'll definitely sacrifice some potential weight savings for the sake of autonomy.

Here you can see my PCT 06 gear list.

Some reasoning behind the choices:

Sleeping Bag: Nunatak Arc Special X

This is rather a quilt but it's cleverly designed so that it drapes around the sleeper on the sides and a little part of the bottom. There are quilts out there that don't do this and it's said they're drafty. I don't know first hand but I see the problem. Not at all with the Arc Special X.

The Top Bag is rather Top and Sides

It is less than a pound of (PCT) 3 season worthy warmth. I need clothes to sleep well when temps go below freezing but that's expected. I love the no hood feature as I can put my head cover items to double duty and I'm never worried about breathing inside the bag (a bad thing). With the non-hooded Arc, I can turn in my sleep independently from the bag, much as I do in a bed and as I naturally do. In fact, that's the way it should be with a quilt.

Shelter: Golite Cave 2 + home made bath tab floor and net shelter

I can do with a much smaller tarp and be fine for a few days or whenever it's not raining but for the potential extended periods of rain I love the space. They say this is a two person shelter but I find it tight (doable but tight) for two. I must say my Cave 2 has some odd size that's not the advertised, it's some narrower and slightly tapered on one end. I love it as a versatile shelter for any 3-season condition. I feel safe in it no matter the weather (and I'm aware this is easier to say while at home). In rain, it's open and livable. In high winds (with or without rain), I can lock it down and be safe. I also like Golite's Sil lite stuff more than the regular 1.3 oz silnylon, it feels considerably more robust for a little more weight and I prefer this for a long trip. I also think it's easier to get a taut pitch than with the lighter silnylon. The bath tab feature of the floor is really not necessary but I feel it's nice to have. The difference in weight between this and a non bath tab floor is only the weight of the tiny lines it hangs from. It's 1.3 oz silnylon. The net shelter is meant to be hang from the tarp or it's vertical support. It's as small as possible and I'm afraid it can get not too livable, I'll see how it turns out. It's a new item as I don't usually need one where I backpack.

Pack: Granite Gear Virga

Frameless for a lightweight (1 lb.) pack with the right size for a thru-hike (for me, at least) and sturdy enough to be expected to last for the whole trip with no problem. I'm afraid of taking a silnylon pack for such a long trip. There are a few things I don't like in the Virga but it's a tried item I can trust. I want a pack that can carry real weight if needed for the long sections without ressuply. I've loaded it with more than 25 lbs. in the past and I know the pack can carry that with no problem. Some of the lighter packs (of which I have a couple) may have a problem even to carry that weight as the seams may not be ready for those loads. The main thing I don't like is the waist belt, just a piece of flat webbing. I tend to carry most of the weight on my shoulders which is not a good idea unless the load is really light. Another drawback of the frameless sack is the lack of ventilation on the back. The pack rests flat on it and it gets so sweaty... For what it's worth, I have a Vapor Trail of the same brand thats solves all these problems (excellent, well padded waist belt) but it weights almost twice. I stay with the Virga.

Clothes

I'll always keep a set of dry, "clean" clothes for sleeping, it helps keep the bag cleaner which is important for the long run. This clothes are meant to live in the pack during the day (though they can still be used for emergencies) so it's very important they're as light as possible. I'll use polypropylene top and bottoms. For some reason, polypro stuff is the lightest. Silk is a good option too but the equivalent weight garments are semi-transparent and I don't know about their durability.

• Torso: 4 layers: base, wind, insulation and rain. A polyester, light coloured, long sleeve, high neck and chest zip base layer; same design for the windshirt. A Primaloft pullover for insulation and a Micropore rain jacket
• Legs: I love shorts but eventually one needs long pants for several conditions that include the desert sun. This one rules out the shorts + wind pants approach as I don't see myself in black pertex enveloped legs in those conditions so it'll be the more usual convertible pants option. Any light coloured, cotton-like nylon will do. I stopped carrying rain pants long ago for mild 3 season conditions I prefer to wear shorts and cover them with the definitive rain garment: a silnylon mini-skirt. If it rains consistently I may leave the shorts and wear just the skirt so I become the sexiest hiker on the trail.

Cooking

I've eventually decided to go with gas canisters. I appreciate the simplicity and light weight of alcohol stoves but it seems I can't get used to the pouring, eventual spilling and general odd character of my alcohol stoves. The fact that all of them are home made probably has an influence on this. Anyway, I use them a lot for short trips but I can't imagine cooking on one of these for 5 months.

I love the clean, aseptic character of gas canister fuel and its efficiency, particularly when used with a well designed windscreen. I loathe the heavy weight of the canister itself which probably the one big drawback of this option. The fuel weights nothing but the container weights a lot.

The last factor that made me choose to go with canisters is the autonomy they give you. With alcohol you're bound to find a ressuply every few days if you don't want to carry a lot of fuel weight. This shouldn't be difficult with a bit of planning, I know, but I love the fact that I can grab a 8 oz canister and forget about fuel for 5 weeks. I may go the whole PCT with four canisters.

I'll still carry the lightest of my alcohol burners in case I'm stuck with no canister somewhere and because I like this one. It's only 8 grams.

The pot will be just for heating the water so it'll be on the small side. I'll cook in ziplocks + cozy. Good ziplocks are reusable many times; I wouldn't like throwing away so much plastic... so I won't avoid the "dish" washing but I'll save a lot of fuel and/or the weight of a bigger pot.

More comments, soon...

Journalling

I'll try to keep a paper journal of my trip but I know myself well enough to not trust my discipline to keep up to date with it. Maybe the length of the trip and the potential for solitude will change that but I don't expect lengthy, not even daily records. In this context, I'd find no use for a journalling electronic device and I don't think I'll even try to engage somebody into trasncribing my unintelligible hand writing.

But I somehow fancy the idea of leaving notes of my progress and I have a website of my own (this one) so I don't even have to mess with finding a journalling account somewhere else. So I've set up a page where I expect to leave something whenever I have internet access and the will to invest some time on it: my PCT 06 journal.

Preparations

It gets a bit crazy the weeks before. You want the time to depart comes as soon as possible but you also want more time to finish your preparations and planning, to try to avoid the inevitable fact that you'll eventually forget something. It's a bit of an agony but I guess we have to take it as part of the fun.

To ease the process, I'll take some time to take some photos that help to tell the story:

As long as they don't put the books in a binder, I'll keep taking them apart

The three main guidebooks and the two accessory ones, all taken apart

25 sections to hike

The bounce box

I'll use one but it'll be a small one basically meant for those things I'll not be able to buy as I go along or some others I'd need to buy in too big quantities. This means guidebooks and maps plus some other few things like lithium batteries, soap (that one I like) or alcohol gel. I'll be forwarding it only five times (or so I mean) but to avoid the desintegrating cardboard box syndrome I'll be using a plastic box. I hope it'll hold up.

My box, ready to bounce

Snow updates

It's been snowing like crazy for the whole of March and April so this has become a high snow year for a PCT thru-hike. This has made many re-think their strategies, particularly for the central Sierra Nevada. For the moment, my idea is to keep on schedule and deal with the snow. I'm reasonably experienced in snow travel so it should be no problem but I know how hard travelling on snow for extended periods can be.

I'll not be able to avoid carrying some extra equipment, even though I liked the idea of getting along with the very same gear, end to end, with just one extra, the ice axe. This has evolved to a whole new kit for snow travel: axe, crampons, snowshoes, down pullover, vapor barrier socks, insulating mittens, waterproof mittens, extra socks... and a GPS unit. All of it will fit in a new box:

It's a tight fit but it's all in there

Six point crampons, awfully light, can be set in the instep or at the front. I had never used these before, will see how they fare...

Camp 6 Punte Light, 230 gr. per pair