So much for a head start!

[10-K]

From PCT-L on the 15th:

There are 49 names in the trailhead register for yesterday, April 15. By the end of today, total for the year will be over 400. Good luck to the class of 2014. BR

[Migrating Bird]

Have a great hike looking forward to updates. best of luck.

[fiddlehead]

I remember April 15th was the day we started in '96.
We were in front of the pack for the first 800 miles.
But, some of the last to finish that year.
Had too much fun to rush THAT hike!

[Miner]

I started on April 17th in 2009 and while I wasn't the first was still ahead of most until I came off for 3 weeks with an injury. But I think the total starters was only like 400 that year!

I was doing a short backpacking trip in the San Gabriel mountains last weekend a bit north of Wrightwood and ran into 2 thru-hikers who had started back in March. I hadn't even started on the date I ran into them and here they were about 3 weeks in. As Baden Powell didn't have a lot of snow left (just some snow banks now and then), starting really early seems to have worked out in SoCal. I'm still waiting to see how it works out for them in the Sierra Nevada.

[burger]

I read somewhere that they're expecting over 1,000 thru-hikers to start from Campo this year. I'm really, really glad that I hiked before the masses discovered the PCT.

If I did another thru, I'd probably SOBO and enjoy the solitude.

[Del Q]

Congrats 10K, appreciate the shuttle service a few weeks ago (from your wife), excited about your succesful PCT thru hike, have a blast, stay safe

[SCRUB HIKER]

I read somewhere that they're expecting over 1,000 thru-hikers to start from Campo this year. I'm really, really glad that I hiked before the masses discovered the PCT.

If I did another thru, I'd probably SOBO and enjoy the solitude.

I was alone for most of my hike last year. That's questionable logic to assume that you can't find solitude on the PCT these days, just because the overall numbers are rising. For one, you can start in May (i.e. post-Kickoff), and there's almost no one out there until you start to catch up with the slower end of the Kickoff herd at the end of the desert and in the Sierra. Two, you can depart from town and trail-angel houses at odd times. The single biggest factor in determining whether I was completely alone for a section or whether I was in a crowd was what time I left town. Hiker traffic over short distances (i.e. 70-100 mile stretches between towns) flows in waves and troughs because of mass exoduses from the bottlenecks. If you get out early in the morning while everyone else is still waking up, or you hitch a ride instead of waiting for the arranged shuttle/bus/whatever, or you leave in the evening and hike like 2 miles from the trailhead, you've almost guaranteed yourself solitude for the next few days.

[10-K]

I've had the trail to myself for the most part. Passing random hikers but not frequently. Nobody to talk to all week. Pretty cool.


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[Malto]

I've had the trail to myself for the most part. Passing random hikers but not frequently. Nobody to talk to all week. Pretty cool.


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i would guess you are seeing very people with a midnight to noon hiking schedule. You could always talk to the tents you pass. I know when I passed through the elongated herd I passed most of the people while they were sleeping. They did have nice tents.

[Miner]

Actually, the last 3 days was the ADZPCTKO event. Many hikers came back to it from all over SoCal and were not hiking. I saw hikers even looking for rides back to Idyllwild, Big Bear and Wrightwood; with even one asking for a ride to Aqua Dulce.

[nu2hike]

10-K are you posting on trail journals?

[burger]

I was alone for most of my hike last year. That's questionable logic to assume that you can't find solitude on the PCT these days, just because the overall numbers are rising. For one, you can start in May (i.e. post-Kickoff), and there's almost no one out there until you start to catch up with the slower end of the Kickoff herd at the end of the desert and in the Sierra.

Starting in May might have worked for you, but a lot of PCT hikers, especially the older ones, aren't fast enough to start in May and still have a good chance of finishing before the end of September. And, of course, the first several weeks on the trail are the most crowded section, so by starting behind the pack you missed the worst of it. I don't think your experience was typical, nor is it a necessarily a good strategy for others.

Even when I hiked, just leaving town ahead of or behind other hikers meant little since everyone hikes at their own pace, and people catch you or you catch them. With 4 times as many hikers on the trail, that means 4 times as many chances to catch up to others or get passed.

And...thru-hiker numbers are increasing every year. Eventually the numbers will be big enough that even your strategy won't make much difference.

[juma]

10-K are you posting on trail journals?

he is on the postholer journal system but says the most and often on his FB page /www.facebook.com/hikingtom

send him a friend request and you'll get the full daily download.

[Venelar]

he is on the postholer journal system but says the most and often on his FB page /www.facebook.com/hikingtom

send him a friend request and you'll get the full daily download.

Thank you! Following along as of today.

[Namtrag]

That link didn't work for me It could be him, but there were no posts on his wall since March and it says he lives in Istanbul.lol

[Coffee]

I've had the trail to myself for the most part. Passing random hikers but not frequently. Nobody to talk to all week. Pretty cool.

Encouraging news for planned hike next year. I know that I'm willing to do some things unconventionally to not be in the midst of the bubble but haven't decided on specifics yet. Most likely I will start around April 15. If I get to Kennedy Meadows too early due to a high snow year, I'll be ready to take a week off somewhere in California (no shortage of places to see) and resume when the presumably smaller herd enters the Sierra.