Thru-hiking in a Big Snow Year: Hikers who have been there share tips
PCT , JMT, AND CDT THRU-HIKERS SHARE THEIR SAFETY, GEAR & TIPS FOR HIKING IN BIG SNOW YEARS
We interviewed PCT and CDT thru-hikers who had hiked those trails in big snow years for their advice, tips, and gear they would take to stay safe while backpacking in a big snow year. These tips apply to thru-hikers, section-hikers, and backpackers along the Pacific Crest Trail, John Muir Trail, and Continental Divide Trail.
See below for the video compilation of PCT and CDT photos from big snow years that we showed at the beginning of the panel.
The video of the full interview and Q&A is available now! See below!
Gear for hiking in a big snow year Panelists recommend:
Satellite messenger
inReach Mini messenger is a two-way sattelite text messenger with SOS emergency buttons and satellite tracking that alerts your location in real time. Commenters in the chat mentioned attaching it to yourself (not your pack) prior to river fords. See our Best Satellite Messengers and Personal Locator Beacons (Note: be sure to see our table explaining subscription costs before you go as tracking can cost extra and is probably worth investing in for at least a month during your thru-hike.)
Paper Maps and Phone Apps
If you use FarOut Guides app and/or Gaia GPS phone apps, we recommend bringing paper maps as extra navigation tools during high snow sections. At minimum, for your apps, download base maps for a very wide surrounding area of the trail so you can safely bail down a side trail all the way into a trail town during an emergency.
Winter traction
Microspikes – All the speakers agree you should bring a winter traction device for icy slopes. See our Best Winter Traction guide (note: while we have a new overall winner, we don't recommend it for thru-hikers. Go with one of the more robust options and consider a crampon with toe points)
Waterproof socks
Waterproof socks: They won’t keep your feet totally dry, but they may help keep them from going numb from the cold. Note: wear your usual hiking socks or a thin liner sock against skin. Then put the waterproof sock on top. Make sure your shoes have enough room to fit both! Get the sock, not the overshoe socks (they’re often sold in the same section).
Ice axe
Ice axe: The Camp Corsa is the lightest ixe ace that has EN certification for self arrest and is popular with thru-hikers—although there are many models out there rated for self arrest and snow anchors. All the speakers mentioned carrying an ice axe for the Sierra (on the PCT) and San Juans (on the CDT).
Freestanding tent
Freestanding tent: You will likely be camping on snow, where it is difficult to stake out a tarp-style tent. This freestanding tent is our best overall backpacking tent and is lightweight for what it is, making it one of the most popular models among thru-hikers. It is easy to set up on snow and you don’t have to worry about stakes popping out (or freezing in place over night) See our Best Backpacking Tents guide for other models that meet this criteria.
Otherwise, if you’re using a non-freestanding tent, look into picking up snow stakes for the Sierra or pick up a freestanding conversion kit if you’re carrying the Z-Packs Duplex tent.
Sleeping pad
Sleeping pad: For camping on snow, pick up a ⅛" sleeping pad or upgrade to a 4-season pad. See our Sleeping pads guide for more info on insulation.
backpacking stove
Backpacking stove: Water sources may be frozen or covered in snow, especially for CDT thru-hikers. You may need to melt snow for drinking water. If you are stoveless, pick up a lightweight stove and cookpot to carry through the San Juans.
SNOWSHOES (Optional)
Snowshoes: Some thru-hikers, notably for the CDT, will use snowshoes through the San Juans. See our Best Snowshoes guide for the pair we recommend for thru-hiking.
Skis (optional)
Skis: Other thru-hikers may opt for skis. Our panelists seemed to agree that ankles are the weak point of a hiking-skiing system, so plan accordingly. You may want to bring climbing skins as well.
videos
video recording of thru-hiking in a big snow year
Photos and video examples of thru-hiking in a big snow year
PCT and CDT hikers share photos from big snow years
where to check Snow conditions on the pct:
The following websites are just some of the places we check for snow conditions in the Sierra.
Articles that covers safety tips:
John Muir Trail guide—the section on mountain passes and hiking at altitude get into more detail on Sierra hiking strategy
Classes panelists recommend taking
Snow Travel, Ice Axe, and Snow Navigation:
These classes will teach you how to safely navigate and travel on snow, including ice axe and self arrest. You can learn these by taking a course, reading about them, and watching videos online.
Wilderness First Aid:
Knowledge and skills can save lives in emergency situations and give you more confidence. REI stores or local outdoor schools will offer these classes.
Avalanche courses:
An AIARE level I course will help you learn to read avalanche reports, avoid avalanche terrain, and look for signs of a potential avalanche. It will teach you how to respond and make decisions. This course can help you decide whether it is safe to do a particular section and how to mitigate risks while you are out. These courses are available around the world.
If you've taken an AIARE Level 1 course before, it's worth taking a refresher course before going out in a big snow year—especially if you are on the CDT.
Water safety or swiftwater course:
These classes will prepare you for river and creek fords.
Swim classes:
If you don’t know how to swim, considering learning before your hike. It will give you more confidence during river crossings.
About the speakers
Renee “She-ra” Patrick
She-ra has been hiking long-distance trails since her first backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail in 2002. She is a triple-crown hiker (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail) and started Long Distance Trail Consulting company to guide long-distance trail organizations and developers to improve the hiking experience and inspire action on behalf of the environment. When she isn’t thru-hiking she can be found packrafting, cross-country skiing, or just forest bathing.
Big snow years hiked: PCT 2006, CDT 2015
Kate "Drop N Roll"
Drop N Roll is a mechanical engineer by day and a thru-hiker, alpine climber, ski and snowshoe tourer by weekend. Kate has thru-hiked 10,000 miles including the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail and routes including the Hayduke Trail, Oregon Desert Trail and Sierra High Route. She also has alpine ascents of numerous Cascade Volcanoes, including Mt. Hood and Rainier. Kate is formerly President of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West and a board member. She regularly runs educational events and clinics, teaching new backpackers how to get outdoors safely. She considers her most significant achievement as being the 2-time gold medalist of the ALDHA-West Hiker Olympics.
Danielle “Giggles” O’Farrell
Giggles (she/they) lives in Oakland (Ohlone land), where she teaches wilderness first aid classes with her company With The Wild Things. Her favorite local hikes take her up Mt. Tamalpais or Mt. Diablo and offer sweeping views of the Bay Area. Aside from hiking locally, Danielle began centering her life around long distance hiking after her Pacific Crest Trail hike in 2017 and has gone on to hike the Southern Sierra High Route to the Sierra High Route (’18), Lowest to Highest (‘18), Continental Divide Trail (’19), the Wind River High Route (’19) and the Tahoe Rim Trail (’22). While thru-hiking, they love skinny-dipping in alpine lakes, hiking uphill as quickly as possible, basking in the alpenglow, and searching for the best brownie sundaes in trail towns.
Liz “Snorkel” Thomas
Moderated by: Liz “Snorkel” Thomas is Editor-in-Chief at Treeline Review and will moderate the event. Snorkel is a Triple Crowner (who once held the women’s self-supported record on the Appalachian Trail. She’s also author of Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike, which won the National Outdoor Book for Best Instructional Book.
Since her end-to-end thru-hikes on Triple Crown Trails, Snorkel has hiked over 20 long trails. These days, she tries to avoid thru-hiking during high snow years, but once made the strange decision to join a friend for the snowy San Juan mountains section of the CDT in May 2016.
Naomi “The Punisher” Hudetz
Q&A led by Naomi “The Punisher” Hudetz, co-founder at Treeline Review. She received the Triple Crown award for hiking for completing the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trail and has hiked numerous other distance routes including the Great Divide Trail across the Canadian Rockies (twice), Grand Enchantment Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, the Arizona Trail, (most of) the Idaho Centennial Trail, the first known thru-hike of the Blue Mountains Trail, and the Oregon Desert Trail. She served as an executive board member of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West and is based in White Salmon, Washington.
