Why I am switching from the Pacific Crest Trail to the Appalachian Trail

This article originally appeared on The Trek, which you can read here.

*This post is not written to churn up fear about the PCT this year. It is simply my way of describing how I weighed out the pros and cons and made a personal decision for what I believed to be the best choice for my first thru-hike. I still plan to hike the PCT in the future. 

The Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Appalachian Trail (AT) are both popular thru-hiking trails in the US that I have had my eyes on over the years. In short, the PCT runs from Mexico to Canada and covers ~2,600 miles; the AT runs from Georgia to Maine, spans 14 states, and is ~2,200 miles long. For further details about the differences between the two hikes I will direct you to a great post I found by REI.

As a west coast native I have always heard more of the PCT and, thus, dreamt of one day joining the ranks of other thru-hikers making their way through California, Oregon, and Washington. I’ve camped and hiked all along portions of the PCT before and I was in love with the idea of going through all the sections in one shot. When I actually obtained a PCT permit, I thought this year was the year I would finally get to do so.

Why I switched

As some (or many) of you may know, 2023 has been an extremely snowy year for the PCT. In fact, this year is now officially the snowiest Tuolumne Meadows on record. As I wrote in my previous post, “Who I am and why am I hiking the PCT“, while I have backpacked and camped before this will be my first ever extended backpacking trip. I know that as a result, there will be many learning curves along the way as I figure out my gear and what it is like to trek for months on end.

In the same prior post, I wrote about my fears of the snow on the PCT. I generally run cold, and I do not have experience camping and hiking in deep snow conditions.

As news continued to surface about the increasing snow conditions across not only the sierras, but north up into Oregon as well, I had to take a pause and a hard look at what my goals were:

• I want to give myself the best odds possible at completing my thru hike.
  • While I understand that completion is never guaranteed, I felt that as a first time thru-hiker I had better odds if I switched to the AT than if I stuck with the PCT.
• I want it to overall be an enjoyable experience I look back fondly on.
  • As a person who runs cold, living, hiking, and sleeping in the cold did not sound ideal. I know that the ambient temperatures would be above freezing, but once again, post-holing and pulling myself through snow did not sound ideal.
• I want to feel safe on the trail.
  • Safety can mean a lot of things, but with no prior snow training, I knew that simply buying the correct snow equipment would not be enough. I would need to know how to properly use the equipment and I did not have the time to take the appropriate classes
  • Speaking of equipment, with the levels of snow currently on the trail, PCT hikers will likely need a belay device (such as either an ice ax or a whippet), and to hike with either crampons or (potentially) snow shoes.
  • Furthermore, a high snow year does not just mean cold, it means higher river water levels, which can be very dangerous.

I began to realize that perhaps this year was not the best year for me to attempt a thru hike of the PCT. And to be honest, I really struggled with that. I am not someone who gives up easily. I like to research alternatives, or simply put my head down and push through things until I make it to the other end. Yet I knew when it comes to something as big as this, putting my head down and blindly telling myself I would make it without really thinking things through would not be wise. I knew that I was at risk of letting my desire to complete the PCT cloud my judgment.

So I decided to take a step back and focus on just making the best decision for myself with the knowledge I had. As a part of this, I sat down and began to research alternatives.

The Appalachian Trail

Since I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I was interested in both the PCT and the AT, I began doing research on how feasible a switch to the AT from the PCT would be. In general I found:

1. I can use roughly the same gear pack.
   1. I do need to switch out some pieces of gear. With the PCT I was planning on a hike filled with lots of snow. On the AT I need to prepare for hot humid weather and lots of bugs.
2. My schedule would make a NOBO hike tough on the AT.
   1.  Typically NOBO hikers on the AT start anywhere between the end of February to the end of April. I am out of the country through April, and the soonest I can get to the east coast is mid-May.
3. The AT is shorter, but I estimate I’ll take a similar amount of time on the trail.

My Plan

Since I cannot fly to the east coast until mid May, I decided I would hike the AT as a flip flopper. My plan is to start in Harpers Ferry and hike NOBO, then flop back to Harpers Ferry and hike SOBO to end at Springer Mountain. What are some of the benefits of this plan?

• Social:
  • I will not be in the bubble of people who start NOBO or SOBO at the typical start times. So campsites, shelters and hostels will be less crowded.
    • This also means I will be a part of having less impact on the trail.
  • I will still get to interact with other thru hikers.
    • I expect to catch the early NOBO crowd on my way north, and meet up with some of the SOBO crowd after I flop.
• Weather
  • Hiking as a flip flopper allows me to catch sections of the AT at some of their more mild moments. This helps me as I adjust my gear for this new trail

In Conclusion

As I began this post, I want to emphasize that this post is not written to churn up fear about the PCT this year. Many thru hikers are still on, or headed to, the PCT at this very moment. I look forward to keeping up with them on their journey and cheering them on as they face both the highs and lows that this year has to give.

I made this choice after deep self reflection.

This post is my way of describing how I weighed out the pros and cons and made a personal decision for what I believed to be the best option for myself and my first thru-hike. I still plan to hike the PCT in the future and I look forward to what it will be like when I get on the trail then… and yes… no year is “perfect” or without its challenges. But that is a part of what makes thru-hiking so attractive.