PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hikers can expect to run into rattlesnakes at various points in the desert, which is exactly where a PCT hiker is the first 703 miles. They certainly seemed a lot more at home out there than we hikers! One thru-hiker picked up the trail name, ‘Snake Charmer’, when a rattlesnake lunged at him and bounced off his shoe. Some tried hiking at night to avoid the awful heat of the desert. This allowed them to make...

Most PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hikers expected the desert to be table-top flat and monotonous. How wrong we were! In fact, the desert proved quite mountainous and jagged at various points. We even ran into heavy snow fields on Fuller’s Ridge. The good news is that in this so-called high desert, the PCT hiker gets some breathtaking views out into the vast expanses of the desert. Only when we got to the Mojave, were we walking all day in the...

After 703 miles in the desert, PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hikers enter the so-called ‘High Sierra’. This section traverses the highest points on the entire American mainland, including Mount Whitney (14,494 feet) and Forrester’s Pass. Most hikers consider this section the highlight of the PCT. Indeed, the High Sierra has an alpen glow, that mixed in with the daunting peaks and snow, give it a certain ethereal majesty. PCT hikers...

The first 703 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) are in the desert. As you might imagine, water is the key variable. Hikers plan their days around reliable water sources and much hoped-for water caches, filled by dedicated trail angels. At the PCT Kickoff held annually the last weekend of April, trail veterans give detailed water reports to the current crop of thru-hikers. “You cannot rely on caches,” they repeatedly told us....

Thru-hikers become obsessed with backpack weight. I was no different. You would understand if you tried walking from Mexico to Canada. At the Lake Tahoe post office, I had agonized before finally deciding to send my gloves forward in the post to Washington State. It saved me two ounces–no small consideration. However, I would soon regret it. In northern California we got hit with a summertime storm, and many hikers were on the verge of...