Hiking just the PCT is not that impressive anymore. Every year, more and more people hike and successfully finish the entire trail. You think you’re special just because you stuck to your precious continuous footpath? And didn’t succumb to the temptation of skipping a tough section? No no, it doesn’t work like that anymore. Hiking the full PCT is just the start. A minimal basis. A mere entry to be considered a real thru-hiker. If you’re serious about having hiking bragging rights and want to look down on peasants who just hike the trail and nothing else, you have to do some side trips. Side trips? Yes, PCT side trips. As if hiking 2650 miles wasn’t enough.
Along the Pacific Crest Trail there is a plethora of options for fun side quests that usually also involve hiking. Sometimes you climb a mountain directly off the trail, other times you need a hitch to someplace further off trail. In all seriousness, some of these are really great and shouldn’t be missed. You already went through the trouble of upending your entire life to spend 4-6 months sweating in the sun being miserable, might as well make the absolute most of it! And remember, every mile hiked off trail is twice as hard.
Mt. San Jacinto
The first mountain peak on the trail. This one comes a good while in the San Jacintos, soon after leaving Idyllwild.
How to get there
A short side trail off the PCT. The whole thing is marked on Far Out.
Is it worth it?
Yes, mostly because it’s so close to the trail it’s a shame not to do it. At that point you’ve conquered most of the Jacintos. San Jacinto peak is the icing on the cake and final proof that you’ve got it in you to hike this entire trail.
Mt Baden-Powell
This mountain is named after the founder of the World Scouting Movement, Robert Baden-Powell. Hikers pass it about halfway through the desert section.
How to get there?
A teeny tiny side trail, marked on Far Out.
Is it worth it?
Yes. And even if it wasn’t: the trail winds up almost the entire mountainside. You weren’t really going to climb the entire thing and then skip the top, right?
Mt. Whitney
At 14 494 feet this is the highest mountain in the lower 48 and my favorite side trip of the entire PCT.
How to get there
Mt Whitney comes along fairly early in the Sierra’s section. Head up the Mt Whitney side trail from Crabtree Meadows. It’s a couple of hours to the top considering you’re likely not used to the altitude yet.
Is it worth it?
Yes! Climbing up Whitney is a beautiful experience. I rarely had a stronger sense of adventure on the PCT than while climbing this mountain. And since it’s the highest mountain in the Sierra’s, you get an unbelievable 360 degrees view.
Other Notes
Try to do it at sunrise. Sitting on top, shivering in your sleeping bag and all layers, while watching the sun come up only added to the experience. It’ll hurt to wake up in the middle of the night and start the climb, but it is the best way to do it.
Yosemite Valley
The one I was personally most excited about. The PCT passes through Yosemite National Park, but you don’t go down into the Valley itself. To see Half Dome and pretend like you’re Alex Honnold for a brief second, you’ll need to spend some time planning beforehand.
How to get there
The easiest way as a PCT hiker is to get a bus from Tuolumne Meadows (the trail passes through there) to Yosemite Valley with the YARTS shuttle (schedule here). Alternatively, you can try to hitch into the Valley. There was a fair amount of traffic when I was there and I saw hikers successfully getting a hitch.
If you can’t get enough of hiking, it is also possible (and very worthwhile), to hike down from Tuolumne Meadows along the JMT (John Muir Trail). This is a 27,2 mile hike to get to the Valley, which is doable in a day. Plus you’re going downhill. Along this trail you also have the option to go up Cloud’s Rest (a side trip within a side trip, how about that?!).
Note: Tuolumne Meadows Campground is closed for the 2023 season (source). This means you’ll have to get up a little bit earlier in the morning to be in time for the bus or the hike down.
Preparation
This is where the planning part comes in. As you might know, Yosemite is a heavily visited national park and if you want to spend the night, you’ll need a permit. Getting this permit might be tricky. Everything about permits can be found here.
If you’re not spending the night, you don’t need a permit. However, I’d advise against this. The bus leaves Tuolumne Meadows at 10:16 am and arrives at 12:06 pm. As the shuttle back up leaves at 5pm, this barely leaves 5 hours to see everything. Keep in mind that getting around Yosemite Valley without a car is an adventure in itself.
A better option is to get a wilderness permit. This allows you to camp overnight on the specified dates. Additionally, camping is allowed in the backpackers campground (a great base to see some of the highlights from) the night before and after the wilderness permit dates. Be careful about camping here outside of your permit dates. There were plenty of scary stories about the lady who manages the backpacker’s campground (ripping up permits etc.). I didn’t see her myself and wasn’t checked, but apparently she is aware PCT hikers like to try to sneak in without permit.
Wilderness permits are distributed in two ways: 60% is made available through lottery 24 weeks in advance, while the other 40% are first come first serve seven days in advance of that date. As it’s quite impossible to estimate when you’ll be in Yosemite 24 weeks in advance, the best option is the first come first serve permits. The easiest way to snag one of these is have a family member or friend go through the application. Chances are you’ll be deep in the Sierra’s 7 days before the date you want the permit for and there will be no reception. These permits can go really fast, so it’s best to have the designated person be ready at the exact time the permit becomes available. Since permits can be booked as a group, you can get them for the entire trail family in one go.
Alternatively, you might try your luck at the Tuolumne Meadows Ranger Station and check if there are any canceled or unreserved permits you can pick up.
Note on Half Dome
An additional advantage of the wilderness permit is that you can add Half Dome permits to these. This seemed like a better option than participating in the Half Dome lottery. Be sure to pick one of the listed trailheads on the page when booking your wilderness permit though.
Is it worth it?
Absolutely. It was a bigger hassle than I’d hoped to arrange and plan, but it was very much worth it. Seeing granite mountains such as El Capitan and Half Dome loom large above was a real treat. Even after all the sights of the PCT.
The store in Yosemite Valley had a surprisingly good (although pricey) selection of backpacker food, making it a good resupply point in addition to the Tuolumne Meadows Store.
Some highlights:
- Half Dome
- El Capitan
- Standing under Yosemite Falls
- Hiking the Top of Nevada Falls trail
Two things detracted from the experience. Firstly, as I wrote above, getting around the Valley is time-consuming without a car. There is a bus system in place that services most places in the park, but everything took longer than I’d hoped.
Secondly, the massive crowds. I was not prepared for a national park to be so busy. After the relative solitude on the PCT, it came as kind of a shock. Seriously, this place had more people than most towns along the trail. I’d recommend doing the popular trails early in the morning, as they are swarmed with people later in the day.
More on my personal experience in Yosemite in my PCT diary:
Other notes
- There are bear bins sprinkled throughout where you can leave your gear before heading up one of the trails.
- If people confuse you for a JMT hiker, don’t hesitate to correct them!
Blayney Hot Springs
Hot Springs? In the middle of one of the longest stretches of the Sierra’s? That can’t be bad right?
How to get there
Hike the side trail to Muir Trail Ranch in the Sierra’s as marked on FarOut. From there, there are signs pointing to the hot springs. At a certain point, you’ll have to cross a river using a rope. This was probably the longest and hardest river crossing when I was in the Sierra’s, but nothing sketchy or dangerous.
After that, you’ll reach a meadow with tall grass and multiple pools with different temperatures.
Is it worth it?
A resounding no. On paper this all sounds amazing: hot springs in the tall grass, with the mountains as a backdrop. And truth be told, the hot springs themselves are quite nice. However, the meadow is home to hordes of mosquitoes, ready to bite every inch of exposed skin. Sitting still, neck-deep in hot water with a buzzing cloud around your head is only fun for so long.
Then there is the travel time. It takes a while to get to the springs. It takes even longer to get back to the trail along a winding, steep side trail. The feeling of being clean and washed was gone by the time we got back. Maybe this is worth it if you need to go to Muir Trail Ranch anyway for a package, but I would skip this one.
More on Blayney Hot Springs in this post: PCT Day 54.
Devil’s Postpile
A rock formation of columnar basalt, similar to the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland.
How to get there
The shuttle from Red’s Meadow in the Sierra’s has a stop there.
Is it worth it?
Maybe. Devil’s Postpile is a rare and striking rock formation, but suffers from not being relatively more impressive than many of the other sights of the PCT. By then, you might be desensitized to its beauty. However, it beats hanging out in Red’s Meadow.
Crater Lake
If you for some reason have held on to a continuous footpath on the actual PCT, now is the time to give it up. Even though you’ll go through Crater Lake National Park, the official trail doesn’t pass by its namesake. Almost all hikers choose to hike the alternate that skirts the rim of the lake.
How to get there
The alternate trail is marked on FarOut and is hard to miss even without.
Is it worth it?
Yes. Crater Lake is one of the highlights in Oregon. Near the lake is also a great buffet restaurant. Only skip this if you hate lakes and food.
Eagle Creek
Another alternate that most hikers hike instead of the official trail. If you want to get that obligatory pic walking behind Tunnel Falls, this is the place.
How to get there
An alternate trail at the very end of Oregon, marked on FarOut.
Is it worth it?
If you want to see Tunnel Falls, then yes. From other hikers I heard the actual trail is also worthwhile in that section. However, I’d say pick this one for Tunnel Falls and the nice swim spots along the way. Take note that the area got burned pretty badly in 2017 and camping is suboptimal until you reach Cascade Locks.
Portland
Not really a side trip, but since I didn’t know too many people who went here and it’s actually easily accessible from the trail, I mention it here.
How to get there
A bus serves between Cascade Locks and Portland. It’s less than an hour to get to Portland and the bus does multiple runs per day.
Is it worth it?
Depends. If you’re in need of a resupply, then a big city like Portland has way better (and cheaper) options than Cascade Locks. Portland itself is nice and a good place to recharge before heading out for the final section of the PCT.
Trail Days
A hiker festival that takes place in the Marine Park of Cascade Locks near the end of August. For 2 days, current PCT hikers, previous PCT hikers and future PCT hikers all gather in one big pile of hiker trash and celebrate this niche little hobby of ours. Hiking gear companies put up stands and people get to camp on Wizard Island, next to the Marine Park (the only time of year when that’s allowed).
How to get there
The trail passes through Cascade Locks. Ideally, you’d time your arrival so that it coincides with Trail Days. If not, many people hitch a ride from up and down the trail to get there.
Is it worth it?
Yes for one day, probably not for two days. The event itself offers enough to have fun for a full day. Perusing the gear stands and wondering if a certain piece of equipment would shave 0,5 grams of your baseweight is always a good way to spend time. Many of the gear stands do some sort of raffle or giveaway too. So much so that you’ll likely have a full bag of free goodies by the end of the day. Usually there is some sort of party later in the evening. But the best part is having reunions with people you haven’t seen in months and suddenly turn up at Trail Days.
Since the event itself doesn’t change much over the course of both days, hanging out a second day is only worth it if you want to spend more time with the people there. Plus if you stay until the end you’ll most likely get caught in a massive bubble created by all those hikers leaving. Not the best thing to start Washington with.
Old Snowy
The last peak I climbed on the trail, situated about halfway through the Washington section.
How to get there
A side trail that starts at mile 2277,6. Best to leave your pack at the base as climbing Old Snowy involves a little bit of scrambling and traversing across snow. Nothing dangerous though.
Is it worth it?
Yes. On top of Old Snowy you’re treated to an amazing view of Goat Rocks, which is arguably the best part of Washington.