Planning Resupplies

There is a lot of planning that goes into a 5.5 month thru-hike.  The good news is that I love trip planning, so the PCT is right up my alley!  The first step in planning my thru-hike was deciding on a resupply strategy.  Some hikers use the “buy as you go” method, while others prepare drop boxes before leaving and then have someone from home ship them to post offices and businesses along the trail.  I am going to use a combination of these two strategies.  As much as possible, I plan to buy supplies along the way.  Buying as I go allows me to support the local economies and accommodate for changing preferences.  It’s hard for me to predict how much and what kinds of foods I’ll be craving after 1,000 miles on the trail.  However, in order to save time and minimize long hitches, I’ll also be preparing some drop boxes which my parents will send me along the way.  

I spent a full day over Thanksgiving weekend planning my tentative itinerary and resupply schedule.  The primary resources I used were Yogi's PCT Handbook, by Jackie McDonnell, and Craig's Online PCT Planner (http://www.pctplanner.com/).  Yogi's PCT Planner addresses just about everything a person needs to know in order to plan a PCT thru-hike (gear, desert hiking, crossing the Sierra, injury prevention, etc.). Yogi also includes a ton of information about resupplying, including a list of the primary resupply locations, the services available at each spot, and directions from the trail.  After using Yogi's guide to determine my resupply locations, I plugged them into Craig's Online PCT planner along with my start date and expected hiking pace and came up with a tentative schedule. Craig's Online PCT Planner automatically adjusts pace for changes in elevation and allows the hiker to modify the plan for zeros (days off from hiking) and neros (short days).  You can view my tentative plan on the Itinerary and Resupplies tab above.

What is the Pacific Crest Trail?

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,663.5 mile trail that runs between Mexico and Canada via California, Oregon, and Washington.  The trail passes through six of North America’s seven ecozones.  The trail’s lowest point is 180 feet at the Columbia River Gorge at the Oregon-Washington border, and its highest point is 13,153 feet at Forester Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada.

About 300 people attempt a thru-hike each year, of which approximately 60 percent finish.  PCT thru-hikes are almost always northbound.  Most northbound hikers begin in late April or early May and finish by early October.  Unlike many other long-distance hikes, the PCT has a very short hiking window.  Thru-hikers want to avoid crossing the High Sierras in California too early when there is still a lot of snow but need to finish by early October before winter hits Washington.  Due to the short time frame, thru-hikers typically have many 25+ mile days. 

Regardless of how far I make it, it is sure to be an amazing journey.  I can hardly wait to begin!