Starting PCT thru hike in March? Looking for advice!!

[bumkneethatsme]

Hi all!

I am hoping to thru hike the PCT next year, starting in the beginning of March. I start grad school in August so I need to complete the trail by then. My idea was to start the trail in Campo, skip the Sierras (I am thinking snow will still be pretty deep if I start this early), complete Washington by around the start of July then flip back to the Sierras and finish there. Has anyone ever done this? Any insight on what the trail condition might be in Oregon/Washington this early in the year? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

[Coffee]

You might want to join the PCT Class of 2015 group on Facebook. There are a number of hikers already on the trail. I know that Southern Califonia mountains have some snow even in this low snow year that people have already encountered so the Sierra won't be the first place a NOBO encounters snow starting in March. I'm starting nobo four weeks from today.

[Malto]

When in August do you need to be complete. Unless it is very late August I would say you have a low probability of success. In a normal year you will have to deal with snow in SoCal, Sierra and very likely in the PNW. In each case you will be early season and if any of the areas have a higher than average snow year you could have hundreds of miles of snow. If you look at Swami's 2012 Triple Crown journal, hikinglife.com you will see how he hit massive snow in the PNW in July.

Not or to say that it can't be done but don't let the last three years very low snow over influence your perception of success. It is more complex than just snow in the Sierra.

[Miner]

Just be aware that jumping North when you hit the Sierra doesn't always work. Sometimes you hit just as much or even more snow.

[5th]

In the Oregon Cascades, the snow doesn't clear until July. Even then there will be patches.

Plus mosquitos. Come with a head net and loose long sleeves. They don't abate until mid August.

I don't want to discourage you, but even June is out of the question without snowshoes/skis, and resupply will be problematic with closed passes.

[jawnzee]

I finished my PCT thru on August 14. Finished a couple weeks after Swami and there was still tons of snow. I think starting in March is too early. Just know that you'll be hiking a lot, and hike a lot! Start sometime in April and just keep walking. You'll run into snow, and it will slow you down, but you'll get through it. There is a lot of emphasis put on the Sierra because for most people starting NOBO at kickoff and finishing in late September, that is the only significant snow they encounter. SOBOers deal with snow up north every year. They get through it. You can too.

[Spirit Walker]

When you skip the Sierras, it really doesn't help much because you will have snow until mid to late June pretty much everywhere on the trail. We tried to find a place to hike in mid-May and there wasn't any place north of the Sierras that wasn't deep in snow. If you are prepared for a winter hike, you can do it, but be aware that you'll be much slower than if you were hiking later in the year. You might do better to either attempt a speed hike or to do the trail in two years.

[nattyB]

Go to Trail Journals and look for Brakeman and Grasshoppers 2014 PCT hike. They left 5/814 and finished 8/24/14. The key to a timely finish is get up early, stop late and walk consistently in between. Good luck. Cheers!

[Sasquatch!]

I started March 10th and the weather has been great. That may not be the case next year. Its warmer than average here right now. A group who started 10 days earlier than myself got slammed by storms. That may still happen to me, but so far I've been lucky.

I plan to do SoCal then go home and come back in June to do the Sierra and beyond. I hate walking on snow. Having just been up on San Jacinto I walked in more snow(only a few miles) than I ever have prior. I tires me out. F snow.

Make sure to keep an eye on the NOAA forecasts.