BACKPACKING THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL Section J + Trip Logistics | PCT 2021 // Episode 1

Backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail Section J + Trip Logistics | PCT 2021 // Section J on the PCT here in Washington is arguably some of the most beautiful terrain along the entire Pacific Crest Trail. Over the 70+ miles that spans from Snoqualmie Pass off of I-90 to Stevens Pass off of Highway 2, backpackers hike through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Along the way, the trail passes through meadows, talus fields, waterfalls, a burn area, countless lakes, numerous water crossings, old growth trees and includes plenty of incredible mountain views.
In this video, I’ll not only start sharing with you about our hike, but also trip logistics and how we planned our hike including getting to and from the trailhead, the food I brought and what I used for navigation on trail.
In 2021, this would be my third time hiking Section J and my first time seeing this entire section of the PCT in warm, beautiful, sunny weather.
We completed our trip September 3rd through September 6, 2021.
EPISODE 1: We started our trip by driving to the PCT North Trailhead at Snoqualmie Pass in the late morning and left Stacy’s locked car behind. My car would be waiting for us four days later at the overnight parking up at Stevens Pass.
The first highlight of the day was hiking up to the infamous Kendall Katwalk. We then took a lunch break next to Ridge Lake. After lunch, the trail kept us high above both Alaska Lake and Joe Lake. Through the haze, we caught a glimpse of Mount Rainier off in the distance as we walked through a sensitive area with a few old growth trees surrounded by spectacular views of the nearby mountain ranges.
My most favorite part of today was the beautiful and rocky section after Joe Lake, all the way to our tentsite for the evening, which was near a decent sized pond. Watching the sunset from this area was stunning.
Total Mileage for Day 1: 14.5 Miles
Total Ascent: 4,919 feet
Total Descent: 3,043 feet
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FarOut (Formerly Guthook): GPS Long-Distance Trail Maps and Guides
apps.apple.com/us/app/hiking-...
~~~GEAR I USED IN THIS VIDEO~~~
Pack alnk.to/g33nhy1
Tent alnk.to/3TUlyr5
Tent Footprint alnk.to/9bnTcTU
Quilt alnk.to/gVDabHc
Sleeping Pad alnk.to/hsnr8dF
Lightweight Pump amzn.to/3izlWkw
Pillow alnk.to/e6Z2uFJ
Silk Liner alnk.to/9T0QX6j
13L Dry Sack alnk.to/eOE6LcO
Synthetic Sleeping Booties alnk.to/3TT5BJT
Stove alnk.to/aLBTOdz
Spoon amzn.to/3ivFVi9
Food Bag alnk.to/e70D5kN
DIY Food Cozy • DIY Backpacking Meal C...
Water Filter alnk.to/2jEgMwz
Dirty Water Bag alnk.to/h6A7nj0
Electrolytes Bottle alnk.to/cSBmPA8
~~~CLOTHES I WORE~~~
Fleece Dress melanzana.com/product/micro-g...
Sun Hoodie amzn.to/3bfg7oG
Shorts alnk.to/6xCsjEJ
Socks alnk.to/eZyPoQp
Shoes alnk.to/7qdgS05
Hat choosemountains.com/store/foa...
Sunglasses share.knockaround.com/x/h5BcNo
Trekking Poles alnk.to/58iou1o
Garmin inReach Explorer+ alnk.to/gdY8hc3
~~~CAMERA GEAR I USED~~~
Camera amzn.to/3bq8xrL
Camera Lens amzn.to/2Rv4jbk
Microphone amzn.to/3hvzjCV
Camera Batteries amzn.to/3zGf2Qu
Camera Clip on Pack alnk.to/5PYZ5Hv
Tripod amzn.to/2FDiLIe
Arc Clamp for Tripod amzn.to/3fZGx0i
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• BACKPACKING THE PACIFI...
#PCT2021 #PacificCrestTrail #TheHungryHiker

[@TheHungryHiker]

After wrapping up my 7-day hike along Section K on the Pacific Crest Trail here in Washington, I hopped back on trail for another 4 days with my friends Dan and Stacy at Snoqualmie Pass to hike Section J on the PCT, from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass. We really lucked out with the weather while we were out there. Warm, sunshine and 100% gorgeous. Mountain views for days! I can see why this section of the PCT in Washington is one of the most popular sections of the entire trail.

[@katgerbz]

Does Guthook/Far Out identify sections, like section K? I’m not seeing it. Just gps.

[@TheHungryHiker]

No. FarOut only organizes the PCT by state: California, Oregon and Washington. Since California is so long, FarOut breaks up the state into three regions: Southern California, Sierra and Northern California. This article on backpacker.com does a great job outlining all 30 sections of the PCT in all three states. Scroll down towards the bottom for the info: www.backpacker.com/trips/long-trails/pacific-crest-trail/

[@iseabeck9488]

Handlebar mustache guy from EV here: can you tell where I'm planning next? Ha!

[@TheHungryHiker]

Nice! Section J on the PCT is AWESOME!! Hopefully you get good weather while you're out there. So many views!!

[@VivianInTheOC]

Looks awesome! I’m enjoying the videos very much! Keep up the great work!👍🙂

[@TheHungryHiker]

Glad you like them!

[@HikingDogsElementLover]

The meals look AMAZING in this!!

[@TheHungryHiker]

Thanks! I'm a very food motivated hiker so the meals I bring with me on my trips are always meals I look forward to eating when I'm out there.

[@joelklein3720]

You are awesome. I love watching your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures with us!

[@TheHungryHiker]

Glad you're enjoying the videos. Thanks for watching!

[@briaunabaalman3088]

Thank you for sharing this! I’ll be thru-hiking this section next summer!

[@TheHungryHiker]

Yay!! This was such a beautiful section!! 😀

[@thebeardedhomesteader]

Im putting together my pack now to do some gear testing

[@TheHungryHiker]

Nice!

[@danieltubrother49]

Amazing adventure of yours. 👌🙌🏞️⛰️ I've been following your videos almost a year ago, and I've learnt a lot thanks to you 🙌. Just one little thing, it would have been really cool if you show more of the campsites, I really enjoy that of your past videos.

[@TheHungryHiker]

The Section J vlog series is not over yet! The reason why I didn't show our tentsite on Day 1 is because we didn't get camp set up until after dark. Don't worry. I show each of the tentsites we stayed at along our trip in the morning, before getting on trail for the day, when its light out. So stay tuned for next Sunday when Episode 2 goes live. You'll get to see Day 1's tentsite.

[@makethepart]

😍😍😍😍

[@TheHungryHiker]

Take me back!!!

[@pambump6060]

Gorgeous scenery! My boss wants to know why my screen saver always gave gorgeous pictures, told her it keeps me sane!😂

[@TheHungryHiker]

Love that! I know the feeling!!!

[@cherylkolb9984]

Great video, can’t wait to catch up on the rest of this trip! I want to try out the Kencko smoothies but when I use your link, it doesn’t reflect a discount in the checkout. Do you have a code we can use? (Also wasn’t able to put your handle in as a referral, but hopefully a code would cover that also?) I’ll be looking for your hat on my day hikes at Rainier this August 😍

[@DavidWisehart]

Thanks for the gorgeous views. I hiked Section J this summer as part of my SOBO PCT trip (which ended at Ashland because of the CA fire closures). Loved this section, but sadly I didn't get any views on Kendall Katwalk because of the weather. It was completely socked-in with thick clouds, driving rain, and icy wind. My toughest day on the trail by far. I'll have to go back when the weather is good, and see what I missed.

[@TheHungryHiker]

Definitely go back! Trust me, from someone who has now done this section three times, I mean it when I say it's worth doing again. Kendall Katwalk makes for a beautiful day hike as well, in case you want to see this section without having to hike all the way through to Stevens.

[@aaalllen]

Oooh back to back trip. The scenery looks pretty epic. For those "fully compostable" meal bags, can you have boiling water in them and soak your meal?

[@TheHungryHiker]

Yup, my two section hikes on the PCT this summer in Washington were literally back-to-back. We really lucked out with the weather and got to see all of the beautiful views this section has to offer. Now, after doing Section J three times, I understand the hype about this section of trail. It really is gorgeous out there. As for the food bags, no I would not recommend adding boiling water to the bags. The Right On Trek meals do require a bit of cooking, behind boiling water in a bag. Each meal has slightly different cooking instructions, which are easy to follow. It's still low effort to cook the meals. You just have to deal with a dirty pot afterwards, but so worth the effort for how tasty these meals are.

[@aaalllen]

@@TheHungryHiker awesome reply... thank you!

[@carl7368]

Shame on you spoiling us with all these beautifull vieuws and landscapes ,wish i can see them for myself someday if that day will ever come ? probably not life is busy and hectic but a place like that would calm the soul. thank you for the vlog

[@TheHungryHiker]

My pleasure. :)

[@hannahcollins1816]

I love your colorful kicks!! What kind are they?

[@TheHungryHiker]

These are the Salomon Odyssey Trail Runners: alnk.to/7qdgS05 BUT Salomon stopped making them in this super fun, colorful pattern in 2019. I rocked the blue ones earlier this year. Super comfy shoes!

[@hannahcollins1816]

@@TheHungryHiker aww bummer the pattern is discontinued!! My hiking boots are Salomon - for sure comfy!

[@TheHungryHiker]

I know. These ones were my FAVE!!

[@karimilich9914]

As someone who sits for a living but loves backpacking when I can, how user friendly is this section?

[@TheHungryHiker]

Think about how many miles a day you'd want to hike and how long you want to be out there and then plan your trip accordingly. We did this one in four days and it was pretty challenging because a couple of our days were 20+ miles. I still had an injury from my previous trip and the pain caught up to me in the middle of Day 2 being out there causing me to slow down quite a bit. Most people do this one in 5-6 days, give or take. As long as you plan, prep and train for your hike, you could totally do this!

[@kenedward4585]

We are looking to do part of Section J, which parts of the Section J are the most boring? If you could only do 30 miles, would you do either stevens pass or snoqulamine pass sections?

[@TheHungryHiker]

Oh man. This is such a hard question to answer because honestly, after hiking Section J three times now in both directions, I wouldn't say there's a boring section of this part of trail. It's all beautiful and amazing in its own way. The deciding factor will probably come down to trip logistics for you and how you'll be able to sort out getting to and from the trailhead. Whatever you do, try to catch this one during a really nice, clear weather window. There are so many incredible views on this section of trail. You'll really have to hang onto your eyeballs on this one.

[@Snowboarder3195]

How did you handle parking permits? I'm organizing my own solo Section J trip right now and the online parking passes only cover one day each. Do I just have to buy a parking pass for each individual day I'm hiking and lay them all out on my dash?

[@TheHungryHiker]

I used my America The Beautiful annual pass which covers both parking in national parks and national forest trailheads for up to 14 days.

[@delwinelder2116]

How did you get permits for section hiking?

[@TheHungryHiker]

There are no permits needed for hiking any of the sections of the PCT in Washington.

[@egr3071]

I wanna try backpacking so bad. What do you do for a living that allows you to do this? I would rather try this with an experienced backpacker

[@TheHungryHiker]

I use the vacation time I earn throughout the year to go on backpacking trips that go beyond the standard weekend. Kind of like what most people who work full-time. Only my vacations are spent in the mountains. 😊