View Full Version : PCT's weather vs AT's weather (question for people who have done both)
MyName1sMud
09-13-2011, 12:47
Which of the two trails had the better weather? I'm guessing it's going to be the PCT until you get to the north part of Cali when rain becomes the norm.
Anyone?
I've just always wondered this so I figured I would ask. My assumption was PCT as everyone seems to say that Cali has the best weather in the nation.
Some people have hiked the PCT without a day of rain. I went with 3 or 4 days in all of California (1700 miles) and 3 of 5 weeks in Washington.
The AT you can expect rain every couple days. It's also drier, humidity wise, out west so you don't sweat or stink as much either.
MyName1sMud
09-13-2011, 16:54
Thanks for the quick reply!
The weather on the PCT will depend greatly on how early you start and how fast you hike. I started in May 21st and finished September 1st and only had rain once and snow once the entire trip. But others who hiked or are currently hiking will tell a different story. Generally:
- The earlier you start the greater chance of rain in SoCal.
- The later you finish the great the chance of rain in Washington.
Everything else is a crap shoot. I have not hiked the entire AT but have done several hundred miles. There is no 100 day period on the AT when you would only get rained on once.
garlic08
09-13-2011, 19:52
Remember, there is a difference between "weather" and "climate". The weather is nicer on the PCT, but the climate is more difficult, potentially brutal. The first 700 miles you're hiking in desert, then a few hundred miles of high Sierra snow in full melt. By comparison, most of the AT is in fairly benign Eastern hardwood forest with lots of water.
the at dishes out a lot of rain and humidit the pct a lot of blazg sun and snow melt I often wished 4 rain....garlic we were in prescott last year great pizza yumm :)
garlic08
09-13-2011, 23:58
...garlic we were in prescott last year great pizza yumm :)
That must've been Bill's, across from the courthouse. Look me up if you get here again.
I fondly remember 15 seconds of cloud cover one day on the PCT.
It was bills ! We liked ur town looks like a lot of hikg in the area.....will def lk up if we come thru again...poor brad he will b like NOT anothr hikr ! Haha
Jim Adams
09-14-2011, 09:18
On the PCT I had 3 days of rain and 3 days of snow in the first 300 miles but the rest of the desert sucked with heat in April.
OTOH, I hiked the AT in 2002 and had an unusually dry year...only rained on me 9 days in the entire 6 months.
geek
Even though it rained on me quite a lot in Washington in the month of April (2009) the ground remained oddly dusty dry. I was able to set my tent up in a dry spot under a tree most rainy evenings. I also sweltered through all of Northern California and Oregon. I mean it was really hot, in the 90s and I think it was near 100 at one point in Oregon. I found Southern California to be relatively comfortable. Sometimes it was a little hot, but it's a dry heat. A breeze might pick up and cool you off and the shade was usually very comfortable.
MyName1sMud
09-14-2011, 09:41
You're lucky Jim! That's the least amount of rain i've ever heard of on the AT.
Jim Adams
09-14-2011, 10:10
You're lucky Jim! That's the least amount of rain i've ever heard of on the AT.
Yeah, it was really dry...hard to find water throughout the mid atlantic...walked to nearby houses at road crossings just to get water!
OTOH, 2003 was possibly the wettest ever...I would have probably quit in 2003...I HATE RAIN!
geek
I just remembered I recently put my pictures up from some section hiking last May. I was in the midst of the thru hikers. I can't believe I got the same weather 2 weeks apart.
San Jacinto just after Kickoff (http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/gorp/albums/index.shtml?slides=san_jacinto_05_2011&img=0&title=San+Jacinto%2C+May+2011&album=1).
Big Bear area mid-May (http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/gorp/albums/index.shtml?slides=big_bear_2011&img=0&title=Big+Bear%2C+May+2011&album=1)
I'll spell out the difference pictorially...
Pacific Crest Trail:
13853
Appalachian Trail:
13854
i'll spell out the difference pictorially...
Pacific crest trail:
13853
appalachian trail:
13854
lol .......
lol .......
he he he.
1234567890
MyName1sMud
09-14-2011, 20:32
pictures speak 1,000 words huh? haha
Trailbender
09-15-2011, 00:33
The question is, which would be a better trail to live on year round?
frisbeefreek
09-15-2011, 22:48
In 2009 I started from Springer on March 10th. It rained 25 of 30 days (mostly all day cold soakers) when I left the trail smelling like jungle rot to hike the PCT. It rained 4 days on the PCT, mostly passing showers (rain in the Mojave - https://picasaweb.google.com/108241234654640523618/PacificCrestTrail2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCOmrn9H8jIX2rg E#5382282699726311570.
In 2010 I left Springer on March 20th. I had a total of 5 wet days all the way to Katahdin, 3 of which occurred before I left Georgia.
Of course, the only time I ever thought I was in danger was when I got caught in a whiteout in Evolution Basin, with no trail to follow and no visual reference points to navigate by - Thankful for my compass that day (https://picasaweb.google.com/108241234654640523618/PacificCrestTrail2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCOmrn9H8jIX2rg E#5382283314898315410)
MyName1sMud
09-28-2011, 12:10
Dang Frisbee! 5 wet days on the AT? That's the least I've ever seen! I hope I am that fortunate.... but then again.... how hard was it to find water?
Spirit Walker
09-28-2011, 12:55
The heat on the PCT can be hard to deal with since it stretches from the border into Oregon. You get used to walking in 90+ degrees, but it can wear on you. OTOH, it's a dry heat ;-)
In 2009 we had a lot of cool wet weather on the PCT in the desert. It rained most of the first day. We were really cold at the hiker feed at Walker Pass. But it's not like the AT. OTOH, Washington in a bad year can be downright depressing. So much beauty, but you can't see it.
frisbeefreek
10-01-2011, 15:28
Dang Frisbee! 5 wet days on the AT? That's the least I've ever seen! I hope I am that fortunate.... but then again.... how hard was it to find water?
I just got incredibly lucky on the AT- There were days when it rained a few miles behind or in front of me. A few times it rained overnight (I didn't count those days because I was nice and dry).
Water is always plentiful - I never carried more than 1.5qt (I could go less, but I treated with Aqua Mira, so it was easier to carry a little extra and not worry about stopping).
As Spirit Walker said - Heat is an issue on the PCT. It can be chilly in early May at elevation in Southern California and desert nights, but I went from 50F at Idyllwild to 105F the next day at Cabazon. Then I had 10+ days of 90F+ in Oregon (it set a record). Couple that with the worst mosquitos I've ever seen around Fish Lakes, and you have some miserable hiking, especially with really nice lakes adjacent to the trail that can't be used unless you want to be fodder for the bloodsuckers.
Echraide
10-30-2011, 02:58
Even though it rained on me quite a lot in Washington in the month of April (2009) the ground remained oddly dusty dry.
Washington wasn't under snow in April?