While the majority of a PCT hike is spent alone with one's thoughts while walking on the trail or resting in a sleeping bag/tent, as humans are generally social beings, your interactions with other people greatly impact your experience.
If trends hold, then for 2015, the Pacific Crest Trail Association will have issued over 3,000 permits combined to thru-hikers (planning to complete the entire trail, roughly 60%) and section hikers (targeting more than 500 miles hiking but not the entirety of the trail, roughly 40%). I expect I'm in the"early" group; the majority of hikers start later in April or May; there's a kickoff event in late April at Lake Morena that attracts thousands of hikers, previous hikers, volunteers, and vendors.
I've met about eighty other hikers on the trail. Gender percentages are about 75-80% male and 20-25% female. Age-wise, there seems to be a three-way split between people in their early 20s, in their late 30s/early 40s, and in their sixties; that is, not surprisingly, most hikers are either young (without families or careers) or retired. Of those I've spoken with in a little more detail, about half of the hikers are from the west coast of the U.S. -- the PCT trail states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Professional backgrounds are wide-ranging, from engineer to microbiologist to accountant to express delivery driver to temporary worker. There's even a family of four with two children who are walking north to Canada! What everyone shares is an enjoyment of maxing out on fresh air and the outdoors while carrying a heavy bag up and down mountains and thinking about finding water.
At this time of the season, you predominantly run into other hikers not hiking on the trail itself but rather stopping at water sources, resupply towns, and at "trail angels" who open their homes (or, most often yards) to hikers for the night. Hikers will chat about the trail; how much water you're carrying, how far you're going that day, the gear you're using, the weather.
Trail angels hosting hikers for the night are a marvel of generosity. While there will be rules, and while they may be dependent on monetary donations, all of these angels will be donating their time every single evening during hiking season to supporting complete strangers on their hikes. Sometimes there are showers, sometimes food, sometimes transport to resupply, and sometimes all three. For hikers, after days in the wilderness, even a brief contact with civilization can be rejuvenating. The best night of sleep that I've had on the trail was in the Anderson's backyard in Green Valley, in spite of the cold and the blazing full moon. I suspect that this was because of the camaraderie that evening with the other half-dozen hikers and the genuine warmth of the Andersons and their nightly hosted "taco salad"/burritos. The Andersons have hosted thousands of hikers over 15 years; their home, Casa De Luna, provides self-described "hiker daycare" and has been called affectionately a vortex, with the backyard also earning nicknames, including Narnia.
Other trail angels provide "trail magic", where you find unexpected water and other beverages and snacks on the trail, and sometimes even seating.
Of course, the trail looms over all of this, as all hiker conversations end with people returning to their hikes. I hit the trail again on Wednesday, to climb into the Sierra Nevada and the crown jewels of the National Parks in California -- Kings Canyon, Sequioa, and Yosemite. The trail will change in character, as water sources will be much more frequent and elevations much higher -- on the order of ten thousand feet, rather than five-six thousand. Data connections will be few and far between, so I expect long gaps in my blog updates.
If trends hold, then for 2015, the Pacific Crest Trail Association will have issued over 3,000 permits combined to thru-hikers (planning to complete the entire trail, roughly 60%) and section hikers (targeting more than 500 miles hiking but not the entirety of the trail, roughly 40%). I expect I'm in the"early" group; the majority of hikers start later in April or May; there's a kickoff event in late April at Lake Morena that attracts thousands of hikers, previous hikers, volunteers, and vendors.
I've met about eighty other hikers on the trail. Gender percentages are about 75-80% male and 20-25% female. Age-wise, there seems to be a three-way split between people in their early 20s, in their late 30s/early 40s, and in their sixties; that is, not surprisingly, most hikers are either young (without families or careers) or retired. Of those I've spoken with in a little more detail, about half of the hikers are from the west coast of the U.S. -- the PCT trail states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Professional backgrounds are wide-ranging, from engineer to microbiologist to accountant to express delivery driver to temporary worker. There's even a family of four with two children who are walking north to Canada! What everyone shares is an enjoyment of maxing out on fresh air and the outdoors while carrying a heavy bag up and down mountains and thinking about finding water.
At this time of the season, you predominantly run into other hikers not hiking on the trail itself but rather stopping at water sources, resupply towns, and at "trail angels" who open their homes (or, most often yards) to hikers for the night. Hikers will chat about the trail; how much water you're carrying, how far you're going that day, the gear you're using, the weather.
Trail angels hosting hikers for the night are a marvel of generosity. While there will be rules, and while they may be dependent on monetary donations, all of these angels will be donating their time every single evening during hiking season to supporting complete strangers on their hikes. Sometimes there are showers, sometimes food, sometimes transport to resupply, and sometimes all three. For hikers, after days in the wilderness, even a brief contact with civilization can be rejuvenating. The best night of sleep that I've had on the trail was in the Anderson's backyard in Green Valley, in spite of the cold and the blazing full moon. I suspect that this was because of the camaraderie that evening with the other half-dozen hikers and the genuine warmth of the Andersons and their nightly hosted "taco salad"/burritos. The Andersons have hosted thousands of hikers over 15 years; their home, Casa De Luna, provides self-described "hiker daycare" and has been called affectionately a vortex, with the backyard also earning nicknames, including Narnia.
Other trail angels provide "trail magic", where you find unexpected water and other beverages and snacks on the trail, and sometimes even seating.
Of course, the trail looms over all of this, as all hiker conversations end with people returning to their hikes. I hit the trail again on Wednesday, to climb into the Sierra Nevada and the crown jewels of the National Parks in California -- Kings Canyon, Sequioa, and Yosemite. The trail will change in character, as water sources will be much more frequent and elevations much higher -- on the order of ten thousand feet, rather than five-six thousand. Data connections will be few and far between, so I expect long gaps in my blog updates.
