From May 15 to August 15 I thru hiked the PCT. This was my second long distance hiking trip. It was easier since I learned the whole thru hiking philosophy from the AT. It also helped that the PCT is much easier than the AT.

Stats

93 Days Includes 3 zeros

15 May – 13 Jun 774.7 miles

14 Jun – 13 Jul 841.3 miles

14 Jul – 12 Aug 953.4 miles

13 Aug – 15 Aug 80.7 miles

— —

Average with zeros: 28.5 miles a day

Average without zeros: 29.4 miles a day

Money spent ON TRAIL: $3,846.12

Zero Days

4 Jun Mojave, CA

17 Jul Ashland, OR

18 Jul Ashland, OR

Resupply Points

109.5 Warner Springs (BOX)

209.5 Ziggy and the Bear (BOX)

341.9 Cajon Pass (BOX)

454.5 Agua Dulce

566.4 Mojave

702.2 Kennedy Meadows (BOX)

788.9 Lone Pine

906.6 Reds Meadow

942.5 Tuolumne Meadows

1016.9 North Kennedy Meadows

1090.7 South Lake Tahoe

1195.4 Sierra City

1370.9 Old Station

1407.2 Burney Mtn Guest Ranch

1499.2 Ammiratis Market

1597.2 Etna

1653.4 Seiad Valley

— —

1716.2 Ashland

1819.2 Mazama Village (BOX)

1904.1 Shelter Cove (BOX)

1992.6 BLYC (BOX)

2094.4 Timberline (BOX)

2144.1 Cascade Locks

— —

2292.4 White Pass Kracker Barrel

2390.6 Snoqualmie Pass

2461.7 Stevens Pass (BOX)

2569.4 Stehekin (BOX)

POST HIKE GEAR UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

THE BIG 3

• ULA Circuit w/ liner (40oz)
• Z-Packs 20 Degree bag X-Long (21.1oz)
• Z-Packs Hexamid Solo (15.5oz)
• Tent stakes x8 (4oz)

SLEEPING PAD

• Thermarest NeoAir XLite (12.4oz)

COOKING & DRINKING

• STS Spork/Knife (.70oz)
• ZPacks bear bag (1.4oz)
• Sawyer Squeeze (3.96)
• 2L Sawyer Bag x2 (2.76oz)
• 1L Smart-water Bottle x2

CLOTHES BAG

• Z-Packs clothing bag (1.2oz)
• Patagonia Capilene Thermal Weight Zip Hoodie (7.6oz)
• Patagonia Midweight Bottoms (6.2oz)
• Montbell Superior Down Parka (8.8oz)
• Darn Tough 1/4 x2 (4.52)
• Bandana (1.6oz)
• Gloves (1.6oz)
• Shin Sleeves (1.7oz)
• Arcteryx beanie (1.2oz)

RAIN GEAR

• AntiGravityGear UL Rain Jacket (4.6oz)
• AntiGravityGear UL Rain Kilt (1.7oz)

MISC

• Pocket PCT (4.8oz)
• DittyBag (Anker Astro E1 5200mAh, Leatherman Squirt P4, Headphones, USB charger x2, Cuban repair tape, Cords, Wallet) (11.28oz)
• Hygiene Bag (Toothpaste, Goldbond, toothbrush, nail clipper, floss, Dr. B) (8.12)
• iPhone 6s (6.28oz)
• Toilet Paper (6.34oz)
• Trowel (1.84oz)
• Petzl headlamp (3.38oz)
• First Aid Kit (3.60oz)

CLOTHING WORN

• Prana Stretch Zion pants (XS)
• Patagonia 2 Merino LW Zip-neck (MD)
• UA Mesh 9” boxer briefs (MD)
• Oakley PRIZM Road Radar EV Path
• Darn tough 
• Buff
• Watch
• Hat

Footwear

• Altra Lone Peak 2.5
• Vivo Ultra II (12oz)

TREKKING POLES

• Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Cork (w/ Duct tape)

Desert Gear

• EuroSchirm Swing Liteflex Umbrella (7.5oz)

Sierra Gear

• Petzl Glacier Literide
• Bear can
• Micro spikes (maybe)

POST HIKE UPDATE

• The ULA Circuit worked great. Carried weight extremely well. Comfortable. Loved the huge hip pockets, I could fit a ton of food in there. The only negative is that the back mesh pocket is big but not very stretchy. Also, it’s kind of tough to reach your bottles on the side
• Wasn’t a fan of the Hexamid Solo. It was too small for me and my gear and I didn’t like how the floor was detachable. I switched to a Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 at Kennedy Meadows.
• My Thermarest NeoAir finally popped on me in NorCal. Don’t even know how it happened. Not complaining because I got 1.5 thru hikes out of it. I bought a Thermarest Z-Lite pad in Ashland and while it wasn’t as comfy I liked it better because I saved so much time morning and night not having to inflate and deflate
• The Sawyer Squeeze was great. I didn’t like it in the beginning and almost switched to Aquamira but I eventually came around to it. It was so nice to be able to fill up and drink immediately
• The Patagonia 2 Merino shirt that I wore was torn by KM. I ended up wearing my Thermal Weight hoodie as my base layer for the rest of the hike. It was kind of much on hot days but not too bad. The hoodie was pretty nice to have right there.
• I didn’t really wear my down jacket much. Would have sent it home but I used it as a pillow at night
• Two of my Darn Tough socks got holes in them but I got new ones for free in South Lake Tahoe, pretty sweet.
• The AGG rain jacket was pretty nice. It doesn’t rain much on the PCT so it mainly served as a warming layer. When it did rain it did a pretty good job keeping me dry, but it never down poured on me so I have no idea how it would do in heavy rain. The pit zips on it are huge which is nice. No pockets though
• The AGG kilt worked better than expected but I would probably buy rain pants for future hikes to keep my entire lower body dry and to also wear in town when Im doing laundry
• Ditched the Pocket PCT in Mojave. Never used it. I just used the Guthook app
• Never needed to use my external battery. I was never more than 3-5 days inbetween town where I could recharge my phone
• The Prana pants are seriously the best hiking pants out there. I wish they made XXS because I lost so much weight that even the XS was baggy on me. In the beginning I couldn’t even button it though
• Ditched the UA Mesh Boxer Briefs in Lone Pine and went back to the Exofficio Boxer Briefs. The UA was too thick and didn’t breath well.
• The Lone Peaks were amazing. Had zero foot problems with them. I’d probably switch to the Olympus for future thru hikes because the extra cushioning would be nice
• Was not a fan of the Vivo’s. They were bulky, heavy and my feet didn’t breath well in them. Sent them home in Warner Springs and bought cheap flip flops instead. Wouldn’t mind trying the Bedrock sandals in the future
• The umbrella didn’t work for me. Only used it for the first three days and I didn’t like it. It felt like it made it hotter actually because I had less air flow. I just wore my hat and dealt with the sun. I don’t burn easy.
• I never actual had to self arrest with the ice axe but I did have it in hand multiple times in the Sierra
• The spikes were more handy than the axe. I would definitely use them again in a normal to high snow year