Intro

The Sierra Nevada Mountains, as seen from Lone Pine, CA. Jay will hike
through these in June. He's hoping more of that snow is melted by then.

Hello. My name is Jay Bigelow. I am 52 years old. My sister-in-law, Helen, has graciously agreed to maintain this blog for me. This blog is about my intended thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2012. I will begin my journey on the Mexican border about 48 miles east of San Diego on Friday, April 20. Hopefully, I will finish the 2,654-mile hike at Manning Provincial Park in Canada some time before October. I will carry an android and solar charger, so I intend to submit daily entries for this blog. The postings will probably occur in groups whenever I get coverage. I will make an effort to provide a daily picture, and a brief synopsis of each day's events.

Jay getting ready to hike the PCT.
He's standing next to the beginning marker,
Mexico/USA border fence behind him.

I completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail last year (2011). Helen created and maintained a blog for that hike at www.JayBigelowAppalachianTrail2011.blogspot.com . I have been training intensively for the PCT hike since I returned home last September, hiking for 4 hours each day on a steep hill near my house carrying 40 lbs. I expect to carry an average of 24 pounds on the trip. My wife, Sarah, will join me for 8 weeks during her summer vacation. I plan to hike fast until she joins me in early June, and then slow down a little. My start date precedes the annual kickoff party for PCT thru-hikers by one week. Southern California offers several mountain ranges separated by hot, arid valleys.  Start too early and you risk facing deep snow. Start too late, and the water sources in the lowlands dry up. I am hoping that with this year's relatively low snow pack, my start date will present a tolerable compromise between those issues.



Beginning the PCT