Miles per day expectations

[evyck da fleet]

I agree with Mags. It took me three weeks to get to Gatlinburg on the AT but only 2 week to hike the JMT the following year. I was a complete newbie before the AT and would say terrain had little effect when comparing my mileage between the trails. What did? Inexperience in preventing blisters(two shorter days), a couple shorter days due to lightning, hail etc, lost hiking time(which I don't regret) hanging around talking to other hikers at lunch, snack or dinner breaks, and the fact that at its heaviest on the JMT my pack was still 5 pounds lighter than when I started off from Amicalola Falls. I also started the AT in mid to late April and enjoyed hiking through the bubble and meeting lots of different hikers so I think you could start as late as early May and avoid the heat until the flat mid Atlantic area.

[CarlZ993]

Which is the hardest trail? The AT is shorter in distance but has more elevation gains/losses than either the PCT or CDT. I posed that question to a triple crown hiker who was in the middle of his yo-yo AT hike in 2013 (if successful, it would have been his 2nd yo-yo). He said that the AT was harder.

I don't know. I haven't thru-hiked the PCT (have hiked from Tahoe to Whitney Portal) or the CDT. I found the wet rock in VT, NH, & ME very terrifying. I fell often on that slick stuff.

I would think I could easily maintain a much higher average mileage on the PCT or CDT. Hopefully, I can test that hypothesis at some point.

[Rolls Kanardly]

Now that is funny. And to think so many work so hard to come up with a name that is unique. You got to just love spontaneity. Rolls

[ugggggggh]

uggggggh...

[Malto]

Which is the hardest trail? The AT is shorter in distance but has more elevation gains/losses than either the PCT or CDT. I posed that question to a triple crown hiker who was in the middle of his yo-yo AT hike in 2013 (if successful, it would have been his 2nd yo-yo). He said that the AT was harder.

I don't know. I haven't thru-hiked the PCT (have hiked from Tahoe to Whitney Portal) or the CDT. I found the wet rock in VT, NH, & ME very terrifying. I fell often on that slick stuff.

I would think I could easily maintain a much higher average mileage on the PCT or CDT. Hopefully, I can test that hypothesis at some point.

False,
the pct has a more elevation gain and loss thatn the AT. The At may have more per mile but not overall.

[CarlZ993]

False,
the pct has a more elevation gain and loss that the AT. The At may have more per mile but not overall.

I'd read a comparison of the elevation gain/loss of the three trails that showed the AT had more than the other two. Now I got to see if I can find that reference. I'll let you guys know if I can find it. From what I recall, the ranking of the big three was: AT, CDT, & PCT. Anyway, I'll be on a treasure hunt to see if I can find that source.

[CarlZ993]

I don't know if this info is accurate. This is what I based my statement on.

http://equipped.outdoors.org/2013/10...palachian.html

[lonehiker]

I was just about to post same site. Looks like AT beats PCT hands down.....

[Colter]

Personally, I'd be willing to bet that all things being equal the miles come a little harder on the AT.

I think there are more "pointless ups and downs" on the A.T. I think that might have a more mental effect than a physical effect. I don't know about the total amount of climbing on each trail, but the A.T. is undoubtedly steeper per mile.

The same for rain. The A.T. tends to be a rainier trail. That can speed you up or slow you down depending on the kind of person you are. Some might want to sleep in or knock off early to minimize rain, some will skip breaks and keep walking because it's too wet to sit down for a break!

Except for snow, I think the tread tends to be easier on the PCT as well.

The AT tends to be a more social trail, and in general I think that slows people as many try to stay with their trail friends.

As others have pointed out, a huge factor is prior experience and the order in which you hike the trails. There are also many wild cards like snow levels, health, etc.

[Colter]

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ad.../excerpt2.html

[daddytwosticks]

Titty Cakes...thanks for the great story about your trail name. Happy hiking.

[Malto]

From a previous thread.

NOBO CDT total elevation gain-457340 ft
NOBO CDT total elevation loss-457770 ft


NOBO PCT total elevation gain-753190 ft
NOBO PCT total elevation loss-752160 ft


and (once again)
NOBO AT total elevation gain-628900 ft
NOBO AT total elevation loss-628620 ft

See post 53.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...+cdt+elevation

[lonehiker]

Because of the conflicting data I decided to contact the PCTA. I spoke with the Trail Information Specialist and he told me that the current estimates of the elevation gain/loss are wildly inaccurate (his verbage). So they basically don't know with any degree of confidence what it is. However, he said that this summer (2014) there is going to be a major mapping project that will determine this information.

[lonehiker]

Forgot to add that this data would be published in the November-ish time-frame.

[Malto]

Because of the conflicting data I decided to contact the PCTA. I spoke with the Trail Information Specialist and he told me that the current estimates of the elevation gain/loss are wildly inaccurate (his verbage). So they basically don't know with any degree of confidence what it is. However, he said that this summer (2014) there is going to be a major mapping project that will determine this information.

if you read through the thread that I attached you will see the methodology that was used in the estimates I referenced. Since the same methodology was used for all three trails I believe these over any single number for a trail. In the end though I really doesn't matter. You have to hike the miles regardless of the climb.

[Malto]

Actually here is THE definitive answer. From http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ad.../excerpt1.html

The Pacific Crest Trail
Here's the beguiling secret about the Pacific Crest Trail: Despite the route's extremes of climate—from deserts to glaciers—it's a relatively easy hike. Switchbacks and a trail graded for use by horses means backpackers on the PCT can cover twice the ground in a day as their counterparts on the Appalachian Trail. And the two principal mountain ranges the PCT travels, the Sierra and Cascades, enjoy the most benign summer weather imaginable for ranges that top 12,000 feet (3,658 meters).

So I guess that means that you will only be able to do 10-13 mpd if you did 20-25mpd on the PCT. I love articles like this. This is how wildly inaccurate stories get started.

[garlic08]

I think the hardest of the Triple Crown trails is your first one. I did the AT last and it was the easiest (or rather least hard) for me.

[Slo-go'en]

From the few western trails I've hiked, they are significanly less stumbly then the average AT tread. I bet mile for mile, you burn more calories on the AT then on the PCT.

[Mags]

From the few western trails I've hiked, they are significanly less stumbly then the average AT tread. I bet mile for mile, you burn more calories on the AT then on the PCT.

By any chance were they in national parks? Overall NPS grade tends to be much easier than USFS or BLM grade. Hike RMNP and then hike the Gore Range. Night and day difference.

[Slo-go'en]

By any chance were they in national parks? Overall NPS grade tends to be much easier than USFS or BLM grade. Hike RMNP and then hike the Gore Range. Night and day difference.

Yes, a lot of it was NP trail, Glacier, Yellowstone, Tetons, but also in the Beartooths and in the Candian Rockies. I'm not talking grade so much as the the actual tread. I don't have to look at where my feet are stepping nearly as much out west as I need to on the AT, where if you want to look around, you'd best stop first or you'll trip over something.

Although, if you go off trail and try to climb a tallis slope to get to a summit, that can be tricky.