Just before my hike, I had a series of questions about logistical details, like which resupply points were preferable, or whether to carry quarters for coin showers. I also found it hard to distinguish between the kind of advice people give, and the kind of advice they follow (e.g. it’s easy to tell people to take a bear canister everywhere, but do people actually do that?) I found no conclusive information for this on the web, so I asked the PCT-L mailing list. I got many useful answers, and my hike was a success. Then, I wrote back to the PCT-L, providing my own take on the answers to my questions:
Q. On the JMT, it seemed like MTR was the obvious place to resupply, since it’s the last point (southbound) that’s close to the trail, until Whitney Portal / Lone Pine. But, it seems like most PCT thru-hikers skip MTR and resupply at VVR or Red’s Meadow, making that long stretch a couple days longer. Why? Or am I wrong about PCT hikers skipping MTR?
A. Resupplying at MTR takes a lot of planning (they have strict shipment guidelines, shipping takes a long time, and they’re strict about when you can pick it up). Trying to plan resupplies way in advance doesn’t work very well. It was hard to predict what I’d want to eat, and how much of it. Buying my food for the next few days in person was always preferable.
So, I resupplied south of MTR at Independence (via Kearsarge Pass) and north of MTR at Mammoth (via Red’s Meadow), for a carry of about 125 miles. That’s not a whole lot worse than the standard JMT stretch from MTR to Whitney Portal.
The Kearsarge detour was scenic enough to be worthwhile in its own right. And, Mammoth is a full-sized town with proper outdoor supply stores — I was able to replace my worn-out shoes there with just the right model.
I think MTR is so popular for JMT hikers because they’re finishing in Whitney Portal (which is north of Independence). Whitney Portal’s a fine place to go home from, but not good for a resupply, because it only has a souvenir shop.
Q. I’ve never hitchhiked before. Is there any etiquette I should know about, e.g. are hitchhikers expected to pay for gas?
A. I offered to pay a few times, but nobody was ever interested. Mostly just smile, be cheerful, and have a conversation. Nobody picks up hitchhikers for the money, so far as I can tell. Nearly every hitch I got was from a local who already knew about the PCT, and many of them had come out to the trail expressly to give PCT hikers rides. So they were clearly just doing it for fun. So be fun.
Q. Is it usually easy to get change for a coin shower, or should I carry quarters?
A. Some way of getting quarters almost always seems to materialize. The Camp Host will often make change, if you’re at a paid campsite (which is usually where coin showers are).
However, I avoided coin showers when possible, for a few reasons:
- I might run out of time while soapy.
- Getting soap and shampoo was sometimes time-consuming, expensive, or impossible.
- Getting a proper towel was usually impossible.
- Tiny pack towels mean you’ll be really cold for a while while you sloooowly dry off. Then, you’ll have to dry out and carry a piece of gear that’s saturated with scented toiletries. This can attract animals to your pack at night.
Q. Resupplying at Walker Pass on 178 seems really hard, but necessary if I’m going to avoid 7+ days between resupplies. I’ve looked at a few options, and none look very good: Getting friends/family to pick me up (they live far away), taking the Kern County bus (it runs infrequently), arranging taxi ride (very expensive), or hitchhiking (I think it’s a fast, little-used stretch of highway?). Are there any options I overlooked?
A. There’s a lot of trail angeling here. Otherwise, the bus is probably your best bet. I called in my family — this is a good place to for that, since they haven’t seen you for about a month now, and probably miss you (and, they can drive you to Ridgecrest, which has much better supplies and cheaper hotels than the easier hitch to Lake Isabella).
Q. Does leaving the rain fly off of a double-wall tent cause, or prevent condensation?
A. This is an eternal question. It’s definitely a whole lot warmer with the fly on, though, and that was always the primary concern. I ended up pitching my rain fly on all but a handful of nights, because my quilt was inadequate.
Q. If you mail a resupply package or bounce box for general delivery, but aren’t able to pick it up, what happens? E.g. suppose my bounce box gets held up in the mail, and I’m days past the post office by the time it’s finally delivered? And, what if the destination is not a post office?
A. This never happened to me, as I mostly avoided mailed resupplies. But, my understanding is: If it’s a post office, and you shipped via Priority Mail, you can request that it be redirected to a different address (such as the next resupply point). If it’s not a post office, they keep it. VVR is notorious for selling supplies taken from unclaimed resupply packages.
Q. On the Class of 2006 PCT DVD, it looked like people might’ve been carrying bear cans in their packs in Washington (at least, it looked like there was something large and cylindrical inside their packs). I was under the impression that people normally carry bear cans only from Kennedy Meadows to Sonora Pass. Are they necessary (or realistically advisable) anywhere else?
A. I only saw a few thru-hikers who used bear canisters outside the Sierras. I stored my food in an odor-proof bag (an Opsak) inside my trash-compactor-bag-lined backpack, in my tent vestibule. I never had problems.
Note that as of 2017, you need a bear canister if you plan on staying overnight in Lassen. However, that’s not a very long stretch, and is easy to do in a day, so I don’t think it’s worth the logistical difficulties of obtaining a bear canister just to schedule an overnight stay there. It’s also one of the more drab parts of the trail — the PCT doesn’t go through any of the reportedly-interesting parts of Lassen — so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re planning an overnight side-trip in Lassen.
Q. In areas where bear cans aren’t required, do people do bear bag hangs? If so, for the whole trail, or only certain sections? Which?
A. I didn’t see a single proper bear hang anywhere on the trail. Usually, bear hangs were a sign that we were in a campsite with first-time backpackers. The most common food storage method was to keep it inside an Opsak, inside your backpack, and either keep your backpack in your vestibule or your tent.
Q. Is it possible to rent microspikes or crampons? I don’t have any plans to use them beyond this trip, so I’d rather not buy them. But, I haven’t been able to find any sites that rent them by mail, like how you can rent bear cans.
A. I didn’t find any. I suggested it to Wild Ideas, and they pointed out that people might worry about the reliability of used safety gear. I could definitely see people abusing rented Microspikes (e.g. not bothering to take them off on the rocks).
Incidentally, I regret bringing Microspikes through the Sierras. In 2016, it was an average snow year (perhaps opinions differ for 2017’s deluge). In none of the snow patches did I feel that Microspikes kept me safe where I would have been unsafe without them. Mostly they just helped me go a bit faster through the snow patch. It wasn’t worth carrying a pound of metal through the Sierras just to go a little faster for maybe 5-10 miles.
Q. I’ve read advice that you don’t really need more raingear than a poncho, because it doesn’t matter if your legs get cold, and your feet will get wet no matter what you do. So, I tried to test this during a rainstorm a few weeks ago, by hiking about 4 hours in a DriDucks poncho and REI Sahara outfit, with a loaded backpack. I got sick, and am still coughing. It rained about an inch, the temperature was in the high 40s F, and wind gusts were about 50MPH. What should I have done differently to handle that kind of weather? Used more insulation under the poncho? Added rain pants or high gaiters? Stayed home?
A. I clung to that poncho for most of the trail. It was about as useful as carrying a brick (well, an 8 ounce brick). Mainly I used it as town clothes while I was doing laundry, and it was inadequate for that too.
When it finally did rain in earnest, I got really cold, because the sleeves don’t cover my forearms (I walked many miles with my arms curled up like a T-Rex to keep warm). And, the giant arm holes let in lots of wind and rain. If the rain is mild enough that that poncho is helpful, you probably don’t need any raingear at all.
I bought a proper rain jacket near Snoqualmie (some kind of Outdoor Research Pertex jacket), and it was a godsend. Not only did it keep me much drier when the weather was rainy, it made me realize that wearing raingear as a windbreaker is tremendously useful in weather that’s not rainy but is chilly. I wished I’d started the trail with this.
I never got rain pants, but by Northern Washington I probably should have. Having soaked legs was really cold at times, and several times I found myself in situations where I’d certainly get dangerously cold if I stopped moving. I was the only person I saw at the Northern Terminus that didn’t have rain pants on.
Q. The 2014 PCT DVD shows what looks like an abandoned wrecking ball at Sunrise Trailhead. Does anyone know the story behind that? There’s also an abandoned wrecking ball in Henry W Coe Park — are wrecking balls in the wilderness a thing?? Is somebody doing a nationwide art project?
A. Another eternal mystery… Seriously, I don’t know what the deal is, and I’m still wondering. Since then, I’ve seen another one by the roadside in a rural area.
Update: Apparently they’re for clearing brush. You attach a chain between a tractor and the wrecking ball, and drive in a circle.