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Trail Information

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
The Pacific Crest Trail leads from Mexico to Canada, following every ridge and high point it can find along the way. It traverses through dozens of mountain ranges, from the Laguna Mountains of southern California to the Cascades of Oregon and Washington.

As far as weather, the average thru-hiker can count on a pretty wide range, from as low as zero degrees to as high as 110. A thru-hiker will cross a corner of the Mojave desert, as well as more than a dozen high Sierran passes, ranging in elevation from about 150 feet as they cross into Washington, to as much as 13,700 at Forester Pass.

As compared with the other two long trails in the United States, the PCT is generally considered neither the hardest, nor the easiest. It is longer and higher than the AT, but shorter and less challenging than the CDT.

For those that are looking for a trail community, it can certainly be found on the PCT, for as the years progress more and more people are attempting to thru-hike it. In 2005, it is rumored that about 250 people attemped the feat in the northbound direction alone. That said, if you're looking for solitude, that too can be found on the PCT.
Continental Divide Trail (CDT)
Though the jury is still out about whether the AT or the PCT is harder, there are very few who wonder whether the CDT is the hardest trail in the United States.

It boasts the greatest length, the most difficult navigation, the highest average elevation, the most challenging weather, and the list goes on.

Very few people attempt to hike the entire CDT in one year, though for those who accomplish it, few greater hiking challenges can be found. Of those who attempt it each year, rarely does anybody attempt the CDT as their first long distance hike. It is safe to say that it is largely a veteran hiker's trail.

Unlike the AT or even the PCT, because so few people attempt the CDT, the trail culture is much deminished. Customs such as trail names have crossed over, but there's little point to many of them because, for example, you may not see another hiker for days, so what's the point of having a name?

Although the challenges of the CDT are the greatest, for most, so are the rewards - It travels deepest into the backcountry, and is the most removed from society as we know it.
Appalachian Trail (AT)
Of the three long trails in the United States, the Appalachian Trail (also known as the AT) is in fact the oldest, though it is not the longest. In fact, at about 2,175 miles it is about 400 miles shorter than the Pacific Crest Trail, and about 900 shorter than the Continental Divide Trail.

Each year, most of the rumored 2,000 people who attempt a thru-hike of the AT start in Georgia at Springer Mountain in mid spring, though slightly later in the year many also start in Maine heading south. The journey usually takes people about as long as the other long hikes because although shorter, it is at times much steeper and rougher than its sibling trails.

The AT travels through 14 states on the eastern seaboard, and ranges in elevation from a low of 124 feet to a high of 6,625 feet. It boasts the roughest trail, the greatest trail community, and by far the most humidity.