Did you know people are 63% more likely to believe the information they see presented in a chart versus simply reading the same information in a paragraph? Did you know I made that up? Would you like to see some Pacific Crest Trail-related charts anyway? Great.
Yes, it’s time for the fifth installment of this year’s Pacific Crest Trail Hiker Survey (in case you missed the other three, here they are: Survey Results, Gear Guide, Resupply Guide, Horror & Heartbreak). Here, we break down PCT hikers in a number of ways (by age, pack weight, country of origin) and compare an even larger number of measurements (completion percentage, hike speed, dollars spent). Do I think that ingesting this information is going to help you have a successful Pacific Crest Trail hike? Nope. Do I think it’s interesting? A little, yeah. A lot of what you would expect comes out of this chart (e.g. female hikers had warmer sleeping bags and experienced hikers started with a lower base weight), but there are some surprises as well (you’ll have to read further to find those out).
A lot of the data here is more along the lines of, “Hmmm…I think this would be an interesting thing to look at,” as opposed to something that might actually assist you in completing the Pacific Crest Trail (remember, planning is useless).
The categories I’ve split hikers into are based on sex, age, country (domestic vs. international), experience (first thru-hike vs. experienced thru-hiker), pre-trail fitness level, length of hike, cost of hike, and pack base weight (pre-hike). The data points we look at for each of these breakdowns are: sex, age, education, start month (NOBO), average start date (NOBO), days on trail, fitness level, longest day, zero days, near-o days, resupply stops, resupply boxes sent, starting base weight, ending base weight, amount spent on gear, amount spent on entire hike, sleeping bag temperature rating, backpack size, and pairs of shoes used.
Not sure what one or more of the terms listed above means? Check out the thru-hiker glossary.
The responses to some questions have been sorted and colored in hopes of more usefully and accurately presenting the data (e.g. northbound vs. southbound).
Not all PCT hikers document the stats of their thru-hike (yes, I’m weird). Because of this, the data is not 100% guaranteed accurate (again, this is not science we’re dealing with).
For simplicity, I refer to the survey respondents collectively as this year’s “class“. Remember this is only a fraction of this year’s PCT hikers and it is not necessarily representative of the entire PCT Class of 2018.
If you find some small and meaningless discrepancy in the data, get over it. If you find large or obvious errors, please let me know.
If you would like to be notified of new surveys, click here.
Labels differentiating hiker segments:
THRU: Thru-hikers (all)
FINISH: Thru-hikers (all) who completed the entire PCT
NOBO: Northbound thru-hikers (all)
If NO LABEL has been appended to a data point, then I used all data collected (this includes section hiker data).
If at any point you find yourself wondering, “It would be interesting to see how X compares to Y,” then let me know in a comment or via message and I may be able to add it to the collection.
NOTE: if some of the “overall” numbers look strange in relation to the categories it’s because the overall stat includes all hikers in the group while the other numbers may only include the finishers (e.g. the ages of hikers in the “Fast vs. Slow Hikes”).
PCT THRU-HIKER SEX
We’ll start with some statistics that won’t be very useful to anyone planning a thru-hike (I have a feeling that most of what follows is mostly fow entertainment purposes, but there’s definitely some wisdom to be had here). What was the split between men and women on the Pacific Crest Trail this year?
56.7% Male
43.1% Female
0.2% Genderqueer*
*This group was not included in the chart below because it contained only one person (and therefore would reflect the data of a single person and not a group).
FEMALE
MALE
OVERALL AVERAGE
THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
74%
82%
78%
AVERAGE AGE
30
35
34
EDUCATION LEVEL
1.4% <12th grade 8.1% High School Diploma 10.5% Some College 4.8% Associate Degree 53.1% Bachelor’s Degree 22% Graduate Degree
1% <12th grade 5.4% High School Diploma 19.2% Some College 6.5% Associate Degree 46.7% Bachelor’s Degree 21% Graduate Degree
1.2% <12th grade 6.7% High School Diploma 14.9% Some College 5.7% Associate Degree 49.5% Bachelor’s Degree 22% Graduate Degree
THRU – NOBO START MONTH
17.6% March 58.2% April 19.4% May 2.4% June
0.4% February 21.9% March 49.6% April 26.3% May
0.3% February 20.3% March 54.4% April 23.5% May 1% June
THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 16
April 16
April 16
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
152
148
149
THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
5.98
6.38
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
38.07 mi / 61.27 km
40.68 mi / 65.47 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
17
17.5
17
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
17.2
16
16.46
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
42.4
40.5
41.9
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
9.55
8.15
8.7
THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START)
17.13 lbs / 7.77 kg
17.99 lbs / 8.16 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
14.56 lbs / 6.60 kg
15.24 lbs / 6.91 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
$1,583
$1,544
$1,565
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
$6,363
$6,633
$6,504
THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
15.4°F / -9.22°C
18.6°F / -7.44°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
55 L
56 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.5
4.47
4.43
PCT THRU-HIKER AGE
The youngest hiker to participate in the survey was 18, the oldest (thru-hiker) was 70 (this person has not been included in the data below as they are the only one in their group).
1.6% <20
19.1% 20-24
29.7% 25-29
16.4% 30-34
9.2% 35-39
9.2% 40-49
8.2% 50-59
6.1% 60-69
AVERAGE AGE | 34 (σ = 12)
The average age of survey respondents was 34 (σ = 12). Will this help you plan your hike? Probably not. Is it interesting to look at? Yes. Did this chart take way too long to make? You bet it did.
<20
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
OVERALL AVERAGE
THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
71%
80%
81%
86%
86%
82%
62%
30%
78%
SEX
86% Female 14% Male
49% Female 51% Male
53% Female 46% Male <1% Genderqueer
35% Female 65% Male
46% Female 54% Male
16% Female 84% Male
24% Female 76% Male
37% Female 63% Male
43.1% Female 56.7% Male <1% Genderqueer
THRU – NOBO START MONTH
0% February 14% March 58% April 14% May 14% June
0% February 16% March 49% April 32% May 3% June
0% February 16% March 58% April 25% May 1% June
0% February 24% March 60% April 16% May 0% June
3% February 9% March 61% April 24% May 3% June
0% February 34% March 45% April 21% May 0% June
0% February 27% March 50% April 23% May 0% June
0% February 39% March 45% April 11% May 5% July
0.3% February 20.3% March 54.4% April 23.5% May 1% June 0.3% July
THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 19
April 23
April 17
April 14
April 23
April 9
April 12
April 8
April 16
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
144
143
150
154
155
150
139
154
149
THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
5.86
6.38
6.12
6.15
5.63
6.24
6.66
6.45
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
39.43 mi / 63.46 km
41.50 mi / 66.79 km
37.31 mi / 60.04 km
38.42 mi / 61.83 km
37.53 mi / 60.40 km
34.97 mi / 56.28 km
32.10 mi / 51.66 km
26.45 mi / 42.57 km
37.31 mi / 60.04 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
18.75
16.56
17.11
19.23
17.84
15.84
12.81
19.67
17.21
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
22.00
15.88
18.12
18.43
16.68
11.90
10.81
8.00
16.46
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
41
40
42
41
40
41
37
40
42
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
9.6
8.7
8.2
7.9
7.4
10.0
12.7
10.4
8.7
THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START)
17.67 lbs / 8.01 kg
16.72 lbs / 7.58 kg
17.75 lbs / 8.05 kg
17.36 lbs / 7.87 kg
17.26 lbs / 7.83 kg
19.69 lbs / 8.93 kg
18.61 lbs / 8.44 kg
17.78 lbs / 8.06 kg
17.63 lbs / 8.00 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
11.25 lbs / 5.10 kg
14.44 lbs / 6.55 kg
14.50 lbs / 6.58 kg
15.34 lbs / 6.96 kg
14.08 lbs / 6.39 kg
18.66 lbs / 8.46 kg
14.88 lbs / 6.75 kg
16.33 lbs / 7.41 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
$1,643
$1,379
$1,562
$1,710
$1,676
$1,562
$1,772
$1,437
$1,565
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
$3,900
$4,916
$6,533
$7,681
$7,219
$7,421
$6,667
$6,667
$6,504
THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
17.7°F / -7.94°C
17.8°F / -7.89°C
15.9°F / -8.94°C
18.5°F / -7.50°C
16.6°F / -8.56°C
17.1°F / -8.28°C
20.3°F / -6.50°C
16.0°F / -8.89°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
52.7 L
53.5 L
55.3 L
55.9 L
56.3 L
57.8 L
58.9 L
57.8 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.50
4.37
4.46
4.67
4.84
4.60
4.69
4.50
4.54
PCT HIKERS: DOMESTIC VS. INTERNATIONAL
This year, we had hikers from 31 countries (including the US) from every populated continent (that’s right, nobody from that uninhabited wasteland, Australia). International hikers accounted for 37.7% of this year’s PCT Class. From the US, we had every state represented except for Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming (I guess Wyoming and Montana were busy with the Continental Divide Trail, but Kentucky and North Dakota, you have no excuse).
COUNTRIES | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA (31 TOTAL)
US STATES | AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA,VT, WA, WV, WI (46 TOTAL)
MOST REPRESENTED COUNTRIES
USA 62.3%
Australia 7.8%
Canada 6.8%
Germany 5.8%
United Kingdom 4.7%
New Zealand/Switzerland 3.1%
Austria/France/Israel 1%
MOST REPRESENTED STATES
California 22.4%
Washington 12.5%
Oregon 8%
Texas 4.2%
Colorado/Michigan 3.5%
New York 2.9%
North Carolina 2.6%
DOMESTIC
INTERNATIONAL
OVERALL AVERAGE
THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
75%
84%
78%
SEX
45% Female 54% Male <1% Genderqueer
42% Female 58% Male
43.1% Female 56.7% Male <1% Genderqueer
AVERAGE AGE
35
33
34
EDUCATION LEVEL
0.7% <12th grade 3.8% High School Diploma 15.6% Some College 6.5% Associate Degree 55.9% Bachelor’s Degree 17.5% Graduate Degree
1.8% <12th grade 12% High School Diploma 13.2% Some College 2.4% Associate Degree 44.3% Bachelor’s Degree 26.3% Graduate Degree
1.2% <12th grade 6.7% High School Diploma 14.9% Some College 5.7% Associate Degree 49.5% Bachelor’s Degree 22% Graduate Degree
THRU – NOBO START MONTH
0.3% February 20.2% March 47.9% April 20.2% May 1% June
0% February 17.2% March 56.1% April 24.8% May 0.6% June
0.3% February 20.3% March 54.4% April 23.5% May 1% June
THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 16
April 17
April 16
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
151
147
149
THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
6.45
6.10
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
39.34 mi / 63.31 km
39.75 mi / 63.97 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
17.7
16.7
17
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
16.4
16.7
16.5
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
42.5
41.2
41.9
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
9.6
7.1
8.7
THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START)
16.70 lbs / 7.57 kg
19.06 lbs / 8.65 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
14.40 lbs / 6.53 kg
15.84 lbs / 7.18 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
$1,465
$1,727
$1,565
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
$6,084
$7,125
$6,504
THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
17.1°F / -8.28°C
17.3°F / -8.17°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
55.7 L
55.7 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.41
4.48
4.43
PCT HIKERS: ROOKIE VS. EXPERIENCE
This year, 70% of Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers were taking on their first long-distance trail and 30% had experience on one or more long-distance hikes in the past.
The trails most commonly hiked by those with experience are:
27% Appalachian Trail
22% John Muir Trail
11% Camino de Santiago
10% Pacific Crest Trail
10% Tahoe Rim Trail
9% Te Araroa Trail
8% Colorado Trail
6% Wonderland Trail
4% Continental Divide Trail
4% Long Trail
3% Arizona Trail
26% Other Long-distance Trail
FIRST THRU-HIKE
EXPERIENCED THRU-HIKER
OVERALL AVERAGE
THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
77%
81%
78%
SEX
44% Female 56% Male
39% Female 60% Male <1% Genderqueer
43.1% Female 56.7% Male <1% Genderqueer
AVERAGE AGE
32
34
34
EDUCATION LEVEL
1.3% <12th grade 5.6% High School Diploma 13.6% Some College 5.6% Associate Degree 53.2% Bachelor’s Degree 20.3% Graduate Degree
0.7% <12th grade 9.6% High School Diploma 17.7% Some College 3% Associate Degree 46.8% Bachelor’s Degree 22.2% Graduate Degree
1.2% <12th grade 6.7% High School Diploma 14.9% Some College 5.7% Associate Degree 49.5% Bachelor’s Degree 22% Graduate Degree
THRU – NOBO START MONTH
0.3% February 20.8% March 56.5% April 21.6% May 0.3% June
0% February 17.2% March 56.1% April 24.8% May 0.6% June
0% February 18.5% March 50% April 27.8% May 2.8% June
THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 15
April 20
April 16
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
152
144
149
THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
6.02
6.64
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
39.40 mi / 63.41 km
40.03 mi / 64.44 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
15.4
18.1
17
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
15.6
16.9
16.5
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
42.0
41.3
41.9
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
8.1
10
8.7
THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START)
18.86 lbs / 8.55 kg
14.91 lbs / 6.76 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
15.56 lbs / 7.06 kg
13.80 lbs / 6.26 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
$1,465
$1,372
$1,565
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
$6,713
$5,249
$6,504
THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
16.8°F / -8.42°C
18.2°F / -7.67°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
56.6 L
53.8 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.63
4.35
4.43
PCT HIKERS: FAST VS. SLOW
How about people who hiked the trail quickly vs. those who took a bit longer to complete their thru-hikes?
Here we split and compare hikers based on the length of time it took them to finish the trail. The average number of days thru-hikers spent completing a thru-hike this year was 149 days (basically five months).
I’ve divided hikerss into “Fast Hikes” (quicker than 149 days) and “Slow Hikes” (those that took 149 days or longer).
NOTE: Since this chart is measuring stats based on the completion time of the PCT, all of the hikers included here completed the trail.
HIKES UNDER 149 DAYS
HIKES 149 DAYS & OVER
OVERALL AVERAGE
FINISH – SEX
45% Female 54% Male <1% Genderqueer
35% Female 63% Male <1% Genderqueer
39% Female 60% Male <1% Genderqueer
FINISH – AVERAGE AGE
35
31
31
FINISH – EDUCATION LEVEL
0.7% <12th grade 3.8% High School Diploma 15.6% Some College 6.5% Associate Degree 55.9% Bachelor’s Degree 17.5% Graduate Degree
0.6% <12th grade 4.5% High School Diploma 10.3% Some College 2.4% Associate Degree 58.3% Bachelor’s Degree 23.7% Graduate Degree
1.2% <12th grade 7.4% High School Diploma 12.7% Some College 4.4% Associate Degree 53.7% Bachelor’s Degree 20.6% Graduate Degree
FINISH – NOBO START MONTH
0.6% February 26.8% March 64.8 April 7.3% May 0.5% June
0% February 7.9% March 42.5% April 48.8% May 0.8% June
0.3% February 19% March 55.6% April 24.5% May 0.7% June
FINISH – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 9
April 27
April 24
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
131
166
149
FINISH – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
6.85
5.91
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
41.89 mi / 67.42 km
37.56 mi /60.45 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
11.4
22.1
17
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
14.0
18.6
16.5
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
38.9
44.5
41.9
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
9.1
8.3
8.7
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (START)
15.40 lbs / 6.99 kg
18.59 lbs / 8.43 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
13.63 lbs / 6.18 kg
16.26 lbs / 7.38 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
$1,488
$1,604
$1,565
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
$6,005
$7,181
$6,504
FINISH – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
17.0°F / -8.33°C
17.7°F / -7.94°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
FINISH – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
53.6 L
57.2 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.59
4.56
4.43
PCT HIKES: CHEAP VS. EXPENSIVE
Now to an issue that many future thru-hikers worry about: how much will it cost to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (and how much should they spend)?
Will spending a lot of money on a thru-hike make it more successful? Epic? Sexy? Probably not. That said, if you’re looking to reduce cost on a thru-hike, then it appears completing your hike as quickly as possible (and not taking many days off) is a good solution (as you would probably expect?).
NOTE: Since this chart is measuring stats based on the completion time of the PCT, all the hikers included here completed the trail.
CHEAP(ER) HIKES
EXPENSIVE HIKES
OVERALL AVERAGE
FINISH – SEX (F/M/Genderqueer)
39% Female 60% Male <1% Genderqueer
40% Female 60% Male
39% Female 60% Male <1% Genderqueer
FINISH – AVERAGE AGE
30
33
31
FINISH – EDUCATION LEVEL
0.6% <12th grade 7.8% High School Diploma 10.6% Some College 3.3% Associate Degree 57.2% Bachelor’s Degree 20.6% Graduate Degree
2.2% <12th grade 5.2 High School Diploma 15.7% Some College 6% Associate Degree 50% Bachelor’s Degree 20.9% Graduate Degree
1.2% <12th grade 7.4% High School Diploma 12.7% Some College 4.4% Associate Degree 53.7% Bachelor’s Degree 20.6% Graduate Degree
FINISH – NOBO START MONTH
0.6% February 13.5% March 53.5% April 31% May 1.3% June
0% February 17.2% March 57.8% April 24.8% May 0% June
0.3% February 19% March 55.6% April 24.5% May 0.7% June
FINISH – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 20
April 12
April 17
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
144
158
149
FINISH – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
6.45
6.10
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
40.84 mi / 65.73 km
38.22 mi / 61.51 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
14.6
20.4
17
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
15.4
18.1
16.5
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
41.0
43.5
41.9
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
9.1
7.9
8.7
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (START)
15.94 lbs / 7.23 kg
19.13 lbs / 8.68 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
14.19 lbs / 6.44 kg
16.35 lbs / 7.42 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
FINISH – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
17.5°F / -8.06°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
FINISH – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
54.8 L
57.1 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.31
4.79
4.43
More on how much it costs to hike the Pacific Crest Trail here.
PCT HIKES: LIGHT VS. HEAVY PACKS
And now to the proverbial thru-hiker dick-measuring competition: pack weight. The average starting base weight for this year’s PCT thru-hiking class was 18.21 lbs / 8.28 kg and the average ending base weight was 15.53 lbs / 7.06 kg.
I split this section based on starting base weight. What did we find out here? Well, nothing really. I suggest taking a look at the gear data instead of trying to glean any information from this chart.
The charts below show the distributions of hiker base weight before and after the trail (note: the charts are in pounds – sorry, rest of the world).
LIGHT PACKS
HEAVY PACKS
OVERALL AVERAGE
THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
82%
71%
78%
SEX
43% Female 56% Male <1% Genderqueer
39% Female 61% Male
43.1% Female 56.7% Male <1% Genderqueer
AVERAGE AGE
33
33
34
EDUCATION LEVEL
1.5% <12th grade 8.1% High School Diploma 14.7% Some College 3.7% Associate Degree 51.5% Bachelor’s Degree 19.5% Graduate Degree
0.7% <12th grade 4.7% High School Diploma 16.1% Some College 6% Associate Degree 49% Bachelor’s Degree 23.5% Graduate Degree
1.2% <12th grade 6.7% High School Diploma 14.9% Some College 5.7% Associate Degree 49.5% Bachelor’s Degree 22% Graduate Degree
THRU – NOBO START MONTH
0.4% February 17.6% March 57.6% April 23.9% May 0.4% June
0% February 25.2% March 51.1% April 21.5% May 2.2% June
0.3% February 20.3% March 54.4% April 23.5% May 1% June
THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
April 16
April 15
April 16
FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL
138
156
149
THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
6.39
6.03
6.20
FINISH – LONGEST DAY
40.51 mi / 65.19 km
37.76 mi / 60.77 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
FINISH – ZERO DAYS
16.5
18.8
17
FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS
16.7
16.1
16.5
FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS
41.6
42.4
41.9
FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
8.9
8.1
8.7
THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START)
13.43 lbs / 6.09 kg
19.06 lbs / 8.65 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END)
12.81 lbs / 5.81 kg
15.84 lbs / 7.18 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
$1,541
$1,727
$1,565
FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
$5,941
$7,127
$6,504
THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING
17.0°F / -8.33°C
18.2°F / -7.67°C
17.2°F / -8.22°C
THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE
53.7 L
59.6 L
55.7 L
FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
4.47
4.48
4.43
PCT THRU-HIKE OVERALL WINNERS & LOSERS
Wrapping up, let’s look at which of the above groups had the overall lowest and highest averages for each of our data points.
Experienced thru-hikers spent the least on gear, people who spent the longest on the trail had more expensive hikes, longer hikes had more zero days, and people with heavier base weights had the largest backpacks (in terms of capacity). But there were a few surprises too, I guess – older hikers started their hikes the earliest, and hikers under 20 had the lowest reported level of pre-trail fitness (I guess you could call those surprises).
LOWEST
HIGHEST
OVERALL AVERAGE
COMPLETION PERCENTAGE
Hikers Aged 50-59 62%
Hikers Aged 30-39 86%
78%
SEX
Hikers Aged 20-24 49% Female 51% Male
Hikers Aged <20 86% Female 14% Male
43.1% Female 56.7% Male <1% Genderqueer
AVERAGE AGE
Female Hikers Cheap(er) Hikes 30
Male Hikers Domestic Hikers Hikes Under 149 Days 35
34
AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO)
Hikers Aged 60-69 April 8
Hikes Under 149 Days April 27
April 16
DAYS ON TRAIL
Light Packs 138
Expensive Hikes 158
149
PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL
Hikers Aged <20 5.86
Hikes Under 149 Days 6.85
6.20
LONGEST DAY
Hikers Aged 60-69 26.45 mi / 42.57 km
Hikes Under 149 Days 41.89 mi / 67.42 km
39.56 mi / 63.67 km
ZERO DAYS
Hikes Under 149 Days 11.4
Hikes 149 Days & Over 22.1
17
NEAR-O DAYS
Hikers Aged 60-69 8
Hikers <20 22
16.5
RESUPPLY STOPS
Hikers Aged 50-59 37
Hikes 149 Days & Over 44.5
41.9
RESUPPLY BOXES SENT
International Hikers 7.1
Hikers Aged 60-69 10.4
8.7
BASE WEIGHT (START)
Experienced Thru-hiker 14.91 lbs / 6.76 kg
Hikers Aged 40-49 19.69 lbs / 8.93 kg
17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg
BASE WEIGHT (END)
Hikers Aged <20 11.25 lbs / 5.10 kg
Hikers Aged 40-49 18.66 lbs / 8.46 kg
15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg
AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR
Experienced Thru-hiker $1,372
Hikers Aged 50-59 $1,772
$1,565
AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE
Hired Aged <20 $3,900
Hikers Aged 30-34 $7,681
$6,504
AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAITNG
Female Hikers 15.4°F / -9.22°C
Hikers Aged 50-59 20.3°F / -6.50°C
17.2°F/-8.22°C
AVERAGE PACK SIZE
Hikers Aged <20 52.7 L
Heavy Packs 59.6 L
55.7 L
AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED
Cheap(er) Hikes 4.31
Hikers Aged 35-39 4.84
4.43
Leave a comment and let me know what you find to be useful, interesting, or if there’s something you would like to see included in the future.
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12 Comments
Hello Mac! Last survey was many years ago what made you stop after doing it for 5 years?
In the section: PCT HIKES: LIGHT VS. HEAVY PACKS it shows that on average, hikers shed 2.68 lbs from start to finish. It would be nice to know 1-3 items that they no longer carried at the end. This would help others planning future hikes
I’ll keep this in mind for future surveys. I used to have a question that tried to address this but it didn’t end up providing much useful information.
thank you, this is very helpful. does the base weight only include the big items (pack, shelter, sleeping bag), or is it the combined weight of all items you plan to finish with i.e clothes, wet weather gear, hygene items etc. My estimate, all included, looks to be a pack weighing approximately 50-60 lbs. does this seem right?
Edit changed 40-50 to 50-60
Base weight is everything that you’re going to be carrying in your backpack minus, as @disqus_Q89QcwI6Gt:disqus said, your consumables. Remember that the clothing you’re wearing on an everyday basis is not included in your base weight (however, your rain jacket, down jacket, etc. would be since you’re not always wearing those). 50-60 lbs is incredibly high if you’re talking about a PCT hike base weight.
Spectacular job, Mac, thanks so much for putting this info together! Your survey articles have become one of the best information resources the PCT community has, and your site is often the first place I send people that are planning on hitting the trail.
Would you consider running similar surveys for other trails, besides the PCT and CDT?
Reading Time: 13 minutes 
Hello Mac! Last survey was many years ago what made you stop after doing it for 5 years?
I’ve been doing it every year since 2018 and haven’t stopped.
Here’s the most recent survey: https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trails/pacific-crest-trail/pct-hiker-survey-2023/
In the section: PCT HIKES: LIGHT VS. HEAVY PACKS it shows that on average, hikers shed 2.68 lbs from start to finish. It would be nice to know 1-3 items that they no longer carried at the end. This would help others planning future hikes
I’ll keep this in mind for future surveys. I used to have a question that tried to address this but it didn’t end up providing much useful information.
Does amount spent on entire hike include the amount spent on gear?
Yes, it does.
thank you, this is very helpful. does the base weight only include the big items (pack, shelter, sleeping bag), or is it the combined weight of all items you plan to finish with i.e clothes, wet weather gear, hygene items etc. My estimate, all included, looks to be a pack weighing approximately 50-60 lbs. does this seem right?
Edit changed 40-50 to 50-60
base weight is everything not including consumables (food, water, fuel)
Base weight is everything that you’re going to be carrying in your backpack minus, as @disqus_Q89QcwI6Gt:disqus said, your consumables. Remember that the clothing you’re wearing on an everyday basis is not included in your base weight (however, your rain jacket, down jacket, etc. would be since you’re not always wearing those). 50-60 lbs is incredibly high if you’re talking about a PCT hike base weight.
I always struggle whether hiking poles should be in base weight or not. How about crampons/microspikes?
Spectacular job, Mac, thanks so much for putting this info together! Your survey articles have become one of the best information resources the PCT community has, and your site is often the first place I send people that are planning on hitting the trail.
Would you consider running similar surveys for other trails, besides the PCT and CDT?
I would consider this, but I would need help developing a survey for any trail I haven’t yet hiked.