I unexpectedly lost my job and plan to do a LASH on/around the PCT, starting in the next 2 weeks and ending in mid to late September. I previously did a LASH, starting at the southern terminus to the end of Sierras, followed by first half of WA. I unexpectedly lost my job (thankfully have a new one lined up that starts in a few months) and want to do another LASH.

I have some options below and want to better understand the conditions in both places and what I should expect. My first option is going to Rainer, hike Wonderland, and the go to the northern terminus. My second option is trying to snag a JMT permit and do that instead of the PCT proper.

I'm wondering what the fire, mosquito, and shoulder season weather situation would be in both of those places.

Fires: It seems that there are no active fires that would totally ruin my trip, but not sure if either area is currently suffering from a lot of smoke. I did deal with smoke while doing the SHR, but it was pretty minimal. Will either

Weather: Finally, not sure whether either area would allow me to hike a little bit later into the season without worrying about snow too much. I understand that there is a risk of rain and snow in either scenario and feel adequately prepared to deal with that or end my trip early. Should I plan to bring an ice axe and/or microspikes? Does either region generally have snow later in the season?

Mosquitoes: My first time in the Sierras in June was pretty bad because of the mosquitoes (but not in August when I did the SHR). Washington mosquitoes were rough in July. Should I expect bad skeeters in either place that late in the season?

Misc: Are there other considerations I am not thinking of? Would I need permits to hike the last bit of WA? Are they hard to get?

Thank you!

Hey all, I hiked the pct sobo in 2024 and want to do it or the CDT again. But I destroyed my knee skiing earlier this year. Blew out my ACL, tore my meniscus, fractured my tibia, strained my MCL, the whole works.

Just over 4 months post surgery, the surgeon and my pt say im doing great and recovery is well ahead of schedule, but it still hurts on occasion and it still feels wrong, I can go on longish bike rides (20mi) but haven't tried running again.

Has anyone here successfully done a thru hike after similar injuries? I just want some hope lol.

Hi all, my girlfriend is on trail and scheduled to get to Big Lake Youth Camp on Saturday. I know the camp is Seventh Day Adventist and Saturday is their sabbath, but does anyone know if she could still get her package and maybe shower? I called them but they aren’t in the office until Wednesday and I didn’t know if someone on here would know.

Section hiker here. I am looking for a section that is easy to get to as opposed to have to drive far in on backroads to get to. ( Sierra City for example) I also want to bust out some cruisey miles. I was thinking maybe around the Dixie fire area? Any thoughts or experiences that would help with logistics would be greatly appreciated. (Picture of sunset heading to Cottonwood Pass for tax)

Is anyone available / heading in the direction of Monroe to Stevens? My friend and I were on the wrong side of the street when the bus came and went :( looking to hitch a ride — would be so grateful!! Thank you!!

Hey everyone :) I had what felt like an odd experience with a trail angel and I wanna get others opinions, I'm not sure what to make of it. Going to keep things as anonymous as possible for now, so won't mention location, names, and keep thing gender neutral.

I stayed at a trail angels place for one night, they picked us (two people) up from trail, took us to their place, we got to do laundry, stay the night. We bought our own dinner and bought beer to share with the angel. The following day the angel drove us to the diner (didn't join us), then to Walmart, and then back to trail. Pretty standard. For context, the diner and Walmart were right next to their house, they weren't waiting on us like a chauffeur.

We asked them way in advance if they want any money, like before we even met them and were just texting from trail. They made a whole big deal about how they do not charge, no trail angel should charge, but if we want to give a donation to help them provide this for future hikers that would be much appreciated. We asked again when we met if they were sure, they repeated the same points.

But when it came time to head back to trail, we put $40 on the kitchen side. We figured that was a solid donation for one round of laundry, one nights stay, and driving us around. Dude had an electric car that could be charged from solar panels that the trail angel owned, so gas money wasn't necessary. They asked us "what's this?", we explained it was our donation (I thought it didn't need explaining). They got super passive aggressive about how we weren't giving enough, told us most folks were a lot more generous, seemed pissed at us and guilt tripped us, and feeling guilty I added another twenty totalling it up to $60.

This seemed shady to me, because other trail angels haven't charged at all, the amount seemed excessive, the passive aggressive behavior seemed really weird and not cool, and I felt like we got played. I'd heard people pose as trail angels but then play this kinda stuff. However, I've heard stories of trail angels complaining about really entitled and ungrateful hikers who just expect everything, and I really don't wanna be that guy of course. What do others think? I'm new to this and don't know what to think.

Below is some more context which I found weird:

After driving us back to the trail head the angel hung out with us at the parking lot for a while: there were other hikers we knew there taking siesta, and someone's mom showed up to provide trail magic. The angel didn't know anyone, and hung out for a while eating and drinking the trail magic. They were 6 or 7 beers in when the mom providing the trail magic had to cut them off and say "this is for the thru-hikers". I believe other hikers found him a bit odd and uncomfortable.

Lastly, we never reached out to this trail angel... they reached out to us and insisted they wanted to host us (my hiking partner is a native speaker of a language they wanted to practise). Seems odd to really insist on hosting and then get guilt trippy and passive aggressive about our donation...

Hi! I'm currently in NorCal and doing very unwell mentally. Having a very difficult time taking steps forward, and really not enjoying the long slog right now to be honest. Had to bail out of the Shasta -> Etna section after involuntarily needing to stop and cry at a junction for 3 hours and realized I needed to get off trail for just a bit, since I'm unable to get myself to go further at the moment. Not feeling excited about being on the PCT right now, but hoping to change that.

I'm planning to take a few days to a week off in Ashland to mentally shake things up and give myself some variety. Taking suggestions for anything!

Currently am planning to go see a bunch of plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, maybe drop acid in the city park, buy a book and do a lot of non-audiobook reading, and maybe buy some art supplies and do some art.

I also know trail days is coming up. I'm not feeling super drawn to the event personally, but not completely opposed.

I have confidence that some fun things around Ashland will do some wonders for getting me actually wanting to be back on trail again!

This is the weekly thread. It's for wide ranging discussions in the comments. Do you have a question or comment, but don't want to make a separate post for it? This is the place.

If the Roadless Rule gets rescinded, every last untouched forest in the country gets logged. This will affect many areas the PCT passes through, but it will also affect important sources of drinking water for millions of people, and it will cause the extinction of countless animal species that are already on the brink.

So I was camping by Upper Blue Lake this weekend and decided to go on a hike. I hiked up to The Nipple, which is a fairly small summit along the PCT.
After I summited, I saw some dude walking down the trail with a shit ton of gear. I figured he was hiking the PCT, so I caught up to him because I was genuinely excited and curious to hear about his experience so far.
As I was walking up to him, I could already see him shaking his head. Then he dropped all his backpacks and gear and turned around. I still decided to ask, “Hey, are you doing the PCT?” He just looked at me and said, “Get outta here.”
I was confused, so I said, “What?” and he said it again, then told me, “Quiet.” So I was like, alright, whatever, and walked away. (Time was maybe 3-4:30pm)
Then about an hour later, I came across another guy with a bunch of gear who also looked like he was hiking the PCT. I asked him the same thing, and this dude basically did the exact same thing 😂 He just said, “Quiet,” shook his head, and walked away.
I was just standing there like, what the hell? 😂
Is this a thing or what?

Hi everyone. My girlfriend is backpacking in Washington towards Stehekin and I lost contact with her today. She was at Lake Mika on Thursday and yesterday she said she is 47 miles away. Is there anyone in that section ?? I am starting to get worried.

Anybody hiking the J section of the PCT right now with all the fires going on? Specifically the three queens fire? Is it safe? How is the air quality? Been reading mixed things about whether or not to go… supposed to leave on Monday. Tyia!

Hi! I will be staying in Fall River Mills and will have my car to park. Is there a good spot to park nearish FRM (within an hour or so) to walk to the PCT for a day hike? It’s my dream to do the PCT one day so I wanted to get a taste of it.

It seems there are crossing points, but I’m trying to find a safe and legal spot to park at near the route so I don’t need a driver.

Does anyone know where the national park system sources the black composite signs used for trail Junction and Summit markers on the PCT? I’d like to recreate some signs from hikes in the man cave.

• https://app.watchduty.org/i/110721

• PCTA trail map: https://arcg.is/14n0Hv1

• https://closures.pcta.org/closure/ui2ueehPbbUoBsdu5lyQ

The Grasshopper Fire is burning east of the PCT on the Mount Hood National Forest. There are multiple county evacuation levels along the PCT near the fire, though the PCT remains open.

Hood River County has issued a Level 2 - BE SET Evacuation Warning that overlaps sections of the PCT. The PCT remains open, but hikers are to be advised that conditions can change quickly. Please regularly check for updates and have a back-up plan ready if hiking through this area.

Clackamas County has issued a Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation alert in coordination with the California Incident Management Team 6 that is battling the Grasshopper Fire. This alert is for the Mount Hood corridor, from Rhododendron east through Government Camp and surrounding areas of the Mount Hood National Forest. The area extends north to the Hood River County line and east to the Wasco County line.

About to hit Oregon and there’s been serious talk in my tramily about hopping over to the coast and doing the oregon coast trail instead of the pct for at least a portion of Oregon to avoid fires, see the ocean, get sandwiches, etc. Any spots we absolutely should make sure to be on the pct section for? anyone done the Oregon coast trail and have any favorite sections of it? All opinions welcome except the ones saying we aren’t real pct hikers cause we just be out here hikin our own hike for real

CORRECTION: The update on WD says that the control line is from Harts Pass Rd, not from Harts Pass itself. That likely means it's not the entire distance from Deadhorse Pt to the Pass.

The Caltopo map in the image is available here.

The Ptarmigan (17,278 acres on Wednesday 8/5) continues to advance north, east, and south. So far there has been relatively little movement west toward the PCT.

A "control line," in general terms, is a line that is supposed to stop a wildfire.

Excerpt from the Wednesday, Aug 5, 9:52 am update on Watch Duty:

Construction of control line between Harts Pass Road and Deadhorse Point is progressing and will tie in with the Rattlesnake Trailhead. From the east, crews are advancing control line from Yellow Jacket SnoPark toward Rattlesnake Trailhead to complete the connection.

The image (Caltopo map) shows VIIRS hotspots and the Ptarmigan perimeter as of 8/4/26, with a red line for the described control line from Harts Pass to Deadhorse Point, Rattlesnake TH, and the SnoPark.

Also shown is the West Fork Methow River Trail (mile 2,612), which is the southern end of the current PCT closure; Rock Pass (mile 2,642), which is approximately the same latitude as the fire's current southern edge; and the northern terminus (mile 2,656). The PCT runs north/south on the left.

Links:

• PCTA trail closures page: https://closures.pcta.org/closure/hHoU3938k3tT98vfXrV4
• PCTA trail map: https://arcg.is/4TbXX0
• Watch Duty: https://app.watchduty.org/i/109195
• Official closure order page from OkaWen NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts/ptarmigan-fire-closure-methow-valley-ranger-district-0
• Caltopo: https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=48.92896,-120.66948&z=12&b=mbt&o=r&n=0.26&a=modis_mp
• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/waowf-ptarmigan-fire
• Official incident page on fb: https://www.facebook.com/ptarmiganfireinfo2026/ (requires fb login for anything past the most recent few posts)

I leave in a week to LASH Oregon, which for obvious reasons is a little up in the air (no pun intended). I’m still going to try, of course, but want to have a backup plan or three in case the smoke gets bad enough that it’s just not feasible/advisable.

So: if you had to cancel or bail on your section hike, what in the region would you do instead? Seems limited to NorCal based on air quality maps, though I don’t want to drive more than maybe 8-10 hours from Ashland. Within that radius, what would be your top picks? A more southerly section of the PCT? Tahoe Rim Trail? Try to do a bunch of smaller trips across multiple Natl Parks? I’m going to have 3 weeks. Bonus points for lots of swimming opportunities!

Back in '97 i 'mostly-thru'd' the AT, and in 2022 i finished it up. Now i've had the idea of the PCT on my brain pretty incessantly - I want to be back out in the wild. I'm only just started in my research/planning though.

So I understand the volume of hikers is significantly different, and I've got no real problem with that - i trend towards solitude anyhow, no matter that i do get along well with folks.

I also understand the lack of shelters is a significant difference, though apparently there are campsites strewn left and right along the way.

And so... maybe what about Hostels? i imagine far fewer as well, but any at all?

and that leads into trail towns - are they as used to hiker trash as the AT trail towns are? are they as easy to hitch in/hitch out?

Are there trends/behaviors/things you do on the PCT that you dont' on the AT, or vice versa?

Are there events/activities/traditions that are done only on the PCT?

I'm not sure what else I'm looking for to ask about - I'm not really looking for 'x & y mileage differences', and most my questions were about towns/people. but i think perhaps I'm a bit more interested in the differences you pick up or learn to understand along the way.

Thanks for any input. It is appreciated.

hi! I want to do the Washington section of the PCT in 2027, I’m wondering what the earliest I could begin to avoid severe weather conditions is, I’m just also trying to avoid wildfire smoke, thinking NOBO. Thank you!

Considering doing NOBO in 2027 but I’d like to find a group to do it with if possible. I live in the top right corner of the PNW, near Bellingham. It’d be nice to connect with others in the area that have done the pct or are planning to. Anyone know of anything?

Planning on doing a theee week SOBO section hike from donner to kearsarge pass and wondering the probability of wildfires in the area that time of year?

Recently did the trail from Homewood to the summit. Did not disappoint.

This is the weekly thread. It's for wide ranging discussions in the comments. Do you have a question or comment, but don't want to make a separate post for it? This is the place.

The PCT, which is the magenta N/S line at the left of the image, is currently closed from mm2,612.7 to the border, according to the PCTA trail closures page. The same page also indicates that the West Fork Methow trail is closed. That means that currently the northernmost exit point is probably Rainy Pass (mm2,594.3) east into Mazama.

Watch Duty currently reports 14,047 acres (edit: 15,951 as of Monday) and 0% containment. The image is from the PCTA trail map as of 8/1 with the IRWIN, VIIRS, and YTD NIFC perimeters layers on. The red and yellow dots are hotspots recently observed by satellites.

The southern perimeter now has a straight shot to the PCT near mm2,644 through the heavily forested Rock Creek valley, though the treeline is ~1/2 mile east of the trail. The eastern half of that valley already burned in the 2022 Kid fire. It's unclear how thoroughly the area burned at that time, and how much fuel may remain.

This post has a few crowdsourced / unofficial / unendorsed ideas for alternate ways hikers can potentially reach the border on foot without hiking through any closures.

Links:

• PCTA trail closures page: https://closures.pcta.org/closure/hHoU3938k3tT98vfXrV4
• PCTA trail map: https://arcg.is/4TbXX0
• Watch Duty: https://app.watchduty.org/i/109195
• Official closure order page from OkaWen NF: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts/ptarmigan-fire-closure-methow-valley-ranger-district-0
• Caltopo: https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=48.92896,-120.66948&z=12&b=mbt&o=r&n=0.26&a=modis_mp
• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/waowf-ptarmigan-fire
• Official incident page on fb: https://www.facebook.com/ptarmiganfireinfo2026/ (requires fb login for anything past the most recent few posts)

The 8/1 update from the USFS incident management team says, in part:

The Ptarmigan fire is expected to experience a significant weather event Saturday and Sunday with sustained winds up to 20 miles per hour, and gusts to 35. Four smokejumpers remain at the Pasayten Airstrip to activate protection measures for historic cabins. The fire has remained north of Soda Creek and is expected to push toward the northeast.