2026 PCT Restart Notes

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2026 Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Restart Notes

 

Training and Preparation Update:

For a refresher on my preparation for my 2022 PCT hike:  Link To 2022 Preparation Post 

As everyone knows—except for maybe some theoretical physicists—everything in the Universe only gets older, never younger.  Shockingly, this also applies to me.  For anyone doing the math, I am now four years older than I was in 2022.  I think the thing I can take the most pride in is that despite being over 63.5 years old, I have still maintained a very high level of fitness.  Many of the things I was doing in 2022 to stay fit, I am still doing now.  However, there are also some things that are very different.  Taken as a whole, though, I would say that I am—or at least I feel I am—at the same approximate fitness level I was at four years ago.  The desire to do hard, and sometimes (often?) risky, things outdoors, is very good motivation to stay in shape.

The primary thing that I have changed in my physical preparation is that I am doing much less running and trail running and redirecting that time to rock scrambling and other rock based activities (see below pics for examples of rock scrambling).  After returning home from my hike in 2022, I decided to move to Las Vegas.  I’d never lived outside of California and thought I’d give LV a try for a year.  While I was somewhat familiar with the outdoor opportunities in the LV area (Red Rock Canyon, the Spring Mountains, etc.), I wasn’t fully aware that it was such a great place for rock scrambling.

I started doing more and more scrambling, eventually joining the VegasHikers Meetup group.  This is an extremely active group with many very experienced scramblers.  The organizers have spent so much time in the local area that they are extremely familiar with the complicated geography and know where many good scrambling obstacles are located.  I now scramble anywhere from two to five times a week.

I have come to firmly believe that there is no better activity for people in my age range and older.  Scrambling is good for cardio, strength, coordination, balance, thinking and decision making, exposure to the outdoors and nature, and social participation.  Like any sport or activity, scrambling can be done at various levels from easy to very hard and very technical.  The stuff that is hard and technical requires being fit.  It’s great motivation.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A last note for 2026 preparation has to do with pack weight.  While hiking the PCT in 2022, there wasn’t a day when I wished my pack was lighter.  Of course, what backpacker doesn’t desire this?  As part of the preparation for doing another long distance backpacking trip, I have made some equipment changes that have lowered my base weight by over five pounds.  While I am still not quite in the territory of being an ultralight hiker, I feel that I'm more like comfortably or tolerably light.  Over five pounds, though, is a pretty big reduction in pack weight, and I know I will notice the difference.

Note On Total Miles:

It’s probably doubtful, but if anyone is paying very close attention to the stats of this hike, you’ll notice that I have revised the total number of PCT from 2,652.6 to 2,647.3.  This is because I am planning on taking the Crater Lake Rim Alternate.  This official alternate is 5.3 miles less than the regular PCT.  Most PCT hikers do this alternate because it is much more scenic.

Additionally, somewhere along the way, I miscalculated my total miles hiked by 0.3 miles.  Given that I usually did these calculations in my head, at night, in my tent, when I was tired and ready to fall asleep, I’m surprised I wasn’t off by even more.  Thus, I have corrected the Cum PCT Miles I hiked in 2022 from 2,057.1 to 2,056.8.  And the Cum All Miles from 2,255.2 to 2,254.9.

General Notes Before Restarting:

This is another example of how time flies, as it’s hard to believe it’s been four years since I ended my attempted thru-hike of the PCT in 2022.  It was always in my mind, and I definitely had the desire, to complete the rest of the trail.  However, the sections of the trail I haven’t yet done are in a very fire prone area.  It’s hard to make plans for a month-long backpacking trip when those plans can be stymied at any time with a fire that closes the trail.  As I write this in advance of restarting the PCT in August 2026, I am still very concerned that the day I’m supposed to depart, a fire will upset my plans.  Since I am retired and have some flexibility with my time, I can’t say that this is truly stressful, but it is worrying and frustrating to contemplate this possibility.

To emphasize this point even more, I was actually planning on hiking the Colorado Trail (CT) this summer.  However, there have been multiple significant fires in CO this summer, and one of them was right on top of the CT, and that section of the CT is now closed for an indefinite period of time.  If the damage is bad enough, fire impacted parts of the CT might even be closed in 2027.

Well, what can I do?  If I want to finish the PCT, I just have to bit the bullet and make a go of it.  That’s what I’m doing, and all I can do is hope for a bit of good luck.  While fire is out of my control, other things that are needed to complete the trail are within my control.  As I mentioned in my training and preparation update, I’ve maintained a high fitness level, and I feel very prepared to once again hike long miles day after day after day.

Also as I mentioned in my training and preparation update, I’ve reduced my base pack weight by over five pounds.  Even more good news, is that I will not have any ultra long  food carries like I did in 2022.  This will also mean an even lighter pack weight coming out of resupply locations.

For anyone new to reading this blog, or anyone that read it and forgot it, the portion of the PCT I have left to hike is the last couple hundred miles in Northern California to Mt. Hood in northern Oregon.  I start just south of the town of Dunsmuir, which is a bit south of the more well known town of Mt. Shasta.  I have a little less than 600 total official miles left to make a complete hike of the PCT.  If there are no issues with fire, weather, or my health, I expect to complete the remaining miles in about one month.

For most people that are not long distance backpackers, one month of hiking probably seems like an intolerably long time to be on trail.  But compared to being on trail for four or five months, one month is going to go by fast.  With some luck, I’ll be done before I even realize it.  As in 2022, I am going to do my best to keep this blog updated along the way.  But also like in 2022, those updates will be spotty, and realistically, I’ll probably only have a few opportunities from the trail to make those updates available online.  Posting updates requires a decent connection (cellular or WiFi)—always questionable unless it is a larger town—and some free time while in town.

 

Free time in town is not as easy to come by as it might seem, as a hiker is usually busy doing town chores (shopping and taking care of resupply, doing laundry, showering, recharging devices, making any needed gear and clothing repairs and/or replacements, catching up on emails and other messages, making any desired reservations, or reservation changes if needed, for further up the trail, and, of course, eating as much town food as possible).  And all of these things must usually be done without the aid of wheeled transportation.  Most hikers are usually doing quite a bit of walking while in town.  So, it is likely that a good chunk of this blog won’t be fully updated until after I get off the trail.

 

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