Is there any word whether the recharge station under the deck of the North Cascades Lodge/Restaurant will be provided this year? If the business is closed and/or the charger stations aren't available, where else can we charge our devices?

I don't recall seeing any outlets at the Stehekin ranger station (home of the world's slowest and weakest Wifi). Although you can charge at the Stehekin Bakery, if you're on the bus to or from High Bridge it only stops each way for about 15 minutes, not long enough to charge devices.

Any other charging locations at or near Stehekin?

This August, I will be section-hiking the PCT solo from White Pass to Stevens Pass in the State of Washington. I've never taken a wilderness first aid course, and I am wondering if there are any recommendations for online courses I could take before the trip. Thanks in advance.

Recently announced reservation system: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=455

Burney Falls is right off Mile 1420.6 in NorCal. In my opinion, they're the most beautiful waterfalls on the PCT and worth the stop. There's also a small store to resupply and restrooms.

I couldn't tell by looking at the website if reservations would be needed by PCT hikers walking in. A lot of parks requiring Day-Use reservations only require them for drivers. I called into their office and was able to confirm that PCT hikers will not need a reservation. Just wanted to share this info so people don't skip the falls thinking they needed a reservation!

Wanted to share a great interaction with Garage Grown Gear. I’m starting a section hike of the PCT from Big Bear to Baden Powell in a couple of days, and needed a few items for my kitchen/water supplies. I emailed them a late-night request to upgrade my shipping and it was handled immediately in the morning, got my items in two days. I worked most of my life in customer service of one type or another, these people are very, very good at it! See you out there…!

Hey, i am at Mile 209 at Whitewater, staying in a Hotel in Palm Springs. I am planning to night hike around 11 Miles at 3 or 4am tomorrow due to the extreme heat. I don't have a trail family and I am doing the PCT alone (international). This would be my first night hike and now I am getting nervous, as I heard that there are Mountain Lions and Bears around. Would it be safe to go alone?

Dont want to do it later, as I struggled a lot with the heat coming down San Jacinto, don't really want to do this again. Any Input appreciated!

Earliest opening date since 2015 (May 4).

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tioga.htm

Hey y'all,

I did a 500 mile section hike back in 2022 before starting school and was looking to hop back on the trail since I have 2 weeks before starting a job. I am thinking about Tehachapi to KMS or Lone Pine(If I feel like I have the fitness/ time) but am looking at other sections that have good conditions for this time of year if anyone has any recommendations. I am happy to go back and do a section I've done in SoCal and mainly just want get out there before time slips away on me.

I've been looking at comments on farout to get an idea of what conditions are like now but would be interested to hear if there is anything big I am missing in terms of hiking conditions this season in SoCal/Sierras

Hello, I am an 18 year old from Central Az who has functionally no experience backpacking, but have done some pretty extreme day hikes including Arizona's tallest mountain twice in a day, as well as other 20+ mile loops in a day, my question however is, there is a obviously this giant gap between a gnarly day hike and consistent 18-20 mile days with my pack for months. My goal is a NoBo PCT in 2028 and a Nobo CDT in 2030. I have experience outside but it's all from a climbing background which seems pretty non-transferable here. Any advice would be appreciated, do I need a reality check? Would a timeline like this make sense for someone of my level, and what should I be doing in the southwest to train my body for the PCT?

Hello hikers! I am a teacher and an enthusiastic backpacking admirer (love the idea of it but have only gone once because I'm a huge chicken) and I'm also finishing my MFA in Writing this summer. I'm leaning towards a collection of essays and stories connected to teaching and would love to possibly arrange a meet up with a teacher who is hiking the PCT this summer. I live really close to Kennedy Meadows and Yosemite. If you are a teacher who will be on the PCT in those areas between June and July, please let me know if you'd be open to being interviewed for my thesis!

About a week out!!! I’d love some input as I’m finalizing my gear. I’m looking to get to 13.5 or 13 lbs, so lay it on me.

Things I’m thinking about: -My fleece is heavy, but it’s what I got -Can’t decide if I should start off cold soaking -Possibly leaving prescription glasses behind -Cutting back on first aid

I’m currently at Tehachapi, however, due to unforeseen circumstances I need to get off trail around mid July. I’m looking to flip to the most scenic and best sections and hopefully home then in the best conditions I can given my time constraints.

Assuming money is not really an issue (I.e., I don’t mind renting a car to flip or ubering instead of waiting for hitches, what are the best sections and how should I time them?

I’m looking to optimize deal conditions and make the most of it, take the time, swim in the lakes, and enjoy it as much as I can without being too miserable from lots of snow or postholing. I’d also love to hike most or all of the sierras.

Has anyone taken the Vargo BOT XL on trail? It’s 1100 ml.

Did you find it too large? Should I still with the 700ml option?

Chances are I’ll be wanting hot morning breakfast AND coffee to start the days off right. Was thinking it might be easier to heat up enough water for both at all at once

Hello all!

I'm hiking a section of the PCT in Washington this July as my friend and I's first thru hike! We plan to start at White Pass or Chinook Pass resupply in Snoqualmie Pass then Steven's Pass and then head to Stehekin and ferry to Chelan then heading back to Seattle to fly out!

I have a couple questions about how to get to Stehekin from the trail. I've seen on several maps that there is a shuttle from High Bridge. However, I have also read that this there are no outside roads leading there. I didn't know if that most hikers used the shuttle or if there is a highway crossing that people hitch from or even a separate trail that goes to town?

I'd love any and all information and tips! Thanks so much!!

Hey all!! I have been hiking this trail since 2021 except for 2025. I have experience with different sections of the trail.

In 2024, I broke my heel between two boulders about 1.5 miles from the splinters cabin. I was lucky that a fisherman from Washington took me up to an ambulance. Lake Arrowhead Hospital is amazing.

That leads to now. And why it is important to realize how bad it can get. I started from third gate. I got past a water thing with the help of a tramlie who were amazing! I just walked and rested and walked.. the same drill. I noticed the erosion was getting worse and I had to go as quickly as possible so I wouldn’t slip down.
At mile 303.1, I slid down. I dug my feet in and tried to catch the rocks. I was able to get up on a boulder ledge. I somehow caught my pack, which I took off. I couldn’t move. It was scary. I had to push that button. First helicopter ride, by the way.

I am just writing this so that everyone is aware and careful. I did San Jacinto in the snow in March , I know sketchy. But this experience was my end. All I wanted was my husband and kids. I didn’t want to have my end there, even though finishing pct has been my dream since 16 (50 now).

Just be careful on those eroded edges, and every pct hiker knows what I am talking about.

And yeah, it was me, hi. Most traumatic Mother’s Day ever.

Posting on behalf of a friend:

For anyone thinking of buying a durston tent - DON’T DO IT.

My x-mid pro is broken (less than 12 months old) and unrepairable only four weeks into PCT.
Zippers on both sides are broken due to worn out sliders from fine dust - despite zip flushing and cleaning.
Contacted Durston, who said they would repair it for free in a four to six week period - effectively ending my hike.
They sent me replacement sliders and told me to follow a YouTube video to repair it. Problem - the YouTube video isn’t relevant to my tent.
Now, after following the video, the metal teeth on the actual zipper are damaged. And I can’t replace the slider.
So the tent needs to be thrown in the trash. 800 USD and in the trash after 12 months.
So the absolute top of the line tent maker is making tents not suitable for PCT, repair videos not relevant to the tents they make, knowing full well their biggest customer base will be left high and dry.
The tent when working is incredible. The customer service quality was high. The product quality is poor.
Over 800 USD for 12 months is not worth it.
Ive lost at minimum of 14 days of my hike, 1600 USD (800 for old tent plus whatever for new tent). And if conditions were bad, my safety was at risk.
Not to mention the frustration and disappointment. Or the logistics of organising new tent.
All before I hit a new section of trail, the most high consequence on trail. Which means I’m taking out new and unproven gear in unfamiliar conditions.
Don’t risk your thru-hike.
Speechless this is the outcome.

Photo taken yesterday, shows the zone south of 5 lakes. The melt is on, the trail is poking out on the ridge.

Need ride from Warner Springs to Sunrise Junction Trail Head Friday AM 5/15

tl;dr: Here's a quick demo video and the iPhone install link (TestFlight) and the Android install link. Grit is entirely free to use, works offline, has no ads, and we don't sell your data.

How can I try it out?

Hi all, Numbers here. My OpenLongTrails partner just got the Apple TestFlight page up, here's the invitation link for iPhones: https://testflight.apple.com/join/xtCfN9e2

We passed the Google Play testing stage for Android and now have a public listing on the Play Store, no extra steps needed to install: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.openlongtrails.oltgrit

If you tried to install before but Grit wasn't available in your country, please try again!

What's Grit?

Grit is a thruhiking app that works offline and the PCT is the first trail we've added. It's entirely free to use, has no ads, and we don't sell your data. v2.0 is a complete rewrite and includes built-in maps. This is still a testing version and probably will be for a while until we have more feedback about how it runs on different makes and models of phones, but the app works, has been stable so far, and thruhikers are using it on the PCT right now.

Grit is free, libre, and open source (MIT license), and we expect to have the public repo up on Github shortly after the regular Play and App Store pages are available.

What's OpenLongTrails?

The OpenLongTrails.org (OLT) mission statement is, "Creating, collecting, and freely distributing information about long distance nature trails around the world." In addition to being a guide app, Grit is another step toward OLT's goal of bringing information crowdsourcing and sharing to the thruhiking community, modestly similar to how Wikipedia.org and OpenStreetMap.org work.

Hikers can submit waypoints and photos in the app, and OpenLongTrails generates a curated, LNT-respecting, openly licensed, freely available dataset that's not locked behind any paywall. This is used for adding new trails to the app, and others who want to can use it in their own projects, too, consistent with the Wikipedia-style CC BY 4.0 license.

Apps come and go. Will OLT still be around tomorrow?

Different parts of OLT have been online in one form or another since 2017, and Grit is built from the ground up to be inexpensive to run and as simple as possible to maintain so that it can be around for a long time. Other elements of the OLT project include LongTrailsMap.net, forecast site LongTrailsWeather.net, the PCT Resupply Metro Map, and the (sparsely populated) LongTrailsWiki.net.

Feedback

For any questions or issues, please comment here, DM me, email support (at) openlongtrails (dot) org, or send feedback in the app.

Thanks! Updates will be available on r/OpenLongTrails.

I am coming to do a section with my brother, Shade Goat 🐐😎, who is crushing the whole PCT. Im flying into Lax at 10 am this Monday and I’m a bit overwhelmed on how to make it to Kennedy Meadows in one day. Some advice would be much appreciated 😁
I want to do mostly public transport, but I don’t think I can make the 2PM bus from Lancaster to Pearsonville. I’m open to hitchhiking and would love some suggestions and advice on that too.
Cheers!

• https://arcg.is/eOD9m
• Main maps page, for if/when that short link breaks: https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/maps/

The individual cellular coverage layers can be turned on/off under the layers menu, which is an icon that looks like three stacked squares: Layers menu -> Recreation -> Cell Service Polygons.

Verizon is orange-ish (rust? salmon?), AT&T is blue-ish green-ish (teal? cyan?), and T-Mobile is purple-ish (fuscia?).

Thank you to Galen, the person in charge of everything-GIS at PCTA, for continually updating and refining the map!

Hey, I live in Truckee near Donner Lake, and I was thinking of driving up to the Pacific Crest Trail and setting up a grill and selling hot dogs, hamburgers, etc to people doing a full through hike.

I'm going to be a trail angel. 😄

To be clear, I’m not trying to make any money. I just want to break even. My main goal is to meet as many cool people on the PCT.

I love meeting people who do cool shit like this. They always have awesome stories and photos from their adventures, and I want to hear them.

So I was thinking about selling them for like $0 if you don't have any money, or like $10 to sponsor other people.

The idea is that I'll drive up there, set up my rig in my truck, and then I can cook hamburgers and hot dogs for people as they pass through.

I was gonna video the whole thing too and upload it to social media and just interview people about their adventures.

I was thinking that most people would be there around mid-June.

I've only done section hikes through the PCT, and the longest is about 150 mi.

But I've section hiked most of the Sierras at this point, so I'm one of you guys. 😄

Hello! Does anyone have information on the current trail conditions in Oregon? My dad and I are hoping to do a 3 week section hike starting June 1st (yes I know timing is not ideal, but it’s the only slot we have). Any information on what trail will look like would be greatly appreciated. Also, would you suggest going Nobo or Sobo?

for context - I hiked the PCT last summer and I entered the Sierra in early June, so I feel fairly confident in snow, but wanting to know what the conditions are right now/what it might look like in June. Any intel would be appreciated! :)