Well I completed my PCT thru hike 1 week ago today. To sum it up, "I had the time of my life."
Total hike time from Campo to Manning Park was 3 months, 29 days so just short of 4 months. Figuring the PCT at 2660 miles and the 15 mile side trip up Whitney, I averaged just over 22 miles a day, every day but I took 14 zeros and lord knows how many neros...a bunch.
I was expecting resupply to be more difficult than it was. With the exception of the Sierra, I didn't think resupply on the PCT was any more difficult than the AT. There's a town every few days. You could easily resupply without sending boxes but Oregon and Washington would be iffy if you were in a bubble that cleaned out the smaller stores before you got there. I'm pretty sure I was in the front 10% of PCT thru hikers.
There is absolutely no need to overthink resupply on a PCT thru hike. It's a piece of cake.
My gear choices were perfect for the hike. I never had anything I didn't use and every piece of gear. I had a love/hate relationship with my TarpTent Contrail. Man I hate that tent....but it's a great design.
Most proud of: Hiking from Kennedy Meadows to VVR without resupply.
Section I liked most: I vacillate between the desert and Cascades. The Sierra were awesome but nerve wracking for this southern man with no snow experience.
Section I liked least: Northern California, but just because it was my least favorite section doesn't mean I didn't like it. I did.
Best Town: I loved Ashland and took 3 zeros there.
Least favorite town: Chester
Most difficult section: Sierra
Least difficult section: The state of Oregon. I've never hiked anywhere that you could hike as fast as you could walk for hours.
Money spent: Approximately $8500
Zeros: 14
Neros: At least as many.
Most miles hiked in a day: 38.5
Shoes: 7 pair. I switched to Merrill Moab's in Mammoth and made it the rest of the way on just 2 pair of them. The Brooks Adrenaline trail runners I wore just weren't up to the task.
Best campsite: Guitar Lake, all by myself. Except for about 100 marmots.
Favorite view: Watching the sun rise sitting on a rock on top of Mt. Whitney, again, all by myself.
Looking forward to hiking the northern half of the CDT next year.