Pacific Crest Trail 2017: My Journey in Numbers
For 136 days this summer I hiked from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. Across 700 miles of desert, over a month in snow, and through more heatwaves than I care to remember.
On trail I kept a detailed journal and eagerly awaited compiling all of my data (and giving my feet a much needed rest).
Miles
Everyone asks about mileage. The amount of mileage I hiked per day varied widely. It increased as I got stronger and gained my hiker legs. When I reached higher elevations in the snow covered Sierras it dropped dramatically. When I entered NorCal I pushed hard.
Total Miles Hiked: 2610.8 miles
This includes side trails to town and alternates. I skipped around 120 miles due to fire closures, which is why this number is smaller than 2650.1, the official distance from Mexico to Canada.
Average Mileage Per Day: 19.2 miles
There are five distinct sections of trail and my daily pace changed with each one.
Desert Average: 16.6 miles/day
Days: 44
Zeros: 3
The first few days were rough. I hiked all day and couldn’t break 20 miles. I was extremely slow on the uphills. After a few weeks, I started gaining strength and speed and was finally able to routinely hike 20+ mile days.
There are a lot of towns in the desert, and with all the snow in the Sierras, no one was rushing to get to Kennedy Meadows. Even though I didn’t take many zeros, I did take a lot of neros. I loved sleeping in past 6am, going to a coffee shop, and reading the local paper.
Sierras Average: 14.2 miles/day
Days: 30
Zeros: 2
When I calculated my miles in the Sierras, I used PCT trail miles. I didn’t keep track of the miles I actually walked. There was no way to track the added miles from when I got far off trail in the snow, or walked upstream for better creek crossing locations or the miles I skipped because I didn’t do any switchbacks on passes — I just went straight up and straight down.
All I know is that I put in long, hard, slogging days through the snow and I wish I could do it all over again.
NorCal Average: 25.9 miles/day
Days: 23
Zeros: 0
In NorCal, I started feeling ambivalent about the trail. Compared to the beauty and danger of the Sierras, nothing excited me anymore. However, I didn’t have a home to go back to, so I never strongly considered quitting.
The one bright side about being out of the Sierras was that I could stretch my legs again and pound out big miles. The Sierras were an intense training camp at high elevation. By the time I exited, I was a hiking machine and I was excited to see how far I could push myself.
I did two 40+ mile days just to prove that I could. For 24 hours after those huge days, my feet were incredibly sore and I was completely exhausted. After the first 40+ mile day, I had such bad foot pain that I planned on going to the hospital in the next town. Once I proved I could do it, I was unmotivated to push for huge miles again.
Oregon Average: 19.8 miles/day
Days: 17
Zeros: 2
Starting in the Sierras, I decided I was going to jump into every decent body of water that I hiked by. I swam in lakes, retention ponds, aqueducts, and rivers. This greatly increased my happiness, but became a bit of a hassle in Oregon where there are so many beautiful lakes.
Also in Oregon, I took a nero-zero-nero to meet up with family and at Ollalie Lake to enjoy the total solar eclipse.
Washington Average: 22.3 miles/day
Days: 22
Zeros: 1
Much of Washington was inundated with smoke while I was hiking. For days after Steven’s Pass, I was hiking along beautiful ridge lines, but couldn’t see any views.
During the last week, I got my first real rain on trail for two days and then it snowed. Even in my 10-degree bag, silk liner, wool base layer, and puffy, I was shivering at night. After the rain and cold, I decided that the trail was telling me it was time to finish.
Rest
Average nero milage: 9.5 miles
Only 8 days completely off in 4.5 months. I would never put up with a job that worked me that hard. I had fewer zeros than most people, but this was partially because I was trying to save money, so I took more double-neros. Also, I got antsy in towns and was eager to get back to making progress.
Hygiene
Hikers smell. I mean really smell. We don’t wear deodorant (it wouldn’t help anyway). We wear the same clothes that get drenched in sweat everyday. Once I went a week without taking off my bra.
Luckily, on trail everyone smells and I don’t notice it. It’s only in town when everyone else smells so fresh that I smell myself.
Showers: 22
Longest stretch between showers: 17 days
Average stretch between showers: 6.2 days
Jumping into lakes may wash off the dirt, but it does not remove the stink. When I zeroed I would take multiple showers in the same town, so the actual gaps between showers were longer than the average makes it seem.
Laundry: 11
Longest stretch between laundry: 30 days
Average stretch between laundry: 12.4 days
I really hate doing laundry. I only did my own laundry once on trail. Every other time someone else was doing laundry and offered to put my clothes in with theirs. Thanks guys!
Trail Family
I hiked off and on with trail families for the whole trip.
Being in a trail family is fun, especially in town, but it can be limiting to only sleep in campsites where there are spots for everyone’s tents. In the Sierras it would be reckless not to travel in a group.
Hiking solo has its perks too: I spent less time in town (which translates to saving money), met more people, and best of all, hitchhiking was SO EASY as a solo white woman.
Off the Grid?
When I told people I was going to be hiking the PCT, a common question I got was “how do you carry that much food”.
I stopped in towns usually every 3–5 days to resupply. The word “town” here could mean a normal city (South Lake Tahoe), a collection of 3 buildings with no cell service where the only restaurant closes at 2pm (Saied Valley, Sierra City), or a resort in the middle of nowhere that accepts hiker packages (VVR, Shelter Cove).
Longest stretch between towns: 7 days, from Bishop to VVR
Number of towns: 46 (some days I went into multiple towns)
Days spent, at least partially, in town: 66 days
Hiking the PCT is really just like doing lots of back-to-back 3–5 days backpacking trips. Once I figured that out, I was able to relax more and plan less. I never looked more than one town ahead.
Hitchhiking
Hitches: 39
Longest hitch: 4 rides in 16 hours to go 31 miles
Here, hitching means I stood stranded on a road or approached a stranger for a ride. This doesn’t count the many rides I had from people who offered first.
Every few days, the trail would cross a random road or highway and hikers would hitch to town to resupply. The towns are often over 10 miles away, so hitchhiking is the only option. With one very notable exception, hitchhiking was very easy.
In some areas, all the locals know about thru-hikers and would pick us up quickly. In Tehachapi cars stopped to see if I needed a ride to the post office or grocery store. In Bend, I had four separate groups of people approach me and offer rides. In touristy areas (I’m looking at you South Lake Tahoe and Yosemite), it can take awhile for a hitch, despite a large number of cars.
But the best was hitchhiking solo as a white woman. Several times I didn’t even finish crossing the road before a car had stopped. I met some nice people and some odd people, but I never felt unsafe. I even got rides from police officers who were worried about me. The best were rides from people who had never heard of the Pacific Crest Trail before.
PSA: I know we smell, but we will be forever thankful for a ride. Even if you can only take one or two people, not the whole group. Even if you can only take us part way.
Now I’m Off Trail
It’s been fun seeing how my memories of the trail line up with the data I collected. I’m surprised I did so many 20+ days in the desert. I remember Oregon being chiller than the milage histogram makes it seem.
If I could do it again I would collect data on trail magic, animal sightings, and weather. You never know, it could happen.
