Should i hike the AT or PCT??

[fiddlehead]

AT: harder physically (steepness of climbs) , yet easier mentally. (because of the resupply options and shelters and water supply) you will learn how to deal with rain. You won't need good map and compass skills, just follow the white blazes (or blue)
PCT: more scenic, (Sierras are tough to beat), more wild, longer distances between resupply, snow travel usually necessary, less people, easier hiking terrain, harder to find water, less rocks, more experienced fellow hikers, sunshine!


But the important thing is to do one or both or them. Either one will change your life! (for the better) fh

[Nean]

Depending on the year.... heads, AT; tails, PCT

[JoeHiker]

7) Blazes. There are few of them. I went several hundred miles without seeing an actual blaze, as the park service is taking them down, and the blazes are coming out of wilderness areas as well. You do need a map at times on the PCT to find your way.

Why is the park service taking blazes down? Are they trying to discourage people from hiking the PCT?

[Sly]

Why is the park service taking blazes down? Are they trying to discourage people from hiking the PCT?

The trail is continuous and not all that hard to follow. For the most part it's well signed and the guidebooks w/maps are adequate. I liked it, the lack of blazes. By the time I reached Maine on the AT I was sick of them. They were beginning to spoil the "wilderness". Seeing 4 blazes down on a stretch was almost revolting.

YMMV

P.S. Hey Joe (where you goin'...)

I grew up in Auburndale. Gill Stadium, Lyons Playground, and The Cove were my haunts as a kid. It was a blast.

Time flys (go hiking while you can) ... I just heard one of my friends from kindergarden through high school dropped dead of a heart attack a couple weeks ago. 53!

[JoeHiker]

P.S. Hey Joe (where you goin'...)

I grew up in Auburndale. Gill Stadium, Lyons Playground, and The Cove were my haunts as a kid. It was a blast.

Time flys (go hiking while you can) ... I just heard one of my friends from kindergarden through high school dropped dead of a heart attack a couple weeks ago. 53!

I grew up in Wellesley. Don't know how I ended up living back here at 37, but it's a nice area. I run by Lyons playground several times per week. It's great living right next to the Boston Marathon course.

But I'm doing my best to prevent the heart attack. This fall I'm running the Chicago Marathon, then flying right back here and immediately heading to the Canadian border to hike the Long Trail!

How the heck did you get from Auburndale to Black Mountain, NC?

[Mags]

I This fall I'm running the Chicago Marathon, then flying right back here and immediately heading to the Canadian border to hike the Long Trail!

Now that's a heck of a workout program to train for a hike!

(A good friend of mine here in Boudler is training for the Chicago marathon as well. As far as I know, he does not plan to hike 270 miles on one of the most rugged trails in the country afterwards, though. )

[Mountain Mike]

I think for a first trail I'd do the AT. If you scew up on a resuuply it's a lot easier to fix. When I planned my AT thru hike it was months of planning. What I learned from that made my PCT hike mostly 6 months of dreaming. 2 Weeks of planning. If I had to pick one of the two knowing it was the only one I could hike I would go for the PCT!

[Sly]

How the heck did you get from Auburndale to Black Mountain, NC?

Via Afghanistan, Newton Centre, Plymouth, Jacksonville, the AT, Maryland, the PCT, Asheville to Black Mountain.

[SunnyWalker]

GEO's book is great. I bought and have read it about 3 times. I am still deciding which trail to hike through. I am planning on starting in Spring of 2013. Will retire that year and I'll be 60 years old. Neat. Right now my health is great and I have a lifetime of hiking behind me. No great thru hikes though. Thinking more of the CDT as I want solitude. Will be a solo hiker, as always.

[Heater]

GEO's book is great. I bought and have read it about 3 times. I am still deciding which trail to hike through. I am planning on starting in Spring of 2013. Will retire that year and I'll be 60 years old. Neat. Right now my health is great and I have a lifetime of hiking behind me. No great thru hikes though. Thinking more of the CDT as I want solitude. Will be a solo hiker, as always.

Probably a wait and see thing depending on the level of snowfall out west.
(or on the CDT for that matter)

[Jaybird]

I'm planning a long distance hike in spring '05. It will be my first long distance hike. I cant decide whether to hike the AT or the PCT. I've written some pros and cons of each, but never having hiked either i could be way off.......ETC,ETC,ETC,..............

WOW! a choice...whoda thunk it.

Just flip a damn coin, already!

good luck with the hike, wherever it turns out to be.

will be section hiking with "Jigsaw" beginning Apr 26th NoBo Turk Gap,VA to Harpers Ferry, WV.