Are you planning a PCT hike in 2027? If you miss out on a Northbound permit, or don't get the date you wanted, don't worry! You can always change your plans and go Southbound.
Here are five reasons why hiking the PCT southbound is something to consider if your plans get thrown into disarray by the permit system.
It's cooler hiking in the desert.
The desert got cold on my SOBO hike! I was wearing my waterproof trousers on some mornings to keep the chill away.
Maybe it's because I'm British, but this suited me much better than going NOBO where temperatures can get to above 40°C in the day. In general the weather was preferably all the way down from Canada to Mexico: it was perfectly lovely in Washington, Oregon, the Sierras and the desert. It was only NorCal that was a bit hot! On the other hand, going NOBO it can be too hot in the desert and NorCal, and then rainy in Washington.
The main thing to be aware of that the days will be getting shorter when you arrive in the desert going SOBO. For me that was in early November and it felt like the trail towns were slowing down and there were fewer hikers on the trail.
Less snow to deal with.
This year’s El Niño event looks as though it’s going to make the Pacific North West drier than usual, and the Southern US wetter than usual. This could mean more snow in the Sierras and less snow in the Cascades. Obviously it's a bit unknown exactly what impact El Niño will have so take this one with a pinch of salt.
In my year, 2023, lots of people flipped up from the desert to Canada to start hiking SOBO when they hit the Sierra snow. In the end, I think a lot of people preferred it.
Bug season is much more tolerable.
Somewhere in the deep Oregon forest I was handed a head net by a NOBO hiker who told me I'd definitely need it, but I didn’t really experience the mosquito outbreak people warned about.
For about a week I had to pop an antihistamine for dessert after stopping for meals*, but I didn’t experience Mosquito Hell than people warn about. I certainly never felt compelled to eat my lunch from inside my tent.
*this is not medical advice...
Fire season.
This is a controversial one and obviously you can't predict where and when fires will pop up.
In my year, I had to skip one fire closure in NorCal, whereas NOBO hikers had problems in Washington.
The thing is, if you go SOBO it’s more likely that the trail will reopen after the closure. I was in the Sierras when I got notified that the trail around Etna had reopened and I was able to go back to NorCal and hike the section I missed. It ended up with a road trip with 4 other hikers, seeing the eclipse and some lovely autumnal hiking!
In general, problems with fire closures or smoke are encountered later in the year when NOBO hikers are entering Oregon or Washington and if a section is closed it's unlikely it'll reopen before you've finished the rest of the trail.
Just enough people around you.
With 50 people starting the trail every day at Campo, hiking NOBO at the start of the trail can apparently be a bit of a party. Depending on what experience you want, that could be great!
For me, going SOBO, there was just enough people around to be social if I wanted but I could also go days without hiking with anyone if I wanted. As a sociable person, I was lucky that lots of NOBOs flipped to Canada and joined in the SOBO bubble but I still think I could have walked solo if I had wanted to.
