This summer I hope to complete the remaining 3 sections that I have left in hiking the PCT a 2nd time. This has been a goal since my first thru-hike in 2018. Initially, I envisioned that I would thru-hike the entire trail again, but over time, the goal morphed into completing the trail as a series of section hikes. This was mainly because in 2023, I hiked nearly all of the Northern California section as a way of connecting the Oregon Coast and Bigfoot Trails to the Tahoe Rim Trail. After that stint, I couldn’t really see myself hiking NoCal a 3rd time (it’s my least favorite section), thus my focus shifted to just completing the remaining sections in the upcoming years.
This past spring, I had an easy opportunity to hike the southern California section of the PCT as part of my Desert Winter Thru Hike. For the first time, I went NOBO (all my other thousands of PCT miles have been SOBO) and I actually really loved the experience! I met a lot of really fun and mellow hikers, who I of course immediately missed when I got to the end of the section at Kennedy Meadows South. I’d never intended to continue on into the Sierra, thus I didn’t have the gear, supplies, or permit I needed at the time. But I really considered it and absolutely hated getting off the trail when I did. For weeks afterwards, I could think of nothing else but my desire to get back to the PCT.
So I figured, why not dedicate my whole summer to what’s left: Washington, Oregon and the Sierra? Logistically, it made sense to get a SOBO permit and start at the Canadian Border. I will begin around July 12th and hope to finish WA and OR by mid August. The benefit of this plan is that I’ll hopefully get to see most of the friends I made on my NOBO section hike, as they will be hiking towards me and just about finishing. In 2018, I admittedly had a negative outlook on NOBO’s (the fake competitive narrative that unfortunately springs up every time people get categorized into arbitrary groups). But this year, I’m actually looking forward to seeing every NOBO face that comes around the bend, in the hopes that it’s someone I know. This has been an unexpected and welcomed effect of flipping and section hiking in past years.
Once I get to Ashland OR, I plan to skip down to the Sierra, ideally resuming where I left off in 2023 at Sonora pass. There I may be deviating slightly from the well-trodden path of the PCT to do parts or all of the High Sierra Route, as time and weather allows. As I’ve already blogged extensively about the PCT, I will not initially be doing daily posts, but rather something similar to the notes I posted for the desert section hike. I may resume daily posts for the high routes in the Sierra, if I end up doing them, we’ll see. As always, thanks for following along!
