Generally, you can buy food
every 4-10 days
and save the effort and cost of resupply boxes. We recommend spending your money in the communities along the trail, shipping to a small number of remote locations and keeping it simple. Resupply – what and how to eat – is full of highly personal decisions.
How heavy should your PCT pack be?
| SLEEPING PAD | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite | TYPE | Air pad | WEIGHT | 12 oz / 350 g | R-VALUE | 3.2 | PACKED | 9 x 4 in / 23 x 10 cm |
|---|
How do you eat on the Pacific Crest Trail?
How cheap can you hike the PCT?
The average cost of a PCT thru-hike, including gear, food/resupply, and other end-to-end trail expenses, is
$4,000 to $6,000 per person
for an average thru-hike. That said, it’s not uncommon to hear stories of some people spending close to $10,000.
How many calories do I need on the PCT?
The average male needs
3,500 to 4,000 calories per day
depending on the ruggedness of the path that day, while a woman needs to eat 3,000 to 3,500 given the same considerations.
Where can I find PCT water?
What do I send PCT hikers to?
Sending Food Support: What to Send
Protein bars, nutty snack mix, and jerky
are packable favorites, as are candy bars, tuna packets, and more candy bars. One of the best ways to find out what your hiking comrade enjoys eating on the trail, especially if dietary concerns are involved, is simply asking.
What are hiker boxes?
A hiker box is
a physical box or area where hikers may leave or take items
. They are typically found in towns near long-distance trails. Outfitters, hostels, motels, and other stores that hikers frequent may keep hiker boxes in a convenient, public area.
What sleeping bag is good for PCT?
Most hikers find a quality
20-30 degree down
sleeping bag or quilt to meet their needs for almost every night of the trip. PCT hikers are also increasingly choosing sleeping quilts to get the warmth of a bag at 2/3 the weight and volume. We recommend the Therm-a-Rest Vesper 32, which uses 900 fill power down.
How much does an empty backpack weigh?
Traditional Backpacks
Traditional packs are available within a range of 3.69 lbs to 5.67 lbs and a volume of 55L to 105L. When eight of such packs with varied weights are taken, the average weight of an empty traditional pack equals
4.58 lbs
with a volume of 68.8L.
How heavy is too heavy for a backpack?
Doctors recommend that backpack weight should be
between 10-15 percent of a person’s total body weight
. If a 90-pound sixth grader carried 15 percent of their weight, the backpack should be no more than 13 pounds.
Do people lose weight on the PCT?
Assuming your goal is to lose no more than 30 pounds and that you plan to complete the entire PCT in approximately 5 months,
losing 30 pounds, on average
, works out to be a deficit of 700 calories per day.
How much food do you need for hiking?
A reasonable goal is about
11⁄2 to 21⁄2 lbs. of food (or 2,500 to 4,500 calories) per person per day
. A person doing 10 miles of strenuous hiking with a 4,000-foot climb will obviously burn more calories—and need a lot more food—than someone covering a few miles of relatively flat trail who plans to chill at the campsite.
What do you put in resupply boxes PCT?
It’s best to work off
a list of goods that you need to pack into your resupply box
. This way you don’t forget anything important, like candy. Don’t forget some toiletries for on the trail as well as for in town. Once everything is tightly packed, you’re ready to seal it up and mail it off.
How much should you save to hike the PCT?
Most hikers report about $1,000 per month of on-trail costs, and on average hikers take five to six months to hike the PCT, so it’s probably a good idea to save
at least $5,000
to ensure you have enough money to complete the trail. Keep in mind this is just an average.
How long does it take to walk the Pacific Crest Trail?
The trail is 2,650 miles and it generally takes the entire snow-free season to walk. That’s
about 5 months
. Elite athletes who are experienced on the PCT have finished the trail in as little as two months. The few who achieve sub-100 day hikes average well over 30 miles per day.
How hard is it to hike the Pacific Crest Trail?
“Hiking the PCT is hard,
sometimes very hard
. But compared to the life off-trail, the life on the trail is easier. There are fewer concerns. You still have some, but they are very basic.
How many calories should I eat thru hiking?
Consume about
2000-2500 calories per day
if you are backpacking at an average rate (3000 calories) to lose 1 – 2 lbs per week. If you are trying to lose weight while hiking, be sure to consume enough complex carbohydrates.
How many calories should I eat when thru hiking?
To mitigate the weight and space, most experienced thru-hikers will aim to carry food with a higher calorie-per-ounce ratio, ideally in the
100-125 calories/ounce range
. Let’s take a look at how much of a difference this makes to the total weight of your food: 20,000 calories (4,000 calories/day for five days):
How many calories should I eat a day hiking?
How Much Food Should I Take Backpacking? This will depend on your metabolism and how active you’re being during your trip, but just for a rough general ball park estimate,
around 1.5 lbs (or 3,000 calories) per day
is a good starting point for most people.
How do thru-hikers get food?
There are a few ways thru-hikers resupply, including
buying food and supplies from stores in trail towns and asking a friend or family member to meet you
. But one of the best, and sometimes cheapest, ways to resupply is to simply ship a package to your next stop. You don’t need a P.O box to send yourself mail.
When should I leave the PCT?
The short answer: the most common time to hike the PCT northbound is
April – September
. April is a good time to start at the southern terminus in Campo, California. Most thru-hikers who finish at the northern terminus near Manning Park, British Columbia, Canada, do so in August or September.
How do you make hiking friends?
- Ask Around to Family and Friends. …
- Get Involved with Local Hiking Groups and Clubs Near You. …
- Join a Gym and Participate in Hiking Events. …
- Get a Hiking Buddy Online. …
- Find Someone on Twitter or Facebook. …
- Connect with Meetup Hikers. …
- Chat in the Hikers and Backpackers Slack Channel.
