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Thread: CDT vs. PCT

  1. #1
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Default CDT vs. PCT

    Just this year I finished my Triple Crown. Afterwards I compared the CDT vs. PCT, only because everyone loves too. As any experienced hiker knows they are similar but also very different so comparing them is a mute point. Weather, snow pack, your fitness, direction of travel and water levels differ from year to year making it very hard to compare even the same trail.

    If you want to see my comparison you can do so here.

    Enjoy!
    Scatman
    www.oneofsevenproject.com
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

  2. #2
    Garlic
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    I can't say anything since it's a mute point.

    The order you do them in makes a huge difference too. I hiked the AT last in my TC, so imagine my perspective on the AT.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  3. #3
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Garlic you don't have to say anything, my posting isn't really mute as people still compare the trails. This is why I shared this post, for those who will. For those of us who have hiked the Triple Crown we know comparing them isn't fair to the trails for many reasons. Unfortunately people still try. I like to think I point this out in my post and everyone should expect their own experience will be different.

    What was your view of the AT doing it last Garlic? I know of very few who have done it last. I met someone on the CDT who refused to do it after completing the PCT and CDT.
    Scatman
    www.oneofsevenproject.com
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

  4. #4
    Registered User Kookork's Avatar
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    I enjoyed reading your comparison. thank you

  5. #5
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kookork View Post
    I enjoyed reading your comparison. thank you
    Thanks Kookark.
    Scatman
    www.oneofsevenproject.com
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

  6. #6
    Bluebird
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    Hey, Scatman!

    You don't mean 'mute' = silent, but 'moot' = debatable, arguable, questionable. Right?

  7. #7

    Default

    It was a good write-up and interesting to read your stats.
    I don't know if I could ever be organized enough to know any of those stats for my own hikes.
    But comparing the two is sort of like comparing Beatle songs.
    They're all good. But not the same.
    Or as they say in Thailand: "Same Same, but Different"!
    Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams

  8. #8
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mountain Bluebird View Post
    Hey, Scatman!

    You don't mean 'mute' = silent, but 'moot' = debatable, arguable, questionable. Right?

    Yes, thanks for the correction. Too many hours on this computer.
    Scatman
    www.oneofsevenproject.com
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

  9. #9
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fiddlehead View Post
    It was a good write-up and interesting to read your stats.
    I don't know if I could ever be organized enough to know any of those stats for my own hikes.
    But comparing the two is sort of like comparing Beatle songs.
    They're all good. But not the same.
    Or as they say in Thailand: "Same Same, but Different"!
    To say I'm a numbers guy would be an understatement. I draw the line on counting how many Snickers bars I eat.
    Scatman
    www.oneofsevenproject.com
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

  10. #10

    Default

    And again, as you said, it shows how very different each person's hike is and how each year can be so completely different. We averaged 16 mpd on the CDT, and 19 on the PCT. We never had more than 20 miles without a water source on the CDT, even in a bad drought year (though occasionally we passed a source by because there were dead animals in it.) I only had one day over 30 miles on the CDT and one 29 mile day on the PCT. I found resupply decisions on the CDT easy because there really were so few choices, even when there were no data books or Yogi guide. We never stayed at a shelter on either trail. Only stayed at one hostel on the CDT (Silverthorne). We only had a few bad thunderstorms on CDT, about the same as on the PCT. Lots of little sprinkles, but not much that was memorable.

  11. #11
    Garlic
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    Quote Originally Posted by scatman View Post
    ...What was your view of the AT doing it last Garlic? I know of very few who have done it last. I met someone on the CDT who refused to do it after completing the PCT and CDT.
    Yeah, I met a few people with that viewpoint when I hiked the PCT and CDT, mainly westerners with the idea that the AT is "that training trail back East," like the high school of hiking to qualify for university. But someone else said, "You can hike one long trail or you can hike three long trails--you cannot hike two long trails." I went out there worried about my attitude--I didn't want to walk 2000+ miles just to collect a patch. No worries--a couple of days into my AT hike I fell in love with the trail.

    Contrary to everything I'd heard, I actually increased my daily mileage on the AT (20 mpd) over the PCT (18 mpd) and the CDT (19 mpd). Virtually every TCer I talked to said it would be a much slower hike. But it was 3.5 months of great walking every day in friendly terrain. Resupply and water were mostly a non-issue, so lighter average pack weight; it was easy to keep a steady sustainable pace (took three zeros mainly to meet family and friends along the way, never hiked 30 miles in one day); I was able to keep body weight up better with the huge availability of town food; there were fewer physical dangers from my perspective (no steep snow, no fast fords, no open desert, 82,000 blazes to show the way, etc.).

    I think your first long trail will be your hardest, which is probably why virtually everyone told me the AT would slow me down.
    "Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning

  12. #12
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Garlic- I would love to go back and hike the AT again, though I worry about Lyme Disease. I only avg. 15.5 on it in 2001. With my experience and lighter pack I know I could do 20 mpd pretty easily.
    The people I met who were against it were not into the "party" scene the AT sometimes is perceived as or the crowds. If you start with the AT it can make you a "Shelter Rat" as I call it, but if you have the experience from the PCT and CDT, you know camping anywhere is an option and is usually better anyways.
    Scatman
    www.oneofsevenproject.com
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

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