Howdy,

I'd planned on a spring thru hike of the AT this year, but I've had some complications that will keep me from hiking until later in the spring/summer. I'm thinking about doing the PCT nobo in spring or perhaps sobo in July. Anyone interested in doing a SOBO. Francis Tapon has a good article about the advantages of going sobo: http://francistapon.com/Travels/Pacific-Crest-Trail/Why-go-southbound-on-the-PCT

If short, sobo can mean blue skies in in the PNW, no snow or bugs in the sierras and mild weather in the desert. Only catch is it requires a fast thru hike of about 4 months + probable snow hiking in the PNW. Sounds appealing to me. Anyone interested?

Yes, interested, but unsure. I planned out a tentative SoBo hike starting July 10 here:

http://budgetpct.blogspot.com/2010/08/if-i-did-pct-again.html

Also, it's looking to be a good SoBo year:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/water/westwide/snowpack/wy2011/snow1103.gif

I'm interested in your gear choices for the PCT if you're in the 4-7 lbs baseweight range. I'm in the 8-11 lbs. range myself.

Edited by Legkohod on 03/12/2011 13:17:58 MST.

Hi Richard. Yes, a sobo is looking pretty good at this point. I'm thinking of going for some of the same reasons you mentioned in your blog post. A couple others have shown some interest in going sobo so maybe we can get a small group together. The 4-7 lbs base weight on my profile was referring to what I carried last summer for 2-4 day trips in the CO rockies. I'm pretty minimalist for short trips, but I'm thinking my base weight will be between 8-11 lbs for the PCT. I don't have a thorough gearlist at the moment, but I'll be using a Hexamid duo, Katabatic Sawatch and GG gorilla.

I'd love to leave for the PCT late enough to avoid WA snow, but I've got weddings to go to on the east coast in late July, so I'll probably leave Late June and hop off the trail near Portland.

Stay in touch if you plan on going. Here is my email:
serge.giachetti@yahoo.com

Cheers.