Rookie PCT Question

[Gills]

So are there many shelters on the PCT. If so, what are the intervals between them and are they right on or off the trail?

[Ender]

At least for the first 1200 miles, there are almost no shelters at all. And I believe the same holds true for the north half of the trail too. In fact, the only shelter right on the trail that I can remember isn't even supposed to be used as an overnight shelter.

The PCT is much more of a wilderness trail than the AT in that regard. No shelters, no blazes marking the trail... and heck, at times there's no trail to really speak of either when it's completely covered under 3 feet of snow.

[chai guy]

Right, no real "shelters" per se on the PCT.

You will come by a few "ski huts" namely

(in California)

Benson Hut (near Donner Summit)
http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/lodges/huts/benson/

and

Peter Grubb Hut (the nicest, near I80)
http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/lodges/huts/grubb/

In Oregon

Maiden Peak Ski Hut (near Rosary Lakes)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/110/261822332_59cdc744cc.jpg

In Washington?? (I don't know, didn't make it that far).

[girlscout]

in addition to those chai guy mentioned:

brown mountain shelter in oregon
mike urich shelter in washington
the yurt, about 30 miles south of the canadian border

these shelters are very far between. in fact, the only shelter i actually managed to stay in on the whole trip was the peter grubb hut. actually, one of my most enjoyable evenings on the whole hike!

[Gills]

I figured as much...another intriguing aspect of the PCT...for me at least.

When I thru hiked the AT, it was rare that I slept in a shelter. However, the distances between, and the fact that they had good water sources at most, made them good "goals" in terms of mileage for the day.

That said, I assume that most folks that thru-hike the PCT use water sources or sweet vistas/camping spots as their daily goal, right? Which I've heard that there are plenty of the latter...so picking one to stop at might be a whole other challenge:-)

[girlscout]

well, distances between water sources and nice viewpoints vary depending on which section of the pct you're on. in the desert, and even points much further north, there are long stretches where water is very scarce, sometimes with water sources 20-30 miles apart. so you end up dry camping more than you'd like to, just because there's no other feasible option.

as for views, you get a decent amount of them in the desert. they're constant in the sierra, then as you get to northern california it's very hit & miss (lots of tooling around in the "green tunnel"). most of oregon has nice views, as does washington- that is, when the views aren't fogged over, which they can and will be for days at a time.

i've never hiked the AT, but one thing i hear alot about is that the PCT has far more views than the AT.

anyway, as for a daily goal, i most often decide in the morning how many miles i was shooting for, and try to pick the closest water source (if any) to that spot. i don't recall aiming for viewpoints to camp at very often. if i was in a nice spot by the end of the day, so much the better.

[chai guy]

Yeah, in So Cal everyone hikes with the water report in their left hand (lefties sometimes use their right).

Though I agree with Girl Scout in that you will be forced to dry camp more than you would like as sometimes the haul between water sources is just too great to cover in one day.