Just looked up how much elevation gain the Pacific Crest Trail actually has

I've been planning a PCT section hike for months and finally sat down to map it out in Caltopo. Turns out the full trail has around 300,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain. That's like climbing Mount Everest from sea level ten times. I found the number on the PCT Association's website buried in a PDF. Honestly it kind of made me reconsider whether I'm fit enough for more than a week out there. Has anyone else been surprised by a stat like that when planning a route?

3 comments

3 Comments

tara6423d ago

Wait, isn't the PCT way more gradual than something like the John Muir Trail though? I used to think the elevation gain was way overblown since you're not doing insane single-day climbs. But seeing 300,000 feet broken down like that really changed my mind - it's the relentless up and down over weeks that adds up way more than I expected.

kimr743d ago

Wait, isn't it basically doing a whole JMT every week for months?

violaramirez3d ago

300,000 feet sounds a lot but the average person's watch is probably off by 20% anyway. I'd believe it more if someone actually GPS tracked it with a real device, not just guesstimates.