How to physically prep for the PCT? What did you do and what do you wish you had done?

Hey A, thanks for your message! Happy New Year – I hope you had a good start into the year.

I was asked by A.:

How do you prepare to hike 2650miles?

How physically fit were you?

Well, it’s just a walk, right, so anyone can do it! Well it’s a bit more complicated than that but not so complicated that you should let it discourage you. 🙂

Here I tried to answer the question how fit I was and what I did and what I wish I had done before the hike.

One thing I want to mention that I forgot is this: starting slow was probably my main strategy to avoid overuse injury: I forced myself to only hike 12-15 miles the first four weeks of the PCT. This was the best decision ever. But this can be tough. You might fall behind friends you just made on trail. But you gotta find your own rhythm and #hikeyourownhike 🤭 starting slow will allow your body to adapt to the new “normal” and build up everything needed to successfully finish (hopefully).

The expert on this topic how to physically prepare is @blazephysio – one of the people I wish I would’ve known before I started hiking – check out her page for all things thru-hiking.

I also worked with a nutritionist beforehand to calculate my macros and micros @yade.nutrition – and I loved that! I probably have to do a new post on that topic! But most people don’t do that and that’s ok. You gotta find the things that worry you and get behind them. But 80% is good enough. Pareto principle – at some point you just gotta go. Things will get clearer once you start hiking! Those were mine concerns. I just like to best prepare and give my body what it needs to perform best.

This is a difficult topic because everybody is different, and for some people it’s super easy while for others it’s super hard. However, I believe the fitter you are before starting such a long trail, the better you’ll feel on trail.

That being said, it is “just walking with a backpack,” so anyone can do it and should start and try. But I do believe it’ll be harder for the less fit: you might be slower, take longer to recover, have more pain, and have less fun; potentially one or all of the above. We’re all unique and react to stress like thru-hiking differently, so knowing yourself and what hiking several consecutive days does to you is really important.

Here is what I did and what I’d do differently:

What I did and would do again:

– Walk as much as you can with the full PCT backpack weight on from the moment you know you’ll hike the PCT – I mean as much as you can, every weekend and during the week. I worked in tech, so I would “hike” to work through Berlin city (lol) – yes, it takes much longer than biking or public transport or driving, but it was the only way I could get that many miles in.

– Strength train – I was a regular (2x/week) at the gym doing full-body strength training, so I was relatively fit (I can tell you more about my specific workout routine if you’re interested). I did a lot of Farmers carry 🙂

What I wish I would have done differently:

– Know about Blaze Physio – she’s a mobile physio who follows the PCT bubble each year and has specific thru-hiking exercises on her IG (https://www.instagram.com/blazephysio/?hl=en). I would do those every day for 10 min leading up to trail to prepare ligaments, muscles, joints, etc. I only learned about her on trail and had an appointment when my foot pain got too bad – she’s awesome, and I wish I had known about her beforehand.

– There is even evidence of higher fitness equaling a higher likelihood of finishing the PCT in the Halfway Anywhere Survey, which you probably know – this was one of the main reasons I trained as hard as I could before the PCT too 🙂

That is just my opinion and mindset. I hope it answers your questions a bit. My mind was never focused on finishing the trail but always on enjoying the journey – and how do you enjoy? If you’re in your best state, mentally and physically.

BTW, I also noticed I spent 80% of prep on gear (reading!), 15% on training (hiking), and only 5% on mental preparation. Although I’d say shakedown hikes and mental prep are more important, so I’d make it 33% gear, 33% hiking, 33% mental next time. But hiking and camping more in winter wasn’t possible for me, so oh well.

For the mental game, I recommend this book: ‘Pacific Crest Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide to Successfully Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail’. I read it and loved it.*

It asks valuable questions which are great to answer before starting the hike. It prepares you for the days when it gets tough. And it will get tough! And it’ll make it clear why you’re doing it! Link in bio. 

I’m curious: How did you prepare for the PCT?

What do you wish you would have done?

Let me know if this was helpful, also would appreciate your feedback and let me know if you have any more follow-up questions in the comments!

<3 Disco

*If you decide to buy this book and use my affiliate link, I get a few cents from Amazon, which would be awesome to help me keep working on this passion project of mine helping thru-hikers prepare 🙂 I would never recommend anything I wasn’t convinced of just to get money, but since it’s free for both of us and Amazon earns enough as it is, why not benefit from recommending?