Day 88 – Sunday, Aug. 20

PCT Mile 1,434.4 to PCT Mile 1,459.1
Day Total: 24.7 miles

We get asked from time to time if we've ever done anything like this before, or maybe someone will ask if we've done any other long trails. Well, yes, I (Stephen) did the Appalachian Trail in 2011.

Invariably, the next question is how does the PCT compare to the AT. I usually say that it doesn't and sprinkle in some things I think the person wants to hear: the mountains out here are way more impressive, the trees are huge, every inch is more scenic, the desert was surprisingly beautiful, etc.

All of that is true, but the two experiences are difficult to compare for a number of reasons.

There are the basics like the terrain and weather, then there are some personal differences that make this entirely new.

First, let me speak on behalf of the AT. I loved the AT. No, the vistas are not as striking and the mountains are smaller but it's a different kind of beautiful.

I grew up with the Blue Ridge Mountains and Smokies as my backyard and their continuation north and south of that felt like an extension of home. The "long green tunnel" as it's often called is so green-redundant, sure, but the green in the Appalachian mountains in the summer is a color I haven't seen on the PCT.

The mountains in the east are mountains to travel over and through and explore.

The mountains in the west are there to be conquered.

The Appalachian mountains cradle you.

That being said, the AT is by no means easier. You will climb 500 feet only to go down 400, back up 800, down 200, up 300. The PCT is more clear in its intentions to send you up or down.

Both the desert and New Jersey were surprisingly beautiful, but I'd rather do 700 miles in Jersey.

The last note of praise for the AT is that at no point during my hike did I feel like the trail was trying to kill me. The same cannot be said for the PCT.

The trail culture is different as well.

In 2011 I started on March 1st and finished July 16th. That meant I started before the majority of hikers and stayed ahead for the entire hike. This year on the  PCT we started May 25th, a late start date, and have bounced around with other late starters and caught up to several hikers going slower.

This also means I was running away from spring on the AT and had days getting longer the further north I got; now days are beginning to get noticeably shorter.

The biggest difference between the two is the lack of shelters on the PCT. Kelly wrote about staying at the Peter Grubb Hut the other day but that was nothing like the shelters on the AT. Most shelters give you three walled sides and a roof, with the quality of sides and roof ranging from impressive to worthless (I recall a shelter south of Hot Springs, N.C. with a caved in roof).

Regardless of being nice or not, shelters created places for hikers to congregate. Most days we planned our mileage around getting to a certain shelter. Usually shelters had a trail register so you knew when people were there and could leave notes for those behind you.

Some may interpret this difference as the PCT being more difficult or the AT not being real camping, but I wouldn't necessarily make that jump. Hiking thousands of miles is difficult regardless of what's overhead and underbutt.

One aspect of thru-hiking that is decidedly harder on the PCT is re-supplying. The towns are farther apart and, generally, harder to get to. This effects the culture, too. Towns let people congregate, share stories, and regroup.

The distance between towns on the PCT has probably contributed to my weight loss. Taking six pounds of food for a two-day stretch is better that 12 pounds for a six-day stretch. Note: at any point during either hike I could eat the entire contents of my food bag in one sitting.

There were some amazing hostels along the AT that make that trail more affordable. On the PCT the hostels are few and far between – we've slept on restaurant floors, sure, but that's not the same.

The hostels in trail towns back east were almost always hiker filled and either donation-based or charged a nominal fee. I don't recall what Bob Peoples charged for his hostel but I think it was in the $3 range and he likely only did that because he didn't want it to be donation-based and have a hiker feel compelled to drop a 20 in the box.

If you spend $30 for a bunk, shower, and laundry and the hostel has a hiker box AND a fridge, you're jazzed.

If you spend $80 for a hotel and it doesn't have ESPN, sad. Also, hotels do not like you shoving seven  people into a room with two queen beds.

Rain. I'll note that we haven't hiked in Oregon or Washington yet, but it hasn't rained. Maybe a drop here and there, and an afternoon where we tossed up the tent to avoid going over a ridge while clouds darkened above, but we have like hiked less than five miles in rain. On the AT rain was the norm at times. Honestly, the biggest miles on the AT were on rainy days where you had your head down and just walked, ate a sad lunch with your pack on because stopping in an all-day rain to eat your millionth Snickers wasn't worth it.

I did the AT in 2011. It's now 2017. I didn't have a smartphone on the AT. No apps assisted me from Springer to Katahdin. I didn't even know what a podcast was in 2011. I had a data book that told me where water was, what the terrain would be like, where interesting things would be, and where to go.

If I'm the least bit skeptical whether I'm on the trail or not now, I pull out my phone and check my GPS location on the Guthook map app. When we were in the Sierras hiking over snow for several miles, I don't know how we would have found the trail again without our app. Paper maps or a data book would have let us know we were nowhere near the trail and not much more.

Potentially the biggest difference in these hikes is me.

I started the AT at 19, turned 20 along the way. I went from my mom, aunts, and grandparents buying groceries, to a college meal plan, to being blown away at how much pecans cost when I was making my own trail mix. My family was more concerned about me finishing college than finishing the trail.

Now, thanks to having had jobs, I have better gear. Not only do I have better gear, but I also make my girlfriend carry some of that gear.

If you've made it this far, you probably think that I hate the PCT. That's not true. I genuinely don't like comparing the two trails because they're such different things. The desert is nothing like New Jersey.