50 Nifty United States

Before I can think about a clearer mileage plan (I'd like to have a general idea in my head of about how far I'd like to hike daily), I wanted to investigate the actual geography of the trail a bit more. Because of the differing terrain, daily mileage will vary greatly between different parts of the trail. We'll hit the lowest point of the trail (at sea level) in Cascade Locks, OR, while the highest point will be at 13, 153 feet at Forester Pass in the Sierra Nevada in California. Along the 2,650 miles, we'll get to travel through 25 national forests and 7 national parks, some of which will require permits to enter and camp. Below is a state-by-state outline of the trail:

California : California's trail is broken into three sections with greatly varying environments: southern, central, and northern. The first 700 or so miles of the trail head through dry, desert-like southern California. Two big concerns in this section are finding water and surviving the heat. Flies, poison oak, and rattlesnakes are some of the biggest living dangers. The next 800 miles of the central CA section of the trail take hikers through the Sierra Nevada. This section of trail is a test of wilderness survival, with a stretch of 200 miles that does not cross a road. The highest point of the trail is found in this section. Because of the high elevations, hikers have to be careful of entering this section too early in the year (June is optimal) and being caught in the snow. Environmental worries in the central CA section include icy mountain passes requiring the use of ice axes and streams flooded with melted snow. Animal dangers include coyotes and black bears. In northern CA, the icy Sierra Nevada are left behind for the volcanic Cascades. Because of the volcanic soil, forests are abundant here and are home to raccoons, foxes, bobcats, and more black bears, among other animals. Other concerns that have been noted by past hikers include a feeling of the "halfway blues."

Oregon : Surviving the difficulties of CA brings the rewards of OR, where most of the trail heads through forests with less drastic elevation changes. The OR section of the trail is both the shortest and the easiest to hike, and hiking 30 miles a day in this section is not unusual. The biggest nuisances tend to be rain and mosquitoes, but both can be eased if hikers make it through this section at the right time of year (August to September).

Washington : The final state of the PCT shows hikers beautiful wooded wilderness as well as perennial snowfields and small glaciers. The biggest challenge in this section is working with the weather, which changes often and can't be counted on. The last seven miles of the trail cross into Canada, and the trail officially ends at Highway 3 in British Columbia's Manning Provincial Park.

That, in short, is the trail. Stay tuned for more!