Time Management on the PCT

My site rickdelong.com is currently undergoing reconstruction, so I am going to post one of my PCT related articles here for the time being. Enjoy!

Time Management on the PCT

With today's lightweight backpacking gear, it's easier than ever to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail in one season. Snow in the spring and fall put natural boundaries on the window of time available to hike through the mountains, and thru-hikers need to get it done in 5 months or less. This article will cover ways of speeding up your thru-hike to finish in 5, 4, or even 3 months depending on your goals and abilities. The recommendations below are a combination of what I did in 2009 based on previous experience and what I would do differently next time. I hiked the PCT in 131 days and feel I could easily shave off 10 days, probably 20 or more.

Basic time-saving methods

Reducing packweight

With some research and effort just about everyone should be able to get their baseweight (weight of gear carried in pack, not counting food and water) to 10-12 lbs or less. The PCT was "made" for ultralight backpacking, with its dry summers, warm days, and gentle grade. If you're much above 10-12 lbs., I'm sure you can give lots of reasons why you need the gear you're taking, but you could make things easier on yourself by subjecting your gear list to some careful scrutiny and consulting with some UL (ultralight) folks.

Every additional pound on your back translates into a slightly slower pace and increased fatigue at the end of the day. For people with baseweights of 10 lbs. and above a frame pack will be most comfortable; those with baseweights of 8 lbs. or less should consider frameless UL packs. You'll be carrying a lot of food with you, so even with a baseweight of 10 lbs. you'll often find your total packweight at 20 lbs. and over, when a frame starts to make a difference in comfort and efficient load transfer to the hips.

The effect of 100 additional grams of gear in your pack may add up to as much as one more day on the trail to complete the PCT. Cut down the extra gear and save many days of time.

Town stops

Different hikers have different attitudes towards town stops. Some love them, others don't. If you want to cut time off your thru-hike, consider keeping town chores to a minimum. Get in early in the morning and get out by noon when possible. It is often hot in towns, and having to walk around on hot asphalt looking for grocery stores and libraries can be demoralizing. If you get into town late, you may be forced to spend the night, losing many hours of trail time.

If or when I do the PCT again, I will make an even greater effort to limit my time in towns and will plan to always arrive early in the morning and get out as quickly as possible. I have many bad memories of baking to death in hot intermontane towns in northern California.

Food supplies

A good strategy for saving time is to buy food from grocery stores where they are large and easy to get to and to get food in packages when stores are small and/or hard to get to. If you can have packages sent from home rather than preparing them yourself as you hike the trail, you'll save a substantial amount of time.

Esoteric time-saving methods

The points listed above are all obvious enough. Now for some of the less-obvious ones — things you wouldn't tend to think of until you are well into your thru-hike.

Avoid fatigue and super-high-mileage days

This is probably the single most important way to shorten your PCT thru-hike. An analysis of my 2009 hike log reveals that much time was lost as a result of trying to walk too far or too fast in one day. For instance, 37-mile days were followed by 7-mile ones. Why? I just couldn't get started the next day and didn't feel like doing anything. A number of times I really got into rhythm of walking fast and let myself get carried away. The next day, my mileage would drop 10 miles or so.

Basically, any time your heartrate is elevated above a certain level for very long (for me probably about 125 BPM), your body is digging into energy reserves that take longer to replenish. It's better to slow down a bit and sacrifice half a mile today than 8 or 10 miles tomorrow as a result of fatigue. The same can happen as a result of very long hiking days.

When I do the PCT again, I'll try to limit my daily mileage to 30 miles, possibly 32 on the very easiest days. Instead of letting fatigue accumulate to the point that I end up needing to rest a whole day or half a day, I'll give myself a bit of extra time for rest every single day, or walk just a bit slower than I could.

Housecleaning on the trail

All clothing should be quick-drying and easy to clean by rinsing. If it's hard to clean, you'll tend to wait till you get to town, where cleaning becomes a time-consuming chore. I highly recommend washing (rinsing) an item or two of clothing a day on the go instead of letting "housework" accumulate. Forget soap — it doesn't make much difference. Instead of aiming for 100% cleanliness, just shoot for 90%. Hang damp clothes on the back of your pack and let them sun-dry.

Same goes for your body. Scrub your groin, armpits, feet, and face on a daily basis — again, aiming for 90% cleanliness. Wash your hair once or twice a week when it's warm and sunny. By doing this you'll spend just a few extra minutes a day rather than many hours at once doing chores in town.

Avoid overstuffing yourself

Ah, the memories of all-you-can-eat buffets at Mazama Village, the 7th Day Adventist Camp, and Timberline Lodge... the feast at Drakesbad, the gorging at Subways... Fond memories indeed, but if I'd simply eaten my fill rather than stuffing myself to the gills, I probably could have finished the PCT an entire day earlier. An overstuffed body requires hours to rest and digest food, as I found out several times on the trail.

Avoid blisters and inflammation

A great deal of time can be lost as a result of blisters and various forms of trail inflammation. Reduce the frequency of blisters by cooling and drying your feet, switching socks, and resting during the heat of the day. Take off your shoes during frequent rest stops. Nearly any anti-blister measures you take will save you time compared to having to treat the blisters and walk slower to avoid hurting them. If you change your stride to avoid tenderness, you risk developing inflammation as a result of walking with an unnatural stride.

Inflammation tends to be worst in the first month on the trail when your ligaments are not yet accustomed to such strain. This is a time to slowly build up your hiking speed to avoid overstressing your body. You will probably save time in the long run by artificially limiting your mileage in the beginning to give your body time to adjust. Perhaps start out averaging just 15 miles a day, than 10 days later get up to 20 miles a day, and 10 days after that build up to 25 miles a day. If you haven't trained before your hike, start at 10 or 12 miles a day. In a month you'll be close to your peak cardiovascular form no matter what.

Cut down on zero days

To get rid of zero days, you must develop a sustainable trail life. That is, you need to do things in such a way that unsatisfied needs such as hunger, fatigue, and grime do not build up such that a long town stop becomes the only solution. You'll need to watch your mileage and avoid overdoing it, make sure you're sleeping enough, keep you and your clothes relatively clean, etc.

A good rule of thumb is this: whenever you have two activated needs, do something about it. For instance, it's probably okay to ignore hunger or thirst for a while, but if you need to poop on top of it, then it's time to stop and take care of yourself. Or, if you're a bit cold but otherwise taken care of, you might just walk a bit faster to warm up, but if you're hungry on top of it, then you should stop, put more clothes on, and feed yourself.

Streamline routines

Trail life is full of routines — packing and unpacking, getting ready for bed, getting yourself ready in the morning, making food and eating, going to the bathroom, cleaning yourself, doing laundry, going into town, hitchhiking, etc. To speed up your movement on the trail, get these routines down to a science. Make them as quick and painless as possible without adding more weight to your pack than is necessary. Then walk at a relaxed and sustainable pace as long as you can without getting too tired.

Sleep quality

Poor sleep has to be made up for later, so make sure you're sleeping as soundly as possible. A thicker sleeping pad may well be worth the weight; 150 grams more weight may provide you with 15 more minutes of deep sleep a night. That will allow you to complete the trail quicker than without the 150 grams. If it helps you sleep better, consider also taking a sleeping mask or anything else that helps you sleep just as well on the trail as in your bed at home.

Avoid finicky gear 

Some ultralight gear is finicky — for instance, poncho tarps. You have to figure out a way to store the tie-outs separately from the poncho, or else use thicker and heavier rope so that they don't tangle. But then you'll have to have a way to remove them in case you need to wear the poncho in rain. For this reason I am no longer a fan of poncho tarps. Your shelter should be quick to set up and fool-proof. Extra time spent carefully storing tie-outs or putting up a finicky UL shelter may negate the benefits of its lower weight. Also, having a few thicker and longer stakes will make it easier (and quicker) to set up your shelter in less-than-ideal conditions.

Conclusion

How you spend your time on the PCT is a personal thing, and there is no "right way" to hike your hike. I am fairly certain that most hikers could do the whole thing in under 3.5 months if they followed all the recommendations here to the best of their abilities. Their bodies are capable of it. However, if you actually hiked the trail at this pace, you would end up leaving nearly everyone behind because most people take over 4 months to complete the PCT. If you're in front of everyone, loneliness may start getting to you. That's one reason why thru-hikers usually don't push themselves to their limits. Furthermore, "smelling the roses" along the way, including town stops, is part of the PCT experience for many hikers. Nonetheless, to finish the hike comfortably within the annual window of 5 months or so, you'll probably need to apply at least some of the principles explained here.

Gear Question: JRB Quilt for PCT

Hi Buckwheat!

I've been really enjoying your blog on the PCT and have found some great information. I had a question I was hoping you could answer. I've been considering one of the JRB quilts (Sierra Sniveller) for a PCT thru hike but I am not sure if it will be warm enough for me.How did you find the Rocky Mt. sniveller? Was it overkill or was it just right. Could you also comment on the utility of using it as a jacket. I was thinking if I could use that as my main insulating layer when not hiking that I could save some ounces. Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance and happy trails,
Adam

Hi Adam,

Thanks for the message. I'm glad you've found my blog useful.

The Rocky Mt. Sniveller actually turned out to be just right for me. There were 15 to 20 nights where the temperature was between 25 and 32 degrees (I recorded the temp. each day), mostly in the southern and central Sierra. I am thin and sleep slightly cold, and by this time had lost a little bit of weight. Also, stuffing my quilt in a stuff sack each day had somewhat reduced its loft. I would consider the Sierra Sniveller if 1) I had a bigger stuff sack allowing me to not compress it so much each morning, 2) if I didn't sleep on the cold side, or 3) if I were beginning the Sierras June 15 or later, not June 2 like I did in 2009. A lot of guys were fine in quilts like the Golite Ultra 20 with just 12 oz of down, and the Sierra Sniveller is cut a little wider on top, which is nice especially if you're broad shouldered or heavier.

Like most people, I rarely used it as a jacket but appreciated it the few times I did. For instance, I wore it all the time during Kick-off, when most people froze their butts off standing around all the time in sub-50 temps. I was probably the only one there who was warm. It is slightly clumsy to switch to jacket mode with the tape and drawcords, but once you do it is very warm because it wraps around you all the way to the knees. However, I don't know that I like their hood much. If I did the PCT again I would take this hood I modified from the BPL Pro 90 Cocoon Balaclava: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=26960 (scroll down to pictures). It is a lot more functional as a warm hood for daytime use in addition to the night, and it draws around your face better. It weighs the same or slightly less.

Most thru-hikers find they don't spend much time not hiking and not sleeping. Either they're getting ready for bed, or packing up, or eating while still in their sleeping bag, etc. Only in the Sierras and occasionally in WA did we spend significant time chilling out around fires. I sometimes wore the quilt then.

One thing I would change about my clothes (which were nearly perfect) is taking a Marmot Cocona PowerDry layer instead of a Merino long underwear top and bottom. I have this now, and it is at least twice as warm per weight than Merino. So, I would probably stick with the expensive Merino T-shirt, then have the PowerDry layer (total weight ~ 320 g top and bottom), sending home the bottoms from Truckee, then the wind layer, plus light gloves or mitts, my fleece ear wrap, and the BPL balaclava. Also, I would take Rocky goretex socks (for the narrow-footed) for the Sierras to help deal with cold and wet feet. Most of us had residual toe numbness for months after the 10+ days of daily snow crossings in 2009. Also, I would take this awesome new 25g flashlight of mine instead of the Photon Freedom or a 3-AAA Petzl headlamp: http://www.amazon.com/Fenix-mini-LD01-Lumens-Flashlight/dp/B001K3HJXM The reversible clip allows it to be used as a headlamp if you're wearing a hat or visor.

Finally, instead of a poncho-tarp and bivy combo I would consider a Zpacks Hexamid and a dedicated silnylon poncho for roughly the same total weight. The poncho could be used as an additional layer in the Sierras, even an emergency vapor barrier layer if needed. I got frustrated with clipping and unclipping the poncho tie-offs and trying to avoid tangling. This would give me a lot more room to relax and eat inside my shelter when the mosquitos come out (a major issue).

Best wishes,
Rick

Gear Question: Bivy & Tarp for PCT

Hello Richard,

My name is Joshua and I myself will be thru-hiking the PCT in 2011. I have been looking alot at bivy/tarp as a primary shelter; MLD superlight being the primary bivy and not sure on the tarp yet. I was curious from your experience would you recommend the full net hood for the Bivy or the half moon window? Also any other recommendations about what gear you recommend would be so much helpful. Thank you so much

Congrats on undertaking the PCT! I suppose you've come across my PCT prep blog at http://budgetpct.blogspot.com/

Being an UL advocate and the owner of a Russian-language UL online community, I have a lot of thoughts and opinions on gear!:) Let me share a few, and if you have more questions I'll be happy to give input.

Bivy + tarp works well. Most of the time you won't want to pitch the tarp at all, and just having the bivy will save you time and effort over all the people with tarptents.

I would definitely take the full net hood, but I have never tried any other kind of bivy. What I found on the PCT is that heat is more of an issue than cold. Chances are you'll have a warm bag/quilt for Sierra temps (in 2009, it was 26 to 34 degrees at night for the first 20 days of June) that will feel like overkill for much of the rest of the summer. Having the netting will allow for more airflow.

I found myself at times thinking that perhaps a bug bivy would be more useful than a bivy much of the time. It would have been nice to have a bit more bug-free space, particularly around the head. For instance, I never tried eating more than small snacks inside the bivy. With the full screen, you'll also be able to talk to other thru-hikers more easily while in camp.

If I did it again I would probably take the MLD silnylon poncho-tarp and figure out a better solution for the problem of attaching tie-outs and avoiding tangling (I think I have a good one, but it needs testing). I have since sold my cuben poncho tarp and bought the more functional silnylon one, despite the additional weight.

An even lighter option is the Zpacks Hexamid plus some kind of rainwear such as a 200 gram poncho. You'd have more space to relax in buggy areas but would have to set it up almost every night, meaning less flexibility. I personally am nearly torn between these two options, but the Hexamid + poncho or light rain jacket combo is lighter even than the poncho tarp + bivy combo.

As I think I mentioned in my blog, the Golite Chrome Dome allows you to wear shorts and short sleeves in SoCal, avoiding much discomfort and grimeyness. I don't think I used sunscreen the entire time. A lot of PCT'ers agreed that it was a good idea, but didn't like the idea of choosing between poles and umbrella. But when I asked, most weren't 100% sure they actually needed the poles. For many poles seemed to be something they thought they had to have as backpackers. I, too, started with poles and used them plenty in the Sierras when crossing innumerable streams, but sent them home from Truckee and almost never regretted it.

Rick

Rain Gear

I'll be using my Golite Chrome Dome umbrella, which is sturdy and weighs just 8 oz, for rain protection. I can't recommend it highly enough. If the rain is heavy and I want to keep hiking in spite of it, I will use a "rain wrap," or rain skirt, which protects the legs from the waist down to one's shins. I have not yet decided whether I'll use my actual homemade rain skirt (just 2 oz) or just wrap my groundcloth around me and tuck it in at the waist. I'm leaning towards the latter. 

I'll be taking no fancy jackets or rainproof pants, as I've found the above combination to work spectacularly in prolongued Andean rains. You are adequately protected from the rain and get enough ventilation at the same time. Any rain that happens to reach your torso, arms, or ankles, tends to dry up really quickly, as the vast majority falls on the umbrella and rain skirt. 

If there is a serious need for it, I'll throw on my MLD cuben poncho tarp, though I prefer hiking under just an umbrella. 

For the Sierra Nevada and possibly the mountains of Southern California, I expect to take along my MLD rain mitts, but more to keep dry while touching snow with my hands than for rain protection.

Note that all three elements of my rain gear (umbrella, poncho, and rain wrap) are dual-purpose items. If one were on a tight gear budget as well as a food and lodging budget, one could have this same awesome combo for $70-80 by substituting the Golite poncho tarp for my custom-made MLD tarp. 

Shelter(s) for the PCT

I'm a dedicated tarp camper and will be using an ultralight poncho-tarp on the PCT. Those who carry tents on the PCT generally do so for the larger enclosed, most convenient bug-free space. There may be individual psychological reasons as well, such as feeling subjectively safer being completely out of view. Obviously, bugs (especially mosquitos) are a major force to be dealt with on the PCT, and tarp campers must have some kind of net enclosure to protect themselves at night - at the very least, a headnet to wear to bed. 

On the Colorado CDT, we lacked such an enclosure and suffered as a result. For our trip to Peru, I sewed an effective two-man net enclosure weighing only 200 grams (7 oz). Now that I'm going alone, I'll need something different. 

Since it doesn't rain much on the PCT in the summertime, most thru-hikers end up sleeping under the stars most of the time. This is what I plan to do as well. My MLD cuben poncho-tarp weighs only 200 grams (7 oz) along with the tie-outs and stakes, and I don't expect to have to use it much. It's even big enough for two people, if rain is infrequent or brief. My model of the poncho-tarp is 5'4'' wide as opposed to the standard 4' wide ponchos that Ron at MLD sews. This gives the poncho more versatility, but cost me a lot more for the custom design. 

Here are some budget options for a shelter on the PCT:

1. Buy 3 yards of 60'' wide silnylon 2nds (they're just as good as 1sts) at thru-hiker.com and make yourself a one-piece, one-man tarp for roughly $30-35. The best size is 5' x 9'. All you'll need to do is sew around the edges and put 8 grosgrain loops on the corners and halfway between each corner. To make it even more usable, put linelocks on the loops to make tensioning the tarp a cinch. 
   
2. Get the Golite poncho tarp. It can be found used or on sale for as little as $30-35. The size is ideal for a one-man shelter, housing two if necessary (if you have little gear, and the rain is not lengthy). You'll have to seam-seal the hood seams and tie the hood to a branch or stake when setting up the tarp to avoid leakage.
3. Use a tent fly and leave the rest of the tent home. Tent flies can be harder to pitch as a tarp because of their tent-fitting shape, but this has worked for me before. Cost: $0 (assuming you already have a tent). 
4. (Not for the faint of heart). Attach four tie-outs using a sheet bend knot to a two-man Adventure Medical Kits emergency blanket (3.5 oz) and pitch over a string drawn between two trees or posts. Sleeping under this can be scary at first, but it has worked for me in moderate rains. I would be concerned about hail. The emergency blanket also provides unsurpassed shade in the desert sun if you have a place to tie it to. It costs $6-7. 

Generally, the cheapest ultralight waterproof material is silnylon, and the cheapest shelters are made of this material. You won't gain much by paying a lot more for spinnaker or cuben fiber. 

Bug nets

Assuming you're using a tarp like me, you'll need a bug-free enclosure to avoid going insane. It can be a minimalist one that just drapes over you, like the Gossamer Gear (GG) bug net, or one that attaches to your groundcloth, creating a fully enclosed space. A mid-way solution would be the A16 bug bivy. Each of these can weigh very little (under 200 grams, or 7 oz). For me, a headnet didn't cut it on the CDT, because I couldn't eat in one (duh) or completely protect my hands and ankles while resting. I strongly recommend having a bug-free enclosure that allows you to eat, rest, and write in your journal without having to worry about mosquitos biting you. This means something at least as protecting as the GG throw-over bug net or the A16 bug bivy, which pops open easily using a lightweight fiberglass frame. These will cost under $50. 

Fully enclosed "net tents" cost a bit more, unless you sew one yourself. Here are some options:

1. Ray-way net tent (two-man only, if I'm not mistaken). You'll need to sew it yourself, and it's designed to be used in conjunction with their tarp. It seems to be a little clumsy to use on its own, as it would require quite a few stakes and two sticks to hold it upright. 
   
2. MLD bug bivy. Lightweight and does the trick, but needs something overhead to hang on. 
3. Six Moon Designs (SMD) Serenity net tent. Lightweight and allows you to sit up to eat (very convenient). The downside is that it needs to be staked out before using. This reduces the likelihood that you'll actually set it up for lunch breaks. 
4. Any bivy sack with a fully netted head section, such as the Titanium Goat Ptarmigan bivy in the full netting option. This is certainly usable, but I wonder if I will not want more breeze passing across my body during breaks in the hot sections of the PCT. 

My choice

I expect to be sleeping in a hammock most nights, so my choice of net enclosure has to be built around that. I'm going to sew a net tube with drawstrings at both ends (similar to this or perhaps one of the tapered ones shown here), and slip that over my hammock. A string will be tied over the top of the hammock to hold up the netting. It seems to be a very functional concept, and the net would weigh under 6 oz. Furthermore, I could slide into this netting if I ever sleep on the ground, and even suspend it from a branch for rest stops where I want to sit on the ground. I'll take pictures of this set-up as soon as I complete it. 

My poncho-tarp is large enough to provide decent, though not ideal, coverage for my hammock. Most of the time I won't be using it, though.