Trekking the Planet Pacific Crest Trail Overview

On April 17, 2016 we will begin hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). It runs 2,650 miles from the Mexican Border in California to the Canadian Border in Washington.

Sandy details some of our preparation for the Pacific Crest Trail trek.

We are at Cajon Junction, mile 342 on the Pacific Crest Trail, and at the end of four weeks of trekking. Already in that time we have hiked through a variety of weather, including rain, gusty winds, a snowstorm, and temperatures in the 90s.

Since our last post we have arrived in Tehachapi, CA, located about 35 miles southeast of Bakersfield.

The past segment of the PCT from Tehachapi, CA has had a little of everything: heat, scarce water, fire worries, treacherous trail, snow, and finally, torrential rivers and streams.  It also marked the end of our desert hiking and the beginning of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

It had been a traumatic experience for us to leave the PCT in the High Sierras, due to the raging river crossings. As we rejoined the trail in South Lake Tahoe, we weren’t sure whether we would encounter other issues that would force us to make a similar decision.

The Cascade Range extends about 700 miles from British Columbia, Canada to Northern California. The Cascades differ from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in their series of volcanic peaks dotting Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

The Pacific Crest Trail spans three states as it travels from Mexico to Canada: California, Oregon and Washington. The Oregon portion of the trail is the shortest of the three states, covering a distance of 455 miles. After over 1,300 miles of hiking in California, we were ready to tackle a new state.

Darren writes about five mistakes we made last year while hiking 1,828 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in California and Oregon.

Darren writes a companion story to the post about our Pacific Crest Trail mistakes, detailing the things that went well for us, and other factors for potential PCT hikers to consider.

In 2016 we attempted to hike the entire 2,650-mile length of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in one season. Over 4 1/2 months we completed 1,828 miles of the trail in California and Oregon. Take a look at our summary video.

Sandy introduces this year’s adventure – 1,000 miles of trekking in the Western United States on the Pacific Crest Trail and Arizona Trail!

With our goal of finishing the entire PCT in 2019, we decided to complete a missing piece of trail that we needed to detour around three years ago. It is a challenging section, climbing over 7,000 feet in elevation from the desert sand to the forest snow.

As we prepare for our adventure this summer, we have been focused on our gear. Taking into account the lessons we learned from hiking the PCT, we have strived to review every backpacking item to lighten our load. If we aren’t going to use something extensively, it stays home.

In April 2016 we began hiking the Pacific Crest Trail north from the Mexican border. After 1,828 miles we stopped at the Columbia River in Oregon. A little over 1,000 days later, we stood at the same location, ready to pick up where we left off.

After 82 miles of hiking and a rest day in Trout Lake, Washington, we were ready to continue our journey along the Pacific Crest Trail. The next section would take us alongside the iconic mountains of Adams and Rainier, as well as through the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

In the last two weeks and 246 miles of hiking, we gained over 45,000 feet and lost over 43,000 feet in elevation. While my heel had been hurting since we left the Columbia River and Darren had occasional calf issues, we both felt rested after spending a day and a half in Seattle.

In 2019 we undertook our latest adventure: hiking in California, Arizona, and Washington in what we called Trekking the U.S. West. During our three treks, we hiked 550 miles. At the conclusion of each hike we made short summary videos.

Five years ago we attempted to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). While we didn’t finish the entire 2,650-mile path that year, we completed over 1,800 miles in California and Oregon before stopping after 4 ½ months. Since then we have tried to get back on the trail to finish California.

During the first six days of our Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Sierra Nevada trek, we completed 69 miles and ascended over five passes of at least 11,500 feet in elevation. While the altitude of the passes would diminish, we knew that the trail (and weather) would continue to be challenging. 

As we stopped to resupply in Yosemite National Park’s Tuolumne Meadows, we were faced with a weather forecast of up to a half-inch of rain (and potential thunder and lightning) for each of the next three days. There was also a looming fire closure to the north of us.

In July 2021 we began a 268.5-mile section hike in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our trekking took us through two national parks and five wilderness areas. The video shows some of the most spectacular scenery in the world that we saw (and heard) during our 20 days of hiking.

This year, with just 231 miles left to complete the PCT, we planned to finally reach the Canadian border. Even though our focus was on our final destination, it would be the day-to-day journey that would make or break our trek.

Prior to this trek, we had spent 164 days hiking the PCT. We made many memories as we trekked 2,419 miles in the desert, over mountain passes, and through beautiful forests. As we continued to hike toward the Canadian border, we couldn’t help but reminisce about our trail adventures.

In July 2023 we began trekking our last major portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT): a 197-mile section in Northern Washington. We trekked through several wilderness areas and North Cascades National Park. When we reached the Canadian Border, it was the culmination of over 2,600 miles of hiking.

Upon reaching the Canadian border, we had completed 98.4% of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, with only 42.7 miles to go. However, we still felt a nagging urge to walk every mile. It was what we had intended when we first began our thru hiking attempt in 2016.

Now that we have completed the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), we decided to summarize our trekking journey by creating two different videos.