The PCT

The Pacific Crest Trail
The PCT is a National Scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada on the western coast of the United States.  The trail is 2,650 miles long traversing mountains, streams, meadows, and occasionally small towns pushing adventurers who attempt this trail to the limit of their physical and mental capacity.

Facts

•  The Pacific Crest Trail was dedicated on National Trails Day, June 5, 1993
• The official trail length is 2,650 miles long but is often debated to be longer or shorter
• It takes anywhere from 2.5-6 months to hike the whole trail
• The PCT passes through 3 national monuments, 7 national parks, 24 national forests, and 33 federally mandated wildernesses
• The PCT climbs 60 major mountain passes, 19 major canyons, and passes more than 1,000 lakes
• Fewer people have thru hiked the PCT than climbed Mt. Everest
• The Trail begins in Campo at the US-Mexico border and ends in Manning Park, British Columbia 9 miles north of the US-Canada border
• As the crow flies the distance between Mexico and Canada is a little bit more than 1,000 miles
• The PCT crosses the 3 deepest lakes in the nation. Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake, and Lake Chelan
• Eric Ryback, one of the first people to successfully complete the official PCT carried an 80 pound pack in 1970 and only resupplied 5 times throughout the journey
• PCT hikers cover anywhere from 15 to 35 miles a day 
• Water sources on the PCT can be as far as 20 to 30 mile stretches
• Threats on the trail include dehydration, bears, cougars, rattlesnakes, rain, and the ever present sprained ankle

•  On average a person burns 3,000 to 8,000 calories per day during a thru hike

Why
The reasons behind hiking the PCT vary for everyone and are not limited to just one reason.  For us hiking the PCT is about the adventure.  As with any hike, this hike is also about seeing this beautiful world by the most natural means of travel.  Hundreds of pages could be written about why one chooses to put oneself through an experience such as hiking the PCT. However, if someone has to ask why you are doing the PCT, they will never be able to understand.

How

To complete a thru hike of the PCT one must be in peak physical condition.  A lot of planning goes into preparation for a thru hike. The things a hiker must do before the hike include physical preparation, mental preparation, estimating what towns they will be at and when in order for family to send packages of food and items that must be resupplied, and buying all the hiking gear needed for 5 months of travel. The details of each of these tasks are more complex than they sound. One must decide how to purify water for the trip, what kind of stove to use, how heavy of a backpack to carry and what to sacrifice to make  packs lighter. With the right preparation and desire many people can complete a thru hike of the PCT.





* This section includes information from www.pcta.org and Wilderness Press Pacific Crest Trail Books