Plans for 2017 PCT FKT Hike

After a challenging summer hiking across Oregon and a week of planning time with Laura, I decided to go for a more challenging hike of the entire PCT. Being a teacher, I have about 2-3 months of summer to work with but the typical hike of the trail is usually at least a 4 month trip. However, if I can keep up a very brisk pace I can make it. Over the summer of 2017 it will be my goal to hike the PCT in 2 months. In fact, I plan to attempt a new record hiking the Pacific Crest Trail!

This is not a challenge I take lightly! The fastest known time on the PCT (called the FKT) is currently 60 days, 17 hours, and 12 minutes. It is an amazing achievement and I am not at all sure that I can beat it. But that is the whole point in my mind. I really want to see what I am capable of. In life, I feel that people rarely put themselves in a position where they are challenging what is possible. I really want to experience what that is like! So I will be hiking as fast as I possibly can from Mexico to Canada. Quite a few of the next posts will be dedicated to the plans I am making. Stating things clearly out loud helps me to make plans and writing that down is a natural way to record those plans.

I will talk about my planned pace, planned gear and re-supply points, plans for preparation physically, and plans for transportation. The next few posts will likely be the closest to a "How To" that I ever write. To that end, it is important for anyone reading to realize that everyone is different! People prepare differently, pack differently, and hike differently. That may seem obvious, but people preparing for a first hike tend to take blogs like this as gospel truth. The next few posts are just my plans, my opinion. I will make lots of choices that other hikers (both more and less experienced) would not make... and none of those choices is the "right" one. I have not attempted a through hike of the PCT and certainly have not attempted the record, so I have no special accomplishment to show my choices are better than those of others. I just want to share my thoughts for those interested. Even if I am successful my thoughts will be no more valid than the hundreds of other opinions floating around out there on the internet.

One more disclaimer: I might change plans. The next few posts could change in content over the next few months, though I doubt they will change a lot. Plans change, both on and off of the trail!

There will be intermittent posts about training hikes because I will be using the Columbia River Gorge as a location to get into shape... it is a small sub-goal of mine to hike all of the major trails in the gorge before beginning the PCT. It will be a great way to challenge myself and develop a bit of stamina before my big adventure.