Like my dad says, there are roads that go all the way from Mexico to Canada. However, I doubt they are as scenic as the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT passes through twenty five national forests and seven national parks. It meanders through the Laguna, Santa Rosa, San Jacinto, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, Liebre, Tehachapi, Sierra Nevada, and Klamath ranges in California, and the Cascade Range in California, Oregon, and Washington. The highest point on the PCT is Forester Pass at 13,153 feet. We will walk over that. Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the contiguous United States, has an elevation of 14,505 feet and is located in the Sierra Nevada range... and we're probably gonna climb that too.
It will take us roughly five months to hike the entire thing, beginning near the border town of Campo, CA and ending in Manning Park in British Columbia. We will begin hiking on April 7 and arrive in Canada sometime in September.
No, we won't be carrying a gun. Yes, we'll have (small) knives. No, we're not bringing any toilet paper. Yes, we will be hiking the trail "alone," as in "just the two of us"... and all of the other hundreds of people who attempt to thru hike it each year. Plus all the various short distance and day hikers who occupy the more popular stretches of the trail, such as the John Muir Trail.
Yes, we will carry all of our own food and water. Yes, our feet will hurt. We will be hiking about twenty miles each day. Yes, that is a lot of miles to hike in a day.
Yes, we will miss our comfy queen bed and our hammock in the backyard. And the bidet and the SodaStream. And Jazz Fest and Burning Man. And especially those bacon-wrapped dates from Linger.
We will attempt to update The Great Dilly Dally on a somewhat regular basis, as we will pass through towns every 5-10 days. During those town stops, we will resupply our food and gorge ourselves on cheeseburgers and take really long showers in really modest hotel rooms. We will also include information about our upcoming town stops, including the addresses of the local post offices incase you want to send us treats and treasures.
What will we eat? A lot of beef jerky and Snickers bars. Dehydrated food and nuts and peanut butter.
No, we're not wearing hiking boots. I'll be sporting a pair of hideous electric-salmon colored Brooks Cascadias and Andy will be wearing a pair of Hoka One Ones. Oh, and Injinji toe socks. Yes, toe socks. Andy insists they are very effective at preventing blisters. We will see about that.
Our packs will be quite light, weighing about ten pounds without food and water.
No, I've never done anything entirely like this before. Yes, there was that one time that I trekked the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal but I didn't carry my own stuff and slept in tea houses and ate hot dinners that were prepared for me each night. I did hike over Thorong La Pass (17,769 ft), which was completely insane. But that trek only lasted about three weeks.
Andy hiked the first 900 miles of the PCT in 2009, so he is well versed at the more technical stuff, know-how and planning. He's read the reviews, acquired the gear, printed the maps, activated the GPS Spot Device, applied for the permits and even set up this blog.
All that's left to do now is walk the walk.
Yes, we will probably be very smelly people during this excursion. And quite hairy, at that. Time lapse photos to come (and probably some really good looking scenic stuff, too).
Yes, we are crazy people. And we are embarking on The Great Dilly Dally, otherwise known as thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.
Stay tuned.
Hopefully this has answered some of your queries and curiosities. Questions, comments, concerns? Dirty jokes? Witty banter? Leave comments below.