How I Trained for My Sub-100-Day Thru-Hike of the Pacific Crest Trail
I started the 2,653-mile Pacific Crest Trail on May 5th, 2022 from the Mexican border and finished at the Canadian border 93 days / 3 months later on August 5th, 2022, averaging 28.5 miles per day overall. My goal was always to try to hike the PCT in under 100 days. Why? Well, usually I just say because I’m crazy. But in actuality, I love challenging myself. I was a Division I college athlete and consistently had to push myself every day in training, and it feels like it’s a part of who I am to push my physical and mental capabilities. Also, I did not want to be away from home for too long from my partner and dog. Plus, I quit my job in January 2022 and I wanted to try to spend less money and hiking faster helps with this because fewer days hiking equates to less money spent (overall buy less food and have fewer “zero-days”, meaning less money spent on hotels or hostels).
In order to hike 2,650 miles in 100 days or less, I knew this meant I needed to average 26.5 miles per day over the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail (including days off). Thus, I needed to start off from the Mexican border strong and ready to put in some big-mile days. I started off hiking low-20-mile days (on day 1 I hiked 23 miles) and I gradually worked my way up to 30 miles in a day by day 11, which was the first time in my life I had ever hiked 30+ miles in one day. Knowing I had to do big miles in order to meet my goal, training was super crucial for my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike.
Disclaimers:
The below training is purely what I did in my experience to train for my PCT thru-hike and is not a recommendation by any means. What worked for me might not work for someone else. Please consult a professional and qualified trainer for training recommendations.
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Why train for the Pacific Crest Trail?
Some people claim you don’t need to train for the Pacific Crest Trail and that you can use the first couple of weeks of your hike as “training,” but that’s not my personal philosophy, even if you don’t have a goal to complete it in a specific timeframe. I believe training for the Pacific Crest Trail is important because:
Training helps prevent injury
Training can help you be physically and mentally prepared to hike day after day for months
Training time can be used to dial in your gear, i.e. shoes (I was able to test out a couple of different shoes on my training hikes to help me determine which one worked best for me)
Training helps you figure out nutritionally what works for you (I tested out a bunch of snacks and always wrote down what I craved when I was training so I would know what to put in my resupply boxes)
Training will help you to be more confident in yourself from day 1
Training can help you meet your goal of completing the Pacific Crest Trail
How did I train for my sub-100-day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail?
I started my official training for my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike mid-March 2022, so just under two months before I started the trail. But for some background, I was already a generally active person. In 2021, I hiked 260 miles on the John Muir Trail and ran a half-marathon. In 2019, I ran a marathon and prior to that I was a Division I collegiate athlete for 4 years. I try to stay in shape year-round, so I wasn’t starting from zero. In hindsight, I probably would have started my dedicated Pacific Crest Trail training even earlier and I definitely recommend training more than two months, if possible.
So what did I do to train for my sub-100 day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest trail? Here is what I did:
Putting in the Miles
I put a lot of miles on my feet before even stepping foot on the Pacific Crest Trail. The first ache you will most likely feel when you start the Pacific Crest Trail is soreness and pain in your feet. When you walk with a heavy backpack on for 10+ hours a day, your feet are going to hurt. My goal was to be mentally and physically prepared for this by getting that initial ache out of the way before even starting the PCT.
By the time I started the Pacific Crest Trail, I had walked and hiked about 450 miles total in the 8 weeks leading up to the trail. I tried to walk or hike 17-20 miles a day about 4 times a week.
Since I live in Seattle, Washington, the mountains are very snowy until the summer, so I stayed on flatter, lowland trails for my training hikes. I found loop trails that were 4-10 miles in length and I would repeat the loops until I hiked 15-17 miles. I also walk my dog 3-5 miles every day, which I included as training because walking is still training (especially once I added a weighted backpack to my dog walks - more on this in the next section).
I remember getting home and my feet would just hurt from being on them all day, but after a couple weeks, they started feeling better. By the time I started the Pacific Crest Trail, I was no longer bothered by the feeling and I knew I had trained myself to be ready to walk for several hours per day by building up mileage over the past several weeks.
These training hikes also gave me the opportunity to test out a couple different shoes and insoles combinations. To determine which trail runners worked best for me, I tried out both the Altra Lone Peaks and Altra Timps, both with and without the Superfeet Green Insoles. I ended up choosing to start the PCT with the Altra Lone Peaks and Superfeet Green Insoles (I eventually ditched the insoles after mile 517 of the PCT because they were giving me blisters on the bottom of my feet and causing some other pain).
Hiking and Walking with a Weighted Backpack
After about a week of hiking with just a day pack with water and snacks, I gradually added more weight and started carrying my actual backpack I used on the Pacific Crest Trail (the Gossamer Gear Kumo 36L pack). I started with about 10 pounds and increased it up to about 25 pounds. My backpack base weight is typically 10-12 pounds (base weight is the weight of all your gear not including your worn weight, e.g. clothes you wear and shoes, or consumables like food, water, and fuel), so with food and water I estimate my total bag weight to be about 20-25 pounds.
Hiking and walking with a weighted backpack helps build strength in your back, shoulders, leg, and feet, since basically your entire body works harder when carrying weight. I would even carry a weighted backpack when I walked my dog every day. I recommend gradually building up to what you predict your total pack weight to be, so you’re prepared when you start the Pacific Crest Trail.
Strength Training
This is an area I probably should have put more focus on. I don’t have access to a gym, so I did what I could at home. I mostly did leg strength training a couple times a week, consisting of the following exercises mainly focusing on building leg strength:
Kettlebell Swings
Clamshells
Split Leg Squats
Deadlifts
For future thru-hikes, I plan to put more emphasis on strength training.
Mental Training
It is said that thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is more mentally challenging than physically challenging, so being mentally prepared for hiking for days on end is important.
I didn’t do any specific mental training for the Pacific Crest Trail per se, but walking/hiking in circles for hours on end to get in 17 miles definitely tested my metal capabilities sometimes and also helped build up mental strength. It would sometimes be pouring rain, but I knew I had to keep hiking to get my training in. There were days that I really didn’t want to do my training hikes, but I did anyways because I knew they would help me achieve my ultimate goal: thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I knew if I could handle that, then I could handle the Pacific Crest Trail because not every day is going to be sunshine and rainbows. There will be some not ideal days where you have to keep going.
However, it wouldn’t be fair to say I went into the Pacific Crest Trail with absolutely zero mental training - I just didn’t do anything specific for the Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve been building up my mental strength for years. A lot of my mental training goes back to my John Muir Trail 2021 thru-hike and my Division I college athlete background.
As an athlete, you have to show up even when you don’t want to. You have to want it. There will be days that honestly suck. Maybe you’re in pain, maybe you’re exhausted, or maybe you just really don’t feel like hiking that day. But you have to get up and continue to put one foot in front of the other in order to reach your goal.
On the John Muir Trail, I remember there was one day when my foot was in a lot of pain, but I remember thinking, “I will crawl the rest this trail to finish if I have to.” Then, a couple days later, I found out someone I knew died in a terrible accident and just broke down in tears on trail. Despite the pain I was in, physical or emotional, I knew I had to keep moving, keep hiking.
You will go through mental battles when thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, but you have to be prepared to push through those. Just know you will have to push through hard times and show up even when you don’t want to in order to meet your goal. It’s all about perseverance and determination. You have to really want it.
What I Wished I Did Differently To Train for the Pacific Crest Trail?
While I did ultimately achieve my goal of thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in under 100 days, there are some changes I would have made to my training and preparation. Here are a few things I wished I did differently:
Back and Shoulder Strength Training
I’ve had chronic back and shoulder-blade pain on my right side since I hiked through the Sierra on the PCT (so since June 2022). I felt the back/shoulder pain all throughout the Arizona Trail, too, which I hiked in October/November 2022. I think I might have injured it while using my trekking pole in the snow to catch myself or something like that? I’m not 100% sure what happened, but for my next thru-hike I’m 100% adding in back and shoulder strength exercises to help build strength and hopefully reduce pain. I’m not sure if this would have helped prevent whatever happened, but is still probably smart to add into training.
Elevation Training
My Pacific Crest Trail training hikes were mainly on flat trails or trails without much elevation gain. Just hiking the sheer number of miles I did prior to the PCT really did help me physically prepare for it, but, at first, I got winded really quickly when going uphill. Adding in some elevation training (i.e. going for hikes with 1,000-3,000 ft of elevation gain) would have helped me be even more physically prepared for the Pacific Crest Trail.
Started Training Earlier
While I did feel physically prepared for the Pacific Crest Trail with my training, I wish I had started my official training earlier. I was pretty stressed prior to starting the PCT because I didn’t know if I had trained enough since I started a bit later than I had hoped. Starting training sooner might have helped ease my nerves and fears. Plus, training longer would have helped me be even more ready for the PCT and maybe I would have felt even stronger heading into it.
Final Thoughts
I’m excited to take my “lessons learned” from my Pacific Crest Trail training and apply them to my next thru-hike that I’m currently preparing for. Just a reminder that I am not certified in anything and this is purely my own experience and what I did to prepare for my 93-day thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Best of luck on your own thru-hike training and happy trails!
If you’re interested in learning more about my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, make sure to check out the following posts!
