When people find out that you are planning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, they will generally ask you the same set of questions (yes, this is a FAQ to prepare you for/answer your questions about a PCT thru-hike, not a FAQ for hikers themselves; but trust me, regardless of which side you fall on,
Craig’s PCT Planner
Attempting to "plan" a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike has reminded me why I never plan ahead of time. How one could even begin to accurately plan a five-month walk across the country is beyond me. However, in this case, a lack of planning could potentially result in my starving alone in the woods
Mapping All 2,600 PCT Miles
Those unfamiliar with the Pacific Crest Trail tend to assume that the trail follows the coast, but sadly it fails to even come within eye-shot of the ocean. Looking at a giant zoomed-out map of the Pacific Crest Trail aids in impressing people with its length and demonstrating its true proximity
The Pacific Crest Trail: T-Minus One Month
It is unclear whether I have yet to fully appreciate the drastic lifestyle shift I am about to undergo, or if the prospect of sleeping alone in the woods for five months very subtly excites me. What I do know is that after researching and writing about how to not be eaten by bears, all I can
The Ultimate Trail Mix Recipe
Take it from someone who's been there, pouring seven pounds of M&Ms into a trash bag is far more satisfying than you may already suspect. Follow that up with pounds of nuts and dried fruit, and you have yourself the ultimate bag of layered trail mix ingredients. You have now arrived at the far
Hiking the 700 Miles of PCT Desert
For the first 700 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, northbound hikers have the Southern California desert to look forward to. It is only fitting that the trail begins in the desert, as hikers will need to be getting acquainted with how sweaty and uncomfortable they are capable of becoming (better
PCT Permits: Permission to Walk Outdoors
If you plan on hiking more than 500 continuous miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, you are required to obtain a PCT permit from the Forest Service. You need a permit to go for a walk in the woods? Silly, I know, but you also need a passport to cross imaginary lines between "countries" - equally
The PCT-L (Listserv): Pacific Crest Trail Email You Don’t Want
Members of the Pacific Crest Trail hiking community have taken to using various forms of social media and electronic communication as a means of keeping in touch with one another. The PCT-L (or PCT-Listserv) relays emails from individual members to the entire group as a means of facilitating
The Pacific Crest Trail: Two Months Out
According to what can loosely be defined as my "plan", in precisely two months (that's May 15, 2013) I will begin a 2,660 mi / 4,281 km journey north from Campo, California (just over the border from Mexico) to a place called Manning Park in British Columbia (that's Canada for all you geography