The PCT was aways one of those trails that I knew I just had to hike. It looked spectacular and unlike, say the AT, it has a point. Great long hikes should have a definite start and finish, coast to coast hikes are the ultimate example of this. You just can’t go any further when you hit the sea. Borders give a slightly more diluted experience but there is still a clear purpose to the hike. I had dreamt of hiking the PCT for many years and it had a lot to live up too. Did it? Overall I think it did. As with any long hike it has it's highs and lows but the PCT was great experience. This isn't a day by day account of my time, others do that better, this is just a collection of thoughts that you may find helpful when thinking about, or planning, your PCT hike.
I got back to the UK on Friday after successfully completing the PCT on the 25th Aug. The PCT is a special trail and I hope to get a trip summary up here soon (ish!). I’m really bad at updating my blog and am already consumed by new MYOG projects - so the blog suffers - sorry about that! I have also booked tickets for my next adventure which will be a hiking New Zealand end-to-end.
After nearly 3 months of building new kit, and relaxation, it's time to get out there again. It will be the first of two hikes across the USA, this time along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT spans for over 4000km from the Mexican to Canadian borders and takes in a lot of the best of what western USA has to offer. I first heard about the PCT, as a teenager, in one of Chris Townsend's many great books, The Backpacker's Handbook. It has always been in my mind that I would like to hike it one day and interestingly Chris considers the PCT to be the most enjoyable of all his hikes. I'm also very pleased to see that he will now be publishing a book about his time on the PCT, called Rattle Snakes and Bald Eagles. It will be good to see how it compares to my hike some 30 years later.
