Wish us luck. Our applications for permits to continue our hike of the PCT were submitted this week. We should hear if they are approved within the next 3 weeks. If approved, we’ll start in early June, where we left off in 2019, with the intent of hiking the remaining distance to Canada, roughly 1700 miles.
Earlier this year, I reserved a permit for the initial, short section from Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass in northern Yosemite through the National Park Service (using recreation.gov). Yosemite is a popular destination and has quotas on all of the major trailheads.
With that reservation in place, we could move our PCT Long-distance permit request to a less congested location. I’m optimistic that the PCTA permit will be issued since we’ve selected a trailhead that has no quota limit on the number of people that can enter each day.
Applying for the two separate permits was also a timing thing. I could make a reservation with the National Park Service before I could apply for a permit at the PCTA.
Still, for this entire trip to work, we need:
- the tide of Covid-19 to recede to ensure the safety of the trail towns and trail angels,
- snowfall to remain light in the Sierra Mountains so that the trail is passable when we start,
- wildfires this summer to remain small so that we don’t have to leave the trail, and
- next winter to come slowly so that we can reach Canada before the snow makes progress too difficult for us boys from Southern California.
I’m confident 2021 is going to be great!
Fair winds!
Very exciting and ambitious! Hope all factors work out for the next stage of your journey.
Thank you Ann. I’m very optimistic and anxious to get started. Fair wind.
THIS IS great news…. and as Ann Morgan so perfectly shared, very ambitious and hoping too that all factors work out for you two! And
“YES”, wishing you luck that 2021 is the year you finish the PCT up to Canada!!
Thank you Sharon and Mac. I already starting to get my pack in order. Fair winds.
Fingers crossed that all will fall into place!
Thank you Janice & Greg. I’m crossing my toes also. (You don’t need to do that. I think that one of us is enough. It IS all going to workout well.) Fair winds.
Yay!!! Rob and Ken,
So excited for your upcoming journey! We’ve missed you.
Happy Trails,
Aunt Sue and Gerald
Hi Sue and Gerald,
I’m definitely looking forward to getting back on the trail again. The “walls” are closing in on me. Of course, today there is a major storm blowing outside and it feels pretty good to be looking at it through a window rather than through a tent screen.
Fair winds
Looking forward to a vicarious trip with you on those 1700 miles.
As Rose said on the phone yesterday, you would probably provide the correct spelling for Tuoloumne Meadows. Thank you. It still shows up red on my screen but I know you have it right (as usual) When will you start your mountain training. I think your walks to the pool are mostly level, right? Certainly no elevation. I could make a better coach than a fellow hiker.
Hi Ron,
Glad you are coming along again!
Tuolumne Meadows has only a single ‘o’ near the start. If I typed it as ‘Tuoloumne’ somewhere please point it out. It took me two years to learn to spell it correctly. Anymore, when I need to type Tuolumne Meadows, I just type ‘TM’, but that only works for me. I also just type ‘KM’ for Kennedy Meadows and ‘KMN’ for Kennedy Meadows North. Again, those only work for me.
The training workouts to the pool do have 300′ and 450′ of elevation gain depending on the route. While not a lot by Sierra standards, but it’s better than training on a flat trail.
Fair winds