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  1. #21
    Registered User lumberjaime's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Malto View Post
    I agree with this completely. If you look back at SoBo journals you will quickly see why.
    Can you point me to a few good ones? I've been digging around on TJ and general google searches, but having a hard time finding journals/blogs from 2011 SOBOs. I'm looking to read as much as possible.

    I still haven't bought my train ticket, so I'm not locked into my start date. I'm still hoping to start early and be prepared to hang out if I need, but I'm prepared to push my date back if melting is below average.
    Righeous
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  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by lumberjaime View Post
    Can you point me to a few good ones? I've been digging around on TJ and general google searches, but having a hard time finding journals/blogs from 2011 SOBOs. I'm looking to read as much as possible.

    I still haven't bought my train ticket, so I'm not locked into my start date. I'm still hoping to start early and be prepared to hang out if I need, but I'm prepared to push my date back if melting is below average.
    lumber

    One reason starting early and hanging out is not a good plan is what it does to your conditioning (and quite possibly your pocketbook).

    To do a SOBO this year 'requires' that you arrive at the trail in good shape and then proceed to make serious miles until you break out of the high Sierra and hit Kennedy Meadows. If you actually arrive in good shape (the vast majority do not do this) and try and start early and cannot due to the snow conditions you will have to continue training to be ready for when you can start. Will your layup place be suitable for that and will your inclinations lie in that direction? Best stay at home and get your training in there. It is better to start a few days later in better conditions than a few days early in impossible or crappy conditions in almost all cases (another very common mistake new hikers make). Spend that extra time training and arrive in even better shape than you were hoping for.

    My normal hiking weeks right now are about 50-70 miles with a pack. When I start getting ready for a big hike I don't count what I have been doing all the time as the real training. I am probably going to start SOBO as well this year and when it is time to ramp the training up I will work (over a couple of months) up to a couple of weeks of at least 150 miles with a pack of at least 30 lbs and then hike easy the last week before I start. This pretty much eliminates the common injuries suffered by out of shape hikers starting out with the added stress of pack weights, shoes which are unsuitable for them, and lots of elevation changes.

    You may not be able to do this as I am retired and I don't know your circumstances. But train, train, train and you will have a lot more success and a lot more fun when hiking.

  3. #23
    Registered User lumberjaime's Avatar
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    Thanks, Wyoming. You make a good point about maintaining the training and conditioning being more difficult if I'm "waiting it out."

    To wit, I've come up with a new plan. Still travel out to the PNW in mid June. Hike an "approach trail" from Oroville along the Pacific Northwest Trail to it's junction with the PCT. Start the real hiking break-in, get familiar with some snow in less strenuous circumstances. Considering taking time for navigation and re-adjusting to thru-hiker mode, I'm expecting this to delay my actual PCT start date by about two weeks. Still on the early side, sure, but certainly better than Plan A.

    Has anyone here got experience on the PNT? I'm starting to dig into the research on that front, but would love any advice, experience, or resources that people have to share!

    And, FWIW, I am doing what I can for training, but my regimen is certainly not as good as yours. I'm a flat-lander (Minneapolis, MN), so I have to resort to climbing stairs for any kind of climbing exercise. I've been increasing my walking miles, but I am a very active cyclist with easily 100 miles each week, generally more. I'm also doing several endurance events (100-160 miles) in the next two months. Especially with the approach, I feel confident that I can put in the effort to get where I need to be.
    Righeous
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  4. #24
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    lumber

    It sounds like you are working on a good plan.

    Re the biking...that is very good miles, but remember that the way biking builds your legs is very different than the way hiking does. So try and shift as much as possible to hiking with a pack on the trails around your location (and find what hills you can). Trail walking builds you 2 orders of magnitude better than walking in town. The roughness of trails is constantly putting all sorts of weird stresses on your ligaments tendons and muscles which do not really occur on sidewalks and paved paths. It is those sides stresses at odd angles and with body plus pack weights which generate a great many of the injuries suffered by beginning hikers. The ligaments and tendons take a lot longer to toughen up than the muscles do so one gets in a situation where the newly stronger muscles actually help cause the injured ligaments and tendons. Also there is a bone density issue where the body and pack weight result in extra stresses which cause your leg and feet bones to increase in density making them a lot stronger as well..this takes time of course. Best of luck.

    re the PNW trail this should help some

    http://www.pnt.org/

    https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthr...l-Scenic-Trail

    http://www.trailjournals.com/journal...st_trail/2015/

    http://www.trailjournals.com/journal...st_trail/2014/

    http://www.trailjournals.com/journal...st_trail/2013/

  5. #25
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    Just to help folks who are thinking of doing a SOBO and are not familiar with the north end of the trail all that much. It is still winter up there......

    When I mentioned in one of the posts above that sometime in (likely well into) July would be the rough date one could contemplate starting it does not really give enough info. So I hope this helps.

    Below is what the Washington State Highway Dept has put out regarding Rt 20 (Rainy Pass PCT mile 2599). This road is closed for the winter sometime around late Nov when the snow is too hard to plow and avalanches frequently cross the road. They "started" the process of opening the road back up on April 10th. It takes them up to 2 months to fully open the road. An excerpt from their site:

    STATUS UPDATE -
    April 14, 2017
    A rock slide has SR 20 closed at milepost 121 near Newhalem to everyone except local traffic. There is no ETA for reopening this stretch - that leads up to the western winter closure gate - for the rest of the traveling public.

    SR 20 remains closed between mileposts 134 and 171 but the spring reopening work started Monday, April 10.
    Clearing work may take as many as 8 weeks which would be the latest since 1974's June 14 reopening.


    https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades/

    So...if the road there may not be plowed out until 14 June what is the prospect for the dirt forest service road to Hart's Pass where the campground is 1300 ft higher. There is going to be a lot of snow up there for a long time.

    I'm still planning on a SOBO but I am roughly scheduling for around a 21 July start and staying flexible.

  6. #26
    Registered User srvand02's Avatar
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    Not banking on it, but I seriously hope a lasting warm front comes through the area sometime in the next two months. I really, really don't want to postpone my start date.

    With that said Mother Nature is gonna be Mother Nature and I can't complain about things I can't change. Learned that from the past 5000 miles hiked.

  7. #27
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    I live in Bellingham, which is about 30 minutes south of Canada. Right near the mountains as well.
    It's been starting to warm up a lot here, with average weekly highs of around 55-60. Unfortunately, there's still been a ridiculous amount of rain. I think for a couple weeks in March we had rain every day, all day. I believe that a lot of the PCT is on the east side of the crest (I could be mistaken here), so maybe the crest and big mountains like Baker and Shuksan are blocking all the rain/snow. If so, the trail should be starting to melt around now. We also had three days of sun in a row, so that's something at least (It's the small victories that count!)

  8. #28
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    According to what I have been able to determine.

    Rainey Pass PCT mile 2599 as of today the 19th of April the snow is 89 inches deep

    Hart's Pass as of 7 April was 123 inches deep

    https://www.wunderground.com/StateSn...h.asp?state=WA

  9. #29
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    Hart's Pass May 1st measured 120 inches - down 3 inches in 23 days

    Rainy Pass May 9th measured 68 inches - down 21 inches in the last 20 days

    Some progress.

    Need some heat.

  10. #30
    Registered User lumberjaime's Avatar
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    Yes! I've been checking weather frequently and the past week or so has been very good. Looks like some light accumulation coming up, but I'm hopeful things are moving in the right direction now.

    I was browsing the DOT website yesterday and they are projecting opening SR20 on Memorial Day weekend. A whole week ahead of schedule!! Anybody talked with the FS/NPS up there about predictions for the Hart's Pass Rd?
    Righeous
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  11. #31
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Opening a road doesn't mean that the snow is gone. There could easily be 10' of snow everywhere but on the road.
    Good luck and have fun.
    Wayne


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  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by srvand02 View Post
    Hey all!

    It has been a year since I finished my SoBo thru of the Continental Divide Trail and almost 3 years since finishing my Appalachian Trail SoBo thruhike. I know it's early, but I'm already planning on completing my triple crown on the PCT come 2017. As with my past two hikes, I'll be traveling Southbound, starting from Canada and ending at the Mexican border. Albeit early, anyone else on here planning on trekking that direction? With my first thru I met two people on these forums that I'm still friends with today - Treegasm and Sherpa. My start dates on both previous hikes were (coincidentally enough) June 27th. I'm aiming at that same start date, give or take a few days depending on travel/weather/the unpredictables. I've read about snow on the mountains out there in those months but feel experienced enough from the CDT that I shouldn't encounter too many problems. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the precipitation will be like this winter.

    Anyways, just wondering if anyone else is planning on walking South. It'd be great to have company at the beginning as the first two weeks are always the hardest (unless you hit the Gila river on the CDT in 40 degree weather with the river up to your waist ).

    Can't wait to see yall out there!!

    HoverJob (AT '13)
    DooFrain (CDT '15)
    Hey,

    I'm coming across from the UK to hike SOBO this year. I fly into Seattle on the 30th of June and was planning to make my way across with the aim starting from Harts Pass in the first week of July (weather dependant). Also looking for a hiking buddy for the first week or two just to get my bearings and in case I encounter anything unexpected etc. Would be happy to meet up at harts pass with anyone heading south (or north to the border first) to kick off the thru hike.

    Looking forward to seeing everyone out there

  13. #33
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    Good news on progress.

    SR 20 is now open between Diablo and Mazama (Rainy Pass is in between them).

    There is still lots of snow however.

    Rainy Pass as of today has 63 inches of snow - down 5 inches in 8 days

    Hart's Pass as of today has 98 inches of snow - down 22 inches so far this month

    More good news is that Mazama is due for a mini-heat wave in the next week and temps there are to hit high 60's to 70. This should help a bit with the melt. There is a lot to melt still.

  14. #34
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    Guess I will sort of do a weekly report for awhile on the snow.

    The little heat wave is working.

    As of May 23.

    Rainy Pass (PCT mile 2599) has 49 inches of snow - down 14 inches in 6 days.

    Hart's Pass (PCT mile 2630) has 84 inches of snow - down 14 inches in 6 days.

    I'll do another report on the 1st if I remember (I'm old so...).

  15. #35
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Stream crossings could be brutal. Anyway to get data on those? Just curious.
    Wayne


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  16. #36
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    I think the only way to find out about trail stream crossings is from hikers reporting on the various difficult ones. And that info is very time sensitive. And hard to get.

    As long as there is deep snow in any area and it gets real hot then one should just bet it is going to be high water.

    Rt 20 (the one which crosses Rain Pass) did flood a week or two ago down lower, but that just shows the potential for problems I guess.

    There will certainly be some SOBO's who start too early and if we hear anything from them that will help determine better starting times I suppose.

    I roughly expect we are still looking at no earlier than the 1st of July. The little burst of heat faded and it is cool now, but another is coming in a few days. Probably just keep doing that. But just losing 1-2 inches a day is not going to get us snow free in the trees and up high before July or well into July.

  17. #37
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    After watching the online reports, listening to experienced hikers from the West Coast, and etc I'm gonna be pushing back my start date from the 26th to sometime between the 10-17th of July. I'm kinda sad because I started my last two thrus on the same exact day and was hoping to end my triple crown the same way I started... but you gotta be flexible.

  18. #38

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    Firth,
    I'm planning to go north from Stevens pass starting July 10. Depending on IF I get through to Stehekin I'd guess I'd be near Rainy pass 6-7 days after. I understand that there's a lot of snow so there's a lot of ifs involved here. I'll be going solo so will be overly safe, and might turn back if things get too hairy. Anyway there is a chance we could go NOBO to the border together.
    Be safe,

  19. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by lumberjaime View Post
    Thanks, Wyoming. You make a good point about maintaining the training and conditioning being more difficult if I'm "waiting it out."

    To wit, I've come up with a new plan. Still travel out to the PNW in mid June. Hike an "approach trail" from Oroville along the Pacific Northwest Trail to it's junction with the PCT. Start the real hiking break-in, get familiar with some snow in less strenuous circumstances. Considering taking time for navigation and re-adjusting to thru-hiker mode, I'm expecting this to delay my actual PCT start date by about two weeks. Still on the early side, sure, but certainly better than Plan A.

    Has anyone here got experience on the PNT? I'm starting to dig into the research on that front, but would love any advice, experience, or resources that people have to share!

    Did you ever take this approach...taking the PNWT west from Oroville in mid June to the PCT? How much snow did you encounter? I would have assumed at least some miles were made more difficult considering some of the PNWT in that proposed PNWT segment.

  20. #40
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    You could have started NOBO from Donner Pass 6/17. Knocked out 30 days snow free. Then headed to the border and your SOBO.
    Wayne


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