When/When not to hike the PCT?

[Oppenheimer]

Hi there all!

I've been trying to find this for a while but having some slight difficulty, I've been seeing April to October, I was thinking September to December/January or January to April (mostly to coincide with job security among other things).

Would this be viable or would I be hating life the entire time?

<3

[DuneElliot]

Not a chance unless you like winter/snow walking, using an ice axe and carrying crampons. The mountains here get dangerous after late October. Of course it can be done...the first winter PCT thru-hike was completed last year but it's not normal.

April-October is the norm because of the weather.

[Malto]

The reason that you see April to September for a THRU HIKE is because that is about the only timing (+/- a month) that you can hike Nobo. If you are a fast hiker you could also attempt a SoBo but that window will be about July to November, again plus or minus a month. There are few long sections you can hike in January but you could do Tahoe south in your Sep to Dec timing. It would be a killer time to go through the Sierra.

[Oppenheimer]

I don't mind snow, so basically massive amounts of snow gear if I go for it.

[Trance]

Do you understand the logistics of getting food and such for long stretches in the winter through the sierras alone?

I hope you research this before you consider it further.

[DuneElliot]

Snow and winter in England is nothing like it is here in the mountains...I've live in both. You need to be experienced in true mountaineering before attempting this.

You might want to read the following blog (of the first winter PCT hike) and websites that tell their story:

http://www.justinlichter.com/tale-tw...-pct-traverse/

http://www.pcta.org/2015/meet-two-gu...-photos-26687/

http://www.pcta.org/2015/winter-thru...l-video-27730/

[Oppenheimer]

I do understand, I was just curious as I couldn't find out whether it was truly viable. Seems like I might need to reconsider slightly :')

[nsherry61]

A couple points. Yes, last year was the first ever known PCT winter thru-hike during one of the lowest snow years (or the very lowest snow year in some areas) on record, ever! I was done by two very experienced long-distance hiker/mountaineers. It has never been done before, not just because it is hard or technical - that wouldn't stop many capable tough people, but because trying to follow the PCT track in normal winter conditions will likely kill you from intense, high altitude, winter storms and/or avalanches unless you are able to take weeks off here and there during your hike to wait out high danger times on certain stretches of the trail.

September/October can be beautiful in Washington and Oregon. Most people going NOBO try to be done by Oct 15 to avoid snow (and lots of cold rain) in Washington. But, if you could be to Tahoe by the end of October, and Tahoe south truly is passable in Oct-Dec, then maybe you could do it. Surely a greater risk of failure, but what the heck?

[sbhikes]

A winter thru-hike of the PCT is not appropriate for someone without advanced winter mountaineering experience. You will at worst die and at best quit on the first day of difficulty.

You can hike portions of the Southern California PCT in the winter, but even down here in the so-called "desert", you hike in mountains rising up to 10,000 feet between stretches of desert. Some of those So Cal mountains are quite treacherous in the snow. People die all the time on San Jacinto and in the San Gabriels even when there isn't much snow. Also there's not much water in Southern California by September, making the desert extra challenging (not impossible, though, if you are in good enough shape to hike 20 miles a day starting on day 1). Streams are dry until rains come back in late November usually. With the rain comes the snow.

A good place to hike in the late fall period is the Los Padres National Forest in Southern California. There's great hiking there. There's even a thru-hike you can do (Condor Trail), but I wouldn't recommend it unless you like to push your way through serious brush, don't mind carrying loppers and a saw, know what poison oak looks like and are proficient with a GPS. The Condor Trail also requires you to arrange your own food caches since there are very few towns nearby along the way.