Planning, and prepping, for the PCT can take just as long as the actual hike. Luckily, there are tons of great resources out there to help. I relied heavily on the information I found from Halfmile and The Pacific Crest Trail Association, Postholer, and Craig's PCT Planner.
Break It Down
To wrap my head around a 2,650 mile hike, I broke up the trail into small sections based on resupply/maildrop locations (listed below). I created a spreadsheet to show the amount of days each section should take, average miles per day, and dates of arrival to each location.
Maildrops/Resupply
Having access to nutrient dense vegan food along the trail was a concern of mine. Therefore, I prepped all of my food in advance relying almost entirely, on USPS maildrops. For more info about different resupply strategies, check out the PCTA Website
The section days, and dates, listed in the schedule below were estimates. There are countless factors that could cause a change in schedule (hiking speed, the weather, a distractingly beautiful mountain lake, etc). Have a plan, but stay open to surprises and to the story unfolding as it happens.
The unpredictability of the journey is what makes it an adventure!
0
Campo
to Mt. Laguna
41.5 mi // 2.5 days
May 13 | Southern Terminus
Journey begins...
41.5
Mt. Laguna
to Warner Springs
68 mi // 3.5 days
May 15 | Laguna Mountain Lodge
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Laguna Mountain Lodge | PO Box 146
Laguna, CA 91948
109.5
Warner Springs
to Idyllwild
70 mi // 3.5 days
May 19 | Warner Springs Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Warner Springs, CA 92086
179.4
Idyllwild
to Big Bear
87 mi // 4.5 days
May 22 | Idyllwild Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Idyllwild Ca, 92539
266.1
Big Bear City
to Wrightwood
103 mi // 5 days
May 27 | Big Bear City Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Big Bear City, CA 92314"
369.4
Wrightwood
to Agua Dulce
85 mi // 4 days
June 2 | Mountain Hardware
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Mountain Hardware
PO Box 398
454.5
Agua Dulce
to Hikertown
63 mi // 3 days
June 6 | Hiker Heaven (Agua Dulce)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o The Saufley's
11861 Darling Road
Agua Dulce, CA 91390
517.6
Hikertown
to Highway 58
49 mi // 2.5 days
June 10 | Hikertown (Lancaster)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Hikertown
26803 W. Ave C-15
Lancaster, CA 93536
566.4
Highway 58
to Kennedy Meadows
;
136 mi // 6 days
June 15 | Tehachapi Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Tehachapi, CA 93581
702.2
Kennedy Meadows
to VVR
172 mi // 7.5 days
June 21 | Kennedy Meadows Store
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Kennedy Meadows General Store
96740 Beach Meadow Road
Inyokern, CA 93527
874.5
VVR
to Tuolumne Meadows
68 mi // 3.5 days
June 28 | VVR
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o VVR - General Delivery
Lakeshore, CA 93634
942.5
Tuolumne
to South Lake Tahoe
148 mi // 6.5 days
July 5 | Tuolumne
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery Tuolumne Meadows
Yosemite National Park, CA 95389
1090.8
South Lake Tahoe
to Sierra City
105 mi // 4.5 days
July 12 | South Lake Tahoe
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96151
1195.4
Sierra City
to Belden
89 mi // 4 days
July 17 | Sierra City
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Sierra Country Store
213 Main Street
Sierra City, CA 96125
1284.3
Belden
to Old Station
87 mi // 4 days
July 23 | Belden
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Braatens at Little Haven
PO Box 4
Belden, CA 95915
1371
Old Station
to Burney Falls
45 mi // 2 days
July 27 | Old Station
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Old Station, CA 96071
1416.5
Burney Falls
to Castella
82 mi // 3.5 days
July 29 | Burney Falls State Park
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Burney Park Camp Store
McArthur Burney Falls State Park
24900 State Highway 89
Burney, CA 96013
1498.6
Castella
to Etna
99 mi // 4.5 days
Aug 2 | Ammirati’s Market (Castella)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Ammirati's Market
PO Box 90
Castella, CA 96017
1597.2
Etna
to Seiad Valley
56 mi // 2.5 days
Aug. 7 | Alderbrook Manor (Etna)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c\o Alderbrook Manor
836 Sawyers Bar Road
Etna, CA 96037
1653.4
Seiad Valley
to Callahans Lodge
63 mi // 2.5 days
Aug 10 | Seiad Valley Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Seiad Valley, CA
96086
1716.2
Callahans Lodge
to Crater Lake
103 mi // 5 days
Aug 14 | Callahan’s Lodge (Ashland)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Callahan's Lodge
7100 Old Highway 99 South
Ashland, OR 97520
1819.2
Crater Lake
to Shelter Cove
85 mi // 3.5 days
Aug 19 | Mazama Village (Crater Lake)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker c/o Mazama Village Camper Store Mazama Village Crater Lake, OR 97604
1904.1
Shelter Cove
to Big Lake Youth Camp
89 mi // 3.5 days
Aug 23 | Shelter Cove
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Shelter Cove Resort & Marina 27600 West Odell Lake Road, Highway 58
Crescent, OR 97733
1992.6
Big Lake Youth Camp
to Timberline Lodge
102 mi // 4 days
Aug 27 | Big Lake Youth Camp
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker C/O Big Lake Youth Camp 13100 Hwy 20 Sisters, OR 97759"
2094.5
Timberline Lodge
to Cascade Locks
50 mi // 2 days
Aug 31 | Timberline Lodge
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o WY’East Store | Timberline Lodge Ski Area
27500 E. Timberline Rd
Timberline Lodge, OR 97028
2144.2
Cascade Locks
to Highway 12 (White Pass
148 mi // 6 days
Sept 3 | Cascade Locks Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Cascade Locks, OR 97014
2292.4
Highway 12 (White Pass)
to Snoqualmie
98 mi // 4 days
Sept 9 | Kracker Barrel (Highway 12)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker c/o Kracker Barrel Store
48851 US Highway 12
Naches, WA 98937
2390.6
Snoqualmie
to Skyomish
71 mi // 3.5 days
Sept 13 | Chevron Station (Snoqualmie)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
General Delivery
c/o Chevron Station
Snoqualmie Pass, WA 98068
2461.8
Skyomish
to Stehekin
108 mi // 5 days
Sept 17 | Tye Creek Lodge (Stevens Pass)
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o Stevens Pass, Thru Hiker
93001 NE Stevens Pass Hwy, US 2
Skykomish, WA 98288 Attn: Tye Creek Lodge Loading Dock "
2569.4
Stehekin
to Manning Park
80 mi // 4 days
Sept 22 | Stehekin Post Office
Lani Advokat | PCT Hiker
c/o General Delivery
Post Office
Stehekin, WA 98852
2650
Manning Park / Canada!!!!
Sept 28 | Manning Park
Canada!