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Resources for the Pacific Crest Trail:

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Send and view water reports, trail reports while you're standing on the trail! You can also post all manner of hiker chatter. It's a great way to stay informed out on the trail.

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Planning
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions for first timers and old timers.
Planning Synopsis - A short and simple hike planning guide.
Resupply - All the major resupply locations along the PCT.
Gear Lists - Complete gear lists of those that walked the walk.
Plans - Actual, complete plans/schedules used by thru-hikers.
Register - Sign the register! The virtual trailhead register for section or thru-hikers.
Stockmen - For those who travel the trail with their 4 hooved friends.
Join a Trail Crew - For a day or week, learn more about the joy of giving back.
Trail App Reports - View all reports submitted from the Postholer Trail App.

Maps
Pacific Crest Trail Google Map - trail trace, mileages, elevations, resupply, etc.
Mt San Jacinto - 1:30K maps from Hwy 74 to I-10.
JMT Map & Data Book - Free online map set and data book (available in PDF).
Overview Maps - 71, 1:100K maps and 29, 1:250K maps in PDF format.
Fire Perimeters - Interactive map of active fire perimeters.
Earthquake Map - 30 day interactive earthquake map along the PCT.

Reference
Data Book - Online version or PDF version.
Elevation Profiles - Complete elevation profiles for every trail section.
Photo Atlas - 7,000+ flora and landscape photos geo-referenced.

Miscellaneous
Links - A plethora of PCT links for all of your needs.
News - Trail news specific to the PCT.
Report Bikes on the PCT - Document bike encounters along the PCT.

Trail Conditions
Snow Depth - daily update of NOAA snow depth map.
Snow Conditions - Current and historical conditions. Weather, too!

Recent Forum Posts

Re: Need Encouraging Words, Just Quit Job Of 14 Year
Ripcord - Fri, May 24, 2013
Guess what? It will all somehow work out, it always does. You'll change, you'll probably realize that the simpler you make your...

Re: Snow Levels In Glacier -- End Of June
justben - Thu, May 23, 2013
Thanks for the trail info. Please post an update if you get a chance....

Re: Snow Levels In Glacier -- End Of June
gg-man - Thu, May 23, 2013
It was about average snow year but then a warm spell a couple of weeks ago took the pack way down. I'm sitting in the airport w...

Snow Levels In Glacier -- End Of June
justben - Wed, May 22, 2013
I am starting a section of the CDT in Glacier on June 28. Anyone know what the snow levels are this year? What would you expect ...

Re: Need Encouraging Words, Just Quit Job Of 14 Year
jalopytech - Mon, May 20, 2013
Until you value yourself, you will not value your time and until you value your time, you will not do anything with it!...

Re: Cottonwood, Up Whitney, Then North As Far As I C
lacrose - Sun, May 19, 2013
Best option? You can make it to V V R hiking at a moderate pace if friends can help carry part of your food to the Crabtree ...

Re: Class Of 2013?
lacrose - Sun, May 19, 2013
Julianne Good luck! Yes 2013 is an extreme low snow year in the California High Sierra. Hiking Cottonwood to Vermillion Valle...

South San Juans In Mid-June?
RenoBinge - Sat, May 18, 2013
Hi! I'm new to postholer. Planning to hike a couple segments of the CDT in southern Colorado this summer: 1. June 17-22 Cumbres...

Cottonwood, Up Whitney, Then North As Far As I Can G
Julianne - Fri, May 17, 2013
Hello: I'm heading out July 13 (from MT) to pick up missed miles from 2010. Plan is to start up Cottonwood Pass with friends, su...

Ride From San Diego To Warner Springs
ChunkySoup - Fri, May 17, 2013
Howdy, I'm looking for a ride from the San Diego to Warner Springs, leaving the anytime after 12:00 noon on Tuesday, May 28th. ...

Re: Class Of 2013?
Julianne - Wed, May 15, 2013
I'm Yellowstone. I hiked most of the trail in 2010, but took 3 weeks off and skipped from Kearsarge Pass to Oregon. Did OR and W...

Re: Bear Canisters/Food Handling In The Sierra
Julianne - Wed, May 15, 2013
Yeah, I hate the weight and size of the bear canister. BUT... I prefer to carry it and not be responsible for the death of a bea...

Recent Journal Entrys

Day 28, Mile 471
PCT - allan - Yesterday
Body: Day 28, mile 471 I left home after a whirlwind day of resupply, and the 406 was a mess at 6am, I had a coffee and doughnut...
A Better Virginia
Entry Image
AT - calberry - Yesterday
Ok, so maybe Virginia is not so bad. Today was almost perfect hiking weather: 65 and sunny with a cool strong north wind. I didn...
Windfarms
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PCT - bobk - Yesterday
Woke up a bit warm in the middle of the night and took off the down pants. The small tin roof of the water cache blocked the nea...
Dreaming Of A Better Toemorrow
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PCT - lionheart - Yesterday
I don't know what to tell you other than I've been reading most of the day. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. Vampires, human...
Succumbed To The Vortex
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PCT - PeterPan - Yesterday
The plan was to hike about ten miles today. The Vortex sucked us in. I am experiencing the full effects of hiking with team PRT ...
May 24; Fri; Day 65
AT - CarlZ993 - Yesterday
It wasn't raining when I got up. It was very breezy & foggy. I started hiking @ 6:22. I was planning to hike 4.4M to Skyline Res...
Day 44 Mile 545
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AT - PressureD - Yesterday
If I had to describe the last few days I would say: face plants, wild ponies, hiker feast and partnership shelter. I was crossin...
New Mexico/Colorado
CDT - Jellybean - Yesterday
I have walked all the way across New Mexico...Again...mostly on different trails. Still great weather. Got to pass at 9:00. No c...
Hiker Heaven
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PCT - Conor - Yesterday
Once again so much has happened in the last few sections I've had a hard time finding time to writing about it. Everyone seems t...
Just Like Heaven
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PCT - nathan4517 - Yesterday
We had an easy cool walk into Agua Dulce. We woke up at our normal 5:45am and the KOA camp was somehow entirely cleared out with...
Journal Entry
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CDT - dgoettlicher - Thu, May 23, 2013
First real postholing in the snow, getting lost for a bit, a steep climb, chosing a new rhythm with cooking dinner at 4, then hi...
Back To Daleville
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AT - Jefe - Thu, May 23, 2013
It rained off and on through the night. We got up with the dawn, ate, packed up and hit the trail. The hike was nice and we flus...

Journal Entrys Past & Present

AT photo

The Lehigh River Valley

Peanut Eater - AT - May 17, 2012 - Day 58
Today has to be the Day of the Rocks - they were everywhere. I think when the world formed there was a load of rocks left over and they all got dumped on Pennsylvania.   It all started off OK with a very smooth trail for probably four miles, but I was thinking at the time I was going to pay dearly for this and that surely turned out to be the case. First it got rocky and then very rocky and then all boulders. I was parallel to a rock cliff that was on the ridge line and I knew it was only a matter of time before the trail went up there, especially as the guide had The Knife Edge as the next entry. On top of the ridge, the Knife Edge was a narrow line of large rock slabs that I had to climb over. I put in a picture of just a small section that hopefully gives you an idea of the narrow ridge top and the challenge I faced getting along it. Once I got past the Knife Edge, there was another major rock pile called Bear Rocks that wasn't on the ridge but still required climbing over big boulders for several hundred feet. After that the trail was really flat but it was so riddled with rocks every step was a decision of whether to step on or beside one of several rocks in range of one pace. And this went on for miles with no relief. By the time I stopped for lunch I was really feeling the stress on my legs.   Water was also a big challenge as the only reliable sources were at the shelters. When I reached the second shelter of the day about mid afternoon I had the quandary of whether to risk that I would find a spring down an unmarked trail some five miles away or load up now and carry two more liters for overnight the rest of the day. I picked the latter option and good job I did because another hiker planned on the spring, couldn't find it, and ended up hitching a ride into a town just to get water. So that was a good decision despite having to carry the extra water up one of the toughest hills of the trip. But before the climb I dropped down into the Lehigh River Valley where I crossed the river on a road bridge but fortunately separated from the heavy traffic. Then I started the climb. It wasn't a big climb in that it was just 900 ft of vertical, it was just very steep to start with, got even steeper and then became a rock face climbing exercise. My poles were of no help so they were just dead weight to carry. It was well marked to indicate which rocks to tackle but about half way up the blazes suddenly stopped. I couldn't believe the trail hierarchy would intentionally abandon us hikers with such a tough climb to go but I couldn't find another blaze anywhere. I thought if I followed the same line up a little more then a blaze would show itself, but no such luck. I think in retrospect it took a turn to my left but there was no sign of a blaze over that side either. But I knew the trail went up to the top so up I went. The problem was the top was another knife edge ridge and the final part was almost sheer vertical. I did try one route that got me to the top but the other side was a sheer drop also. Eventually I maneuvered my way along the ridge, but just below the top, until I found a path that I could climb up and over to the other side which by then had become the less steep side. I quickly saw the trail on the other side and got straight back on it for the remainder of the climb. Even though this while episode was a little nerve wracking, I actually felt I enjoyed myself. Of course it would have been a lot easier without a pack and poles.   At the top there was a reroute called the Superfund Detour which is caused by some environmental cleanup that affects the original route. This actually gave me a littler respite from the rocks as the trail cut along a grassy slope overlooking the town of Palmerton. There was a large, what looked like a coal processing facility that was not operating but there were some nasty looking black mounds nearby.   Just before the end of the detour I was going up a shale covered hill and suddenly there was a loud rattle. It was a big timber rattlesnake that I had disturbed. Luckily he hung around long enough for me to get a shot although I had to use the zoom because I wasn't going to get any closer than about eight feet. Even then he coiled up and I think he would have reached me oif he'd decided to strike because when he did slither off I estimated he was at least four feet long and his body was close to three inches thick in the middle. That was a nice surprise on such a tiring day.   At the bottom of the last hill there were two hikers that I'd seen during the day that had just got back from getting their water in town and they were setting up their tents. It didn't look a very good campsite to me so I decided I'd climb the next hill and find something at the top. That hill was yet another rock pile, steep but not too long. As soon as I reached the summit there was a lovely campsite covered in pinestraw that I immediately decided was my home for the night.

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