Would May 19th be too late of a start date for the pct? The permits filled up quick and that's the earliest one available, I know with this high snow pack it could work
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Would May 19th be too late of a start date for the pct? The permits filled up quick and that's the earliest one available, I know with this high snow pack it could work
It's late forsure. The desert will be hot and the water sources will be dry/ caches won't be maintained any longer. The sierras would be nice but then Norcal would be brutally hot again. Depending on how fast you hike, Washington could be a bust. Have you considered southbounding?
I thought about southbound, decided against itQuote:
Originally Posted by YoungBloodOnTrail
You can make it work if you train before you start rather then hiking into shape. You will have some hot days though so I recommend doing some night hiking in some places. That said, using the pace I hiked in 2009 where I didn't do much training before starting, May 19th would have had me finishing in Canada on Oct.12 which has worked for many in the past, but there have been a few recent years where you would have come up short. But with a heavy snow year, I think anything from mid April to mid May is the best window you can aim for (with those leaving in April having a lot of snow). Arriving later in the Sierra means you'll hike through it faster then those ahead of you which will shorten the distance with them by a few days.
I think I read that they open up some additional slots in Feb for all the dates, so you may still be able to get an earlier date.