FAQ, Glossary, and Some Things to Know about Thru-Hiking!

Given that the majority of people in my life wouldn't dream of setting out for a hike that involves more than a few days, I figured it might be helpful to answer some of the common questions people ask me when I tell them I’m going to be setting out for the Pacific Crest Trail this April.

On the hike to Black Tusk from Garibaldi Lake in BC

FAQ

What is Thru-Hiking anyway?

Thru-hiking is hiking a long distance trail from one end to the other in one season. People who hike a long distance trail from one end to the other are thru-hikers!

Other types of hiking on long distance trails are:

• Section hiking: Hiking specific sections of  a trail at a time, often with the intention of completing the entire trail over the span of multiple hiking seasons.
• Flip-flopping: Skipping part of the trail and coming back to it later, in order to have hiked the entire trail. Hikers may do this if something stopped them from completing a specific section (weather, conditions, injury, etc.)
• Yo-yo: Hiking the entire trail and then turning around and hiking back in the opposite direction (something only crazy people do, I assume?)
• Day hiking: Self-explanatory

You’re going alone?!

Yes and No. I am technically going as a solo hiker, in that I’m not setting out to hike with any particular people, but that doesn’t mean I will be hiking alone! Quite a few people set out to the hike the PCT every year, which means I’ll have other hikers by my side on the day I set out and the option to continue hiking alongside others throughout much of the trail.

How long will it take?

Between 4-6 months - a lot depends on weather, seasons, conditions, ability, and any injuries or delays that might happen. 

With the PCT there are some limitations to timing. The Sierra Nevada in Central California can be treacherous when too snowy, which means hikers usually have to wait until mid-June before entering that section of the trail, to give time for winter snow to melt. The tricky thing is that once leaving the Sierra, you have to book it to Canada before too late in the season, as parts of Washington can get pretty risky in the fall due to the next winter starting to kick in! 

Regardless of what happens, I'm giving myself 6 months to take on this journey. That means that even in the case that something prevents me from hiking the whole time, I will be taking this time to do things I want to do (even if that means I leave the trail and go travel or stay in a particular place for a few months). 

What about food (and other supplies)?

I’ll be carrying all my stuff on my back - food, water, shelter, gear, clothes, (and not much else). For obvious reasons, I won’t be carrying 6 months worth of food on my back, which means I will be stopping at regular intervals to resupply my food and any other supplies. In most trail towns, I will be picking up food from a mix of grocery/convenience stores, but occasionally I will pre-mail myself resupply boxes to towns with less shopping options.

Some days I might stop into town and hike out the same day, but on others I might stay in town for a night (or two). That is a good time to take a shower and do laundry (yes, you heard right... I will only be showering and laundering every couple weeks... more on that later).

Winter hiking in the Adirondacks

Is it dangerous?

Not really! There are certainly some things that are risky or dangerous on the PCT, but they aren't anymore dangerous than things I face in my day-to-day life living and working in Toronto. Based on the extensive research I've done, here is some info on what I am (and am not) worried about. Things to NOT be concerned about: Bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, murders by evil humans, and pretty much any critter. (There are very few reports of hikers being killed by ANY animals while thru-hiking and there are NO reports of thru-hikers being murdered or assaulted on trail). Some things that ARE worth being cautious about: Dehydration, heat stroke, hypothermia, lightning, unexpected snow storms, slipping on snow and ice, and river crossings.

In order to deal with some of those potential risks, I am doing my best to be prepared and educate myself. I have tons of articles and videos about outdoor safety and I'm enrolled in an online outdoor safety and wilderness first aid course. I'm also bringing a distress beacon / GPS which will allow me to alert emergency rescue if needed (hopefully it won't be!) And of course, I will be smart and cautious, and turn back if I need to!

What are you doing to prepare?

My preparations have been a bit all over the place, but it's getting done, slowly but surely! So far I have my flight booked, a place to stay in San Diego booked for two nights before the hike, my permits organized (PCT Long Distance Permit, California Fire Permit, and Permission for Entry to Canada via the PCT Permit) and I've almost finished purchasing all my gear (goodbye, thousands of dollars!!) Now I'm trying to get some of my resupply points semi-planned (I will figure out a lot of it on the trail but I do need a rough idea, especially for the first month or two), and attempting to get some training in (which is.... meh). Other than that, just lots of reading safety material and trying to survive a few more months of work!

Glossary

There’s a lot of lingo I’ve learned about in my thru-hike research, and since I’m most likely going to be using a lot of these words in my blog, I figured a glossary would be helpful for those of you who are following along on my hike!

Base weight - The total weight of a hiker’s pack, prior to adding any consumables (i.e. food, water, fuel, etc.). Since hikers carry everything on their backs, they can be pretty hardcore about weight (every ounce counts) so the base weight is a pretty important number.

Bonus Miles - Extra miles thru-hikers have to walk that are not actually part of the official PCT. There are actually many of these, for example, side trails and/or road walks to get to resupply towns, scouting for appropriate campsites, finding a good place to poop, getting to off-trail water sources, errors in navigation, finding a safe spot to cross a river, and so on...

Bounce box - A resupply package that a hiker continuously mails ahead to their future self on the trail. Not all hikers use these, but since I’m coming from Canada and asking friends/family to mail stuff to me will be pretty pricey, I will likely use this to store some of my gear I don’t want to carry with me all the time (e.g. stuff for the snow or cold weather).

  

Bear Canister - A large bear-proof container that hikers keep their food/scents in when in areas where bears are food conditioned. Bear Cans are required in the Sierras (in California) because the area is so popular to hikers that the bear in the area have learned to associate people with free treats.

Cat hole - According to Leave No Trace principles (see below), hiker’s need to be pretty hardcore about what evidence of their presence they leave behind. Enter: Cat holes - holes dug at least 200 ft from the trail and water sources where hikers bury their poop!! What doesn’t get buried? Toilet paper! That gets packed out and carried to the next trail town.

Cowboy camping - Camping without a shelter. Usually consists of sleeping with your pad and bag on top of a groundsheet. I’m feeling a bit hesitant about this at the moment (given the possibility of rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and scorpions crawling on me) but from what I’ve heard, I’ll get over that pretty quickly, and cowboy camping is a great way to save time and effort after a long day of walking. Plus I’m pretty excited about sleeping under the stars!

Hiker box - Boxes in trail towns where hikers can leave unwanted food/gear/supplies for other hikers to take.

Hiker hunger - A famous, insatiable hunger that plagues those who are hiking 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. With the amount of energy expended on a daily basis, hikers need to eat a TON of calories in order to keep moving. This also often results in hikers consuming an inhuman amount of food in one sitting when they are lucky enough to reach a restaurant in town.

Hiker trash - A loving term to refer to hikers in all their dirty, smelly, hairy glory. The longer on trail, the more easily confused with a homeless person (which they kind of are). I assume this term is inspired by the notorious stench thru-hikers give off - a result of sweating for days on end without showers or laundry and with only one set of clothing. 

HYOH - Hike Your Own Hike. An oft repeated phrase to remind people that everyone's hike is different and therefore you should hike in a way that fits for you... your speed, your miles, your rests, your gear, your way. That also involves respecting other people's hike. Apparently it can also be used as an excuse to be a bit of an ass on trail, but that's definitely not the point.

NoBo / SoBo - Northbound / Southbound. (E.g. "I'm planning a NoBo PCT thru-hike").The majority of hikers do what I'm doing - start from the Mexican border and hike up to Canada; however, some people do it the other way, heading Southbound from Canada to Mexico.

Trail Angels - Wonderful people who do kind and generous things for hikers (a.k.a Trail Magic). Examples include hosting hikers in their homes before/during the trail; leaving caches of food/drink on trail; providing unexpected trailside picnics; giving rides to and from the trail; and many more. Many of these people have been hikers themselves, or leave near the trail, and are a significant part of the thru-hiking community and culture.

Trail Magic - An unexpected and wonderful thing that happens on the trail (often thanks to a Trail Angel) that helps you out when you most need it. Rumour has it you can't will Trail Magic to happen - it will only appear when you aren't expecting it.

Trail name - A "nickname" of sorts that is given to you by fellow hikers based on your personality, appearance, style of hiking, something that happened to you on trail, etc. Kind of like a camp name, but for hikers. Generally you can't pick your own trail name (although some people do), and not everyone gets a trail name, which does not make them less of a thru-hiker.

Triple Crowner - Someone who has successfully hiked all three of the major long distance trails in the States - The Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Appalachian Trail.

Zero (Nero) - A day where you go zero miles (aka a rest day). A Nero (or Near-o) is a day where you do nearly zero miles (for e.g. a day where you only walk a few miles into town and then stay there).

LNT - Leave No Trace ("Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints..."). A set of outdoor ethics closely followed by most thru-hikers in order to promote conservation of the trail and surrounding wilderness. Includes only travelling/camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly, and minimizing any impacts of your presence.

Tired hiker feet on the Bruce Trail near Tobermory, ON

Anyway folks - that's it for now!! Again, a friendly reminder that if you want to follow my journey you should subscribe to the blog in order to get email updates when I post!! (When you put your email in it will send you a confirmation email and once you confirm - you're in!)

Bye for now!

- Michelle