Hiking the PCT In a High Snow Year: Tips from a Former Thru-Hiker
As you likely already know if you’re reading this, it’s shaping up to be a pretty intense snow year on the PCT.
I am NOT an expert, so I’ll share resources from experts throughout this blog, please check those out and consult them as you take on the PCT this year and don’t let my rambling be your only source of information. The only thing I really have to offer you is my experience of hiking in a high snow year (2019). I’ve had a few conversations with PCT hopefuls this year and thought others might find some of the things I told them helpful.
I know how overwhelming it was to hear advice from a million different anonymous observers, and to have everyone shouting at you to postpone or cancel your thru-hike. That’s not what I’m here to do. I’ve tried to distill this into a concise, and helpful format that accurately portrays the dangers of hiking the PCT in a high snow year, while also offering some actionable advice.
STAY OFF FACEBOOK
First and foremost, STAY OFF THE FACEBOOK GROUPS. Facebook groups are where the sanity of your thru-hike goes to die. It’s where armchair experts and keyboard warriors go to tout their opinions as fact and attempt to fearmonger you into never leaving your front porch.
While there is the occasional useful piece of advice on there, I don’t think it’s worth all the bullsh*t and potential anxiety-inducing rants you have to sift through to find it. There are other, much more direct and helpful sources for information which I’ve linked throughout and at the end of this blog.
DON’T STRESS ‘TIL KENNEY MEADOWS SOUTH
In theme with my previous tip, I found it pretty useless to stress about the snowpack until it was actually going to affect my hike. Sure, you could spend the entire desert section agonizing over what the Sierra will bring, but what’s the point? Enjoy your time, TAKE your time and reassess when you get to Kennedy Meadows South or even Lone Pine.
There will certainly be some snow to consider in the desert section too, and I’ll touch more on that in a bit, but there is no point in worrying about the Sierra until you get there. Stressing about the snow unfortunately won’t make it melt any faster. Conditions can change dramatically from week to week and your most reliable way to assess whether you are capable of going through will be seeing for yourself or relying on the opinion of an expert (not of the armchair variety).
FIND A GROUP OR WAIT FOR ONE
While you’re enjoying your time in the desert, keep an eye out for a potential trail family or group that might be willing to tackle the Sierra with you. In high snow years, it’s definitely more safe to have a group around so you can keep an eye out for each other, help each other out with stream crossings and general morale boosting.
When/if you do decide to go into the Sierra with a group, make sure you are VERY clear on what’s expected of each other. Are you going to hike in a group loosely and make sure you are all at the same camp spot every night? What do you do if someone doesn’t show up? Or are you hiking in a single file line to ensure maximum safety? Are you waiting for each other at dangerous stream crossings? What constitutes dangerous for each person in the group? Make sure you are extremely clear on what’s expected so you know what to do and who to contact if things go south.
STREAM CROSSING SAFETY
Moving on to stream crossing safety, which is arguably the most important part of staying safe in the Sierra during a high snow year. Snow will certainly present a challenge, but the most life-threatening obstacles will be stream crossings. Please read this article from the PCTA about safe stream crossings, and consult this amazing resource from Andrew Skurka about the most hazardous creeks and potential alternates.
Always wait for other people before dangerous crossings.
If you have a group, it’s worth defining very clearly what streams you want to do together. For dangerous crossings, it’s best to have other people around to help if something happens.
If you don’t have a group and encounter a particularly dangerous stream crossing PLEASE wait for somebody. The PCT and JMT are popular enough that you will likely eventually see another hiker. Don’t cross a roaring creek with no one around to notice if you slip.
Always unbuckle your backpack when crossing a stream.
If you happen to fall, you don’t want your pack to drag you down or get caught and hold you under. Leaving it unbuckled ensures you are able to take it off if you need to.
Know the different stream crossing methods.
Try not to cross water that is above your knees if possible. It’s easiest to cross if you face upstream and step sideways, with three points of contact. Take your time finding your footing and use your trekking poles for extra balance.
The PCTA article I linked above goes in depth on methods for crossing as a group as well as many of the other things I’ll describe here.
Check down stream.
Don’t attempt to cross above rapids, falls or before strainers (downed trees or bushes that can trap you in the water). Always be aware of what is downstream and how you might get out if you lose your footing while crossing.
Seek alternate crossing areas up or down stream.
Look for areas where the stream breaks into multiple channels, where the channel widens, where there is a sandbar in the middle, or where the water is significantly shallower. It is also best to cross at a straight part of the water (avoid bends where current increases). You may have to walk miles up or down stream to find a safe crossing but it’s absolutely worth it. If you’re a little later in the season like I was, check Far Out comments to see if someone has already scoped it out for you.
Wait for morning.
If you’ve walked up and down stream and found no viable alternatives and the water is moving way too fast or too deep to cross — wait until morning! Streams will slow significantly in the early morning when the melt is not as strong.
Again, please read the PCTA article on stream crossing safety which goes way more in depth and talks about other risks like snow bridges.
BRING SPIKES AND BRING THEM EARLY
Microspikes are a must during a high snow year. When you’re going over passes in the early morning with hard snow, spikes provide essential, life-saving traction.
For those nearing the San Jacinto area, please consider sending spikes there as well. There are many steep areas with high consequence falls which can be very dangerous when covered in ice and snow. Fuller Ridge gave me trouble in MAY of 2019. Once you’re past the areas with ice and snow, you can send them up to Kennedy Meadows and revel in the sudden lightness of your load.
LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR ICE AXE
I did not know how to use an ice axe prior to the PCT, but, in my opinion, it’s an essential skill to have before entering the Sierra during a high snow year. We luckily had some friends help us out at Kennedy Meadows South with techniques, which we then practiced on low consequence snow banks.
If for some reason you lose your ice axe or don’t have one, become familiar with trekking pole self-arrest methods so you are not completely without a way to stop a slide.
Knowing how to self-arrest if you slip on an icy slope is a life-saving technique.
PAY ATTENTION TO NAVIGATION
Water crossings and the technical difficulties of snow aside, the other big challenge of a high snow year is navigation. The trail will often be covered in snow (or sometimes rushing water) which obviously makes it hard to follow. Make sure to keep a close eye on whatever form of navigation you’re using so you don’t end up miles off-course.
Additionally, just because someone else went that way doesn’t make it the right way. Make sure you aren’t blindly following the boot pack of the guy who came before you — you don’t even know if they’re going to the same place. There were many times in 2019 where I got lazy, decided to follow someone else’s foot prints, and ended up paying for it.
MORNINGS ARE YOUR FRIEND
Mornings are your friend for both passes and stream crossings. Doing passes as early as possible will allow you to take advantage of the hard packed snow and avoid post-holding for hours on end (although you may end up doing this anyway — it’s the price you pay in a high snow year). It’s also safer to cross steeper areas at the tops of passes when the snowpack is harder.
As I mentioned before, mornings also often offer significantly safer stream crossings. Don’t be afraid to set up camp and wait for the water to go down if you arrive at a particularly raging stream in the evening.
BRING EXTRA FOOD
On theme with not being afraid to wait ‘til morning for a stream crossing, is bringing extra food. Snow can significantly slow your travel, and the more food you have the more flexible you are. If you’re not worried about running out of food, you can make smarter decisions about the safest possible way forward and give yourself more options and a higher likelihood of making it all the way through.
GLISSADE
One of the best parts of a high snow year is the ample opportunity for glissades — aka sliding down the snow on your butt. Make sure you do so in a controlled manner and that there aren’t hazards in your future path (you don’t want to slide out of control and end up getting hurt). Sleeping pads or rain gear under your butt are are a good way to make it a bit more comfortable, and also try to make sure you only do it in slushy snow. I know a few too many hikers who have ended up with nasty scrapes from glissading on icy, hard packed snow.
ENJOY YOUR LEGENDARY STATUS
Finally, enjoy the fact that you are seeing one of the most beautiful places on earth in an extreme circumstance. The Sierra is breathtakingly beautiful covered in snow and you’re seeing it at a record breaking peak. You’ll also have bragging rights forever as someone who hiked the PCT in 2023. Enjoy it, but don’t let it get to your head. Have fun, be smart and live to hike another season.
RESOURCES
As a reminder, please check out the sources I linked below from lots of people who are smarter and more qualified than me. I look forward to following the class of 2023, happy hiking!