Hey, I'm ready for another adventure in my life (after the hitch hiking) and I'm considering hiking the PCT or at least the Oregon section. I spent a few days hiking a section of the Appalachian trail in the smokeys, but that didn't do much for me (no scenic views, no real mountains, no good fishing). I've wanted to do the John Muir trail for years now, but I hear its extraordinarily crowded. So now that I'm in Oregon, I thought I'd give it a shot. Has anyone hiked any sections of it? I know Nerdchick did some on the Appalachian. Any advice? I'd probably just do three day sections. I'd like to see if I could do it in September, living off of berries and mushrooms and fish (chanterelles, mmm), but that's a bit of a stretch.

7/13/2009 1:50:14 PM

PM TheBullDoza, he is the one who actually did the whole trail.

7/13/2009 2:29:35 PM

^ definitely who you should go to.

he's a good guy and knows his stuff.

7/13/2009 2:34:39 PM

I've never been on the trail but I know in some portions you need mountaineering equipment for some parts of the year. (crampons, ice axe . . . . ?)

I think that is mostly in the Sierra Nevadas But Im sure depending on where and when you go in Oregon you could see some similar conditions.

7/13/2009 3:54:48 PM

^ yes that. You will need specialized equipment to traverse some of the northern sections of the trail, but it shouldnt be necessary in Oregon as long as you hike in the late spring - early fall.

Im interested in hearing more about your hitchhiking adventure too.

[Edited on July 13, 2009 at 4:37 PM. Reason : hitchin]

7/13/2009 4:34:48 PM

AWESOME!!

Yes I did 3 states of the AT, and TheBullDoza did the whole thing. Some backpacking advice is universal, but be aware that the AT and PCT have many differences. So if you want specific advice about weather, bugs, good hikes, etc then try one of the hiking forums out there.

If it's views you want, the PCT is definitely for you. The AT is sometimes called "the long green tunnel" because very little is out of the trees. Most of the treeline hiking is in New England, although the Southern states have occasional bald mountains. I think you would like New England, the hiking is the most difficult of the Trail and Maine is a very beautiful and remote place.

Mountaineering equipment - most PCT thru hikers hit the Sierras around June, when there is still some snow pack. guide books recommend an ice axe in the Sierras for emergency self-arrest (if you begin to slide down a snowfield you have to stop yourself or plummet to your death) but crampons are not required. Never heard about Washington/Oregon requiring an ice axe outside of winter.

An living off the land is a horrible idea. It would take hours to get enough food by foraging/fishing. No time for hiking to enjoy those views you're talking about. High elevation areas in particular have fragile ecosystems and there's no point in harming those areas when you could just bring your own food. Sure I picked berries for snacks on the trail, and I'm not against you catching a fish or eating berries. But doing it for sustenance you'd have to pick 10x more which could be harmful and is not necessary.

And if you want any advice on gear I'd be happy to write a dissertation for you

7/13/2009 5:00:23 PM

I doubt the John Muir Trail is too crowded, especially when you get that far from Yosemite. The condition of the PCT depends on the year--this year we had much late season snow so some through hikers I met were post-holing in deep snow two weeks ago.

Trying to live off the land is a really bad idea.

7/13/2009 8:08:22 PM

Nerdchick with the good advice. I thru-hiked the AT and have some general thru-hiking stuff on our website. Click on the "Appalachian Trail" categories for the specifics, or just poke around.

FWIW - I also did a pretty big study on AT thru-hikers awhile back and am posting the results as I have time to play with the data. This week it's "Sex on the Appalachian Trail"

http://www.sourcetosea.net

7/14/2009 10:56:06 AM

Since you're talking about thru-hiking anyway, here's something I just put up from my AT thru-hiker study on Sex on the Appalachian Trail.

http://sourcetosea.net/sex-on-the-appalachian-trail/

7/15/2009 6:57:38 AM

Quote :

"Trying to live off the land is a really bad idea"

I agree. It can be done, but only if you really, really know what you're doing. and its hard enough to live off the land when you're not doing a long hike like this.

7/17/2009 6:59:46 PM

if you make it to the border, holla, ill bring you some food or whatever

ya know, whatever thru-hikers need kinda thing

7/19/2009 1:55:21 AM