4-5 week section

[strollingalong]

Where would you do it?

It could be good to start at either end, though I wouldn't be too concerned.... most beautiful part?

I've done AT and camino de santiago..

[strollingalong]

oh this would be mid july to mid august. it would be quite nice to going along with the thruers

[rafe]

The White Mountains or Maine. Toughest part, too. In NH there will be a lot of traffic of all kinds - thru-hikers, day hikers and weekend warriors. You'll lose most of the traffic in Maine. Maine will be more solitary than the Whites.

[rafe]

Ugh scratch that, wrong trail! Sorry.

[strollingalong]

hahaha.... thanks though. I did that recently! ;D

[map man]

If beauty is your first objective head north from Kennedy Meadows and see the Sierras.

If your first objective is "going along with the thruers" starting in mid-July then head north from Belden, California. That will place you near the middle of the bubble.

[fredmugs]

Last August I did about 200 miles from Goat Rocks to Stevens Pass in mid August and it's the best section I've done anywhere (including the JMT). With your time frame I would start at Cascade Locks and head north.

[Miner]

The most beautiful sections are the Sierra Nevada and the northern Cascades of Washington. Do Kennedy Meadows to Lake Tahoe if doing the Sierras or do a large chunk of Washington.

[Sasquatch!]

Go Sobo from Belden, see all the thrus pass you, and enter the Sierra at a much less buggy time of year.

[SCRUB HIKER]

Go Sobo from Belden, see all the thrus pass you, and enter the Sierra at a much less buggy time of year.

I like this plan the best out of everything suggested, although I would alter it to start from the Bucks Lake Resort, which is 20 trail miles south of Belden. There is really no need to put yourself, as a southbounder, through the BS of that climb out of Belden on your first day. A poison oak infection would be a bad start to the trip, as would death from heat stroke or a discarded syringe through your foot. All these things are possible around Belden.

Leaving from Bucks Lake, you would only have 20 miles to your first real reward, the Middle Fork of the Feather. And it's pretty much all glorious after that. The thru-hikers you'd meet coming the other way by that time would be the interesting ones (i.e. the back of the pack).

[quasarr]

For the most part I did not like Northern CA very much, (it was WAY hotter than I expected!) and yeah that climb out of Belden is pretty notorious! Then in a week you will hit the Hat Creek Rim in all its 27 miles with no water glory ... I don't think that is a good section. But Etna to Seiad Valley was absolutely gorgeous, unfortunately the climb out from Seiad Valley is also pretty killer for someone not in thru-hiker shape.

[Sasquatch!]

For the most part I did not like Northern CA very much, (it was WAY hotter than I expected!) and yeah that climb out of Belden is pretty notorious! Then in a week you will hit the Hat Creek Rim in all its 27 miles with no water glory ... I don't think that is a good section. But Etna to Seiad Valley was absolutely gorgeous, unfortunately the climb out from Seiad Valley is also pretty killer for someone not in thru-hiker shape.

Is anything worse that the descent from the San Jacintos into the soft burning sand of Snow Creek village? I mean, on the whole PCT. That's like a 9000 foot descent of suck and rattlesnakes. I can't imagine anything on the PCT topping that in the suck department.