August 2010 Flip Flop?

[ALASKABOUND]

I plan to hike a large part of the PCT starting the first week in August 2010. I know ideally a thru hike would begin in april/may but school limits my departure date to August. I have a few questions
1. Where to begin to have the longest continuous hike having begun at this time?(avoiding difficult snow conditions)

2. Do people begin at the midpoint and hike north, then to return to the midpoint and hike south in order to avoid snow?

[Snap]

To spend the longest amount of time on the trail there are 3 weather related limits to think about.
1. Northbound you want to get to the Canadian border before the snow starts in September or October.
2. Southbound you want to get through the Sierra before the snow starts. Being south of Kennedy Meadows by early October might be a good target.
3. South of the Sierra in Southern California the season is the longest but even here the high peaks could start to become snow bound in December maybe even earlier. In August you don't want to be south of the Sierra.

These times are approximate and will vary year to year. You should look for other estimates on when the hiking season closes down, they may be more accurate than mine.

What kind of hike you're looking for, how fast you are and how experienced you are will need to be factored in also. Unless you're really fast I think you would have a hard time completing the whole trail.

Your best bet for a long continuous hike would be to start north of the Sierra and head south so as to get through the Sierra by mid-October. This should put you in with the few southbound thru-hikers.

Another option would be to hike north through Washington and the flip down to Tuolumne to head south through the Sierra. I suggest this because it covers my favorite sections, Washington and the Sierra.

I like Craig's PCT planner for estimating hike schedules, http://www.pctplanner.com/. The town information is dated and it doesn't list all the possible town stops but the trail distances should still be fairly accurate.

Keep in mind that a lot of the guide books and trail services are oriented toward the northbound thru-hike season and you will probably be on a different schedule.

Snap

[ALASKABOUND]

Thanks for your help but I think I'm going to wait and hike the PCT in full later in life. As for August Southbound on the AT should allow me to hike through December with some snow at the end. Again, thanks!!