Most of the hikes I’m used to range anywhere between 6 and 12 miles with a decent amount of elevation gain. However, on the Pacific Crest Trail I will being over 20 in a day once I hit my stride. When you cover that much distance, day after day, you’ll start to notice things you wouldn’t after a day hike or weekend backpacking trip. That slight poke in you’re used to ignoring will back will eventually feel like you’re being stabbed, that odd spot in your hiking shoe will make your feet scream. Even your clothes can become an issue, the chaffing struggle is real.
To try to get ahead of these things as much as I can I’ve been throwing all my PCT gear in my backpack and racking up some serious miles, trying to identify the pain points and adjust accordingly. My go-to spot is the Iron Horse Trail just outside North Bend, WA. Not only is it close by but it’s long, flat and has some nice views. Since it’s flat I can keep my pace up and really get some serious miles in.
The long flat hikes also allow me to calculate my base pace, which is currently around 3.5 miles an hour. 8 hours of hiking would put me at around 26 miles, 26 flat miles. Since the PCT is far from flat i’ll be using my base pace along with the elevation gain to calculate the distance I plan to cover each day.
During my first hike on the Iron Horse I covered 14 miles without stopping and discovered a few problem areas with my pack which came very apparent near the end. My backpack was unbalanced and the edge of my sleeping pad was poking me in the back. I made adjustments and returned, covering 17 miles without issue, other than being a little sore, I don’t know if I’ve ever gone 17 miles without stopping before. I was feeling good about where I was at and decided that I was ready to add some elevation into the mix. It was also nice to practice things like snacking and drinking as I hiked as well as charging my phone and taking photos along the way.
Before taking off on my next hike I took some time to really look at what I was carrying in my backpack. To do this I turned to Lighterpack.com to track everything. I broke out a scale and weighed everything, logging and categorizing each item. I wasn’t too happy with where my base weight ended up and slimmed down what I was carrying. The sleeping clothes I was bringing weighed over 1lb, I decided that my sleeping bag liner would keep my sleeping bag just as clean at a fraction of the weight. I didn’t need the small shovel or an extra flashlight. I cut down what I was bringing to exactly what I needed. Here is how everything weighed out (Click here to see a detailed list of what makes up my base weight). I’ll continue to refine what i’ll be carrying with me and update the list as I go.
With my base weight at 15 lbs and 3.5 ounces, with room to improve, I was feeling pretty good about where things were. Per the 2017 PCT Thru Hiker Survey at Halfway Anywhere the average base weight hikers started with last year was 19.49 lbs and the average base weight they finished with was 16.51 lbs. If you’re a data nerd or just want to understand more the PCT hikers last year, take a closer look at the 2017 PCT Survey, there is some really interesting information, at least I think so.
With my backpack and base weight dialed in I ventured to one of my favorite spots, Squak Mountain. With a diverse network of trails it’s easy to hike as much as you want with plenty of challenging bits if you know where to go. In 3 hours I covered 9.24 miles with a decent amount of elevation gain and loss. Unfortunately my fit bit didn’t seem to want to track elevation that day. However, my pace only decreased slightly with the added elevation. Next time i’ll use my actual GPS, which I still need to figure out.
From here on out i’ll be getting out and hiking with all my gear every chance I get, starting to practice setting up everything and packing it all up again as well. The more I figure out before I hit the PCT the better, hiking the trail itself will be enough of a challenge.