Closest major airport the PCT

[jason_mac01]

Hello All,

My friend and I have two plane vouchers in need of use that expire this July. Our plan is to hike the PCT for 3 nights. We are experienced AT hikers but totally new to the PCT. In fact, I've never even travelled to the Pacific time zone! My primary question is related to airports. Which airport would be the closest to the trail? I have checked out the (awesome) Google Earth KMZ from HalfMile, and after eye-balling it, I'm thinking Portland. It needs to be a large enough airport that supports the big airliners (no regional airports unfortunately). I want to maximize our time on the trail.

The main two factors I'm concerned with now are 1) the airport + convenient public transportation and 2) temperature. I read that Eagle Creek, Oregon average 80-53 in July, which sounds great! However, I read on a forum somewhere that snow starts to let-up in July (so that sounds much different than averages of the 70's. I would like to avoid areas in the south that are too hot in July. I know heat (from Florida!) so I'm always excited about a cooler change in temperature.

We are customarily lite-hikers, and on the AT in GA/NC we average 15+ miles per day. I haven't started to look into the difficultly of the PCT in detail yet (I would presume it's more difficult, considering the Rockies are much younger mountains). I'm no rock climber, but I am always in for an intermediate to difficult hike.

Any preliminary information is much appreciated!

[Spirit Walker]

Will your vouchers get you to Lake Tahoe? That's very near the trail. You could hitch or get a cab.
Seattle is another possibility. I think there's public transportation out to the PCT - at least, there used to be.

[Mountain Mike]

Reno. Bus or Amtrak to Truckee & short shuttle to Donner Pass. Hike south & drop down to hwy along Lake Tahoe. Cheap public bus(es) along lake to So Lake Tahoe or Truckee.

[fiddlehead]

Eagle Creek area is a great choice.
Near Mt Hood also.
Fly into and out of Portland, OR.

Another option for you is the Tahoe Rim trail which is accessible from Reno airport.
But, you'll most likely still have snow up there in early July.

The PCT is not more difficult than the AT.
It is a less steep as it was built for horses originally and has many less rocks generally. (often sandy trail)
You'll be fine.

[Mountain Mike]

I did the Donner south twice. North side of Anderson Peak was icy in the am where I cut some steps with my ice axe. Could have just waited for it to warm up or go around if I didn't have it. Awesome area with great views.

Eagle creek is another nice section. Don't know about how easy to access with public transportation but you could make a loop with Eagle Creek Trail & PCT & just walk back to a rental car.

[jason_mac01]

Thanks for all the input. This all sounds great - Based on this feedback, I'm focusing on Portland and Seattle now. There looks to be a loop off I-90 ~50 miles outside of Seattle. Starting to investigate more now.

Unlike the AT, it appears to me that the PCT is "stretched" more than the AT - i.e. it appears much more north-south, rather than cutting back to the east and west often. In the GA/NC area, we've traveled to the Franklin and Bryson City areas and the trail winds through that region so much, it's easy to find a quick shuttle to point A, hiking to point B for 50+ miles yet only traveling a couple dozen miles by car. Just an initial observation. The PCT also looks to cross far less roads! Problematic for these shorter hikes.

I haven't had enough time to look into Reno yet - My initial thought was that would be too hot in July. But I haven't actually checked the average temperatures.

Related to weather. I see that WA receives the lowest precipitation in the month of July. Is this accurate for the PCT area (in WA)? I'm thinking the same would apply to OR, being an adjacent state.

[R1ma]

I haven't had enough time to look into Reno yet - My initial thought was that would be too hot in July. But I haven't actually checked the average temperatures.

Two years ago, there was 8'+ of snow and Echo Lakes about 6000' 4th of July weekend.

S6300288 by scorpio516, on Flickr

July around Tahoe is almost the prefect weather. When looking at Reno, remember most of the trail is 2000'+ higher than Reno.