The essential, cut-to-the-chase handbook to the Pacific Crest Trail, based on the comprehensive Wilderness Press guidebooks to the PCT, has been completely updated. Packed with trail-tested features, it's useful both on and off the trail, covering pre-trip planning for resupply stops, how to set daily on-the-trail mileage goals by knowing trail gradient and the locations of campsites, water sources, and facilities, and how to easily calculate distances between any two points on the trail, and how to planning both north-bound and south-bound hiking trips. An indispensable list for anyone planing or through hiking the PCT --gilberto d'Urso, Mountain N' Air Books FROM THE AUTHOR: THE JOURNEY The future begins with a dream . . . . And what a wonderful dream it was! I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 1996; to this day, memories of that life continue to make me smile. The sweet innocence of the unknown, the lessons still to be learned. How I yearn to feel those moments! I started on the PCT not fully knowing what to expect. It was the most challenging journey I had ever attempted. The long expanse of the desert, the refreshing High Sierra, and the beautiful Cascade Mountains--nature became my home. Every night, I slept in different places, sometimes on a hill, in a valley, or on top of a mountain. I found myself seeking and finding special places, and treasuring the times when I could feel deeply. In nature, I saw more moments that in my mind could not be possible, and yet they happened. I remember the uncertainty, the not knowing of what would be. But, at the same time, as my knowledge increased and gave power, it also limited me. Knowledge created a boundary that at times became the border of my life. It was only by questioning what I knew and in doing difficult things that I could grow. Here I learned my four treasured lessons: Take care of those whom you love. Take care of your health. Do not limit yourself to what you know. Try and learn. Share your life. We are not meant to be alone. I am glad that many continue to protect this most beautiful treasure. To the future! --Ben "Gentle Ben" Go, June 2013 A note about my trail name: When I started on the PCT, I met many Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, most of whom had trail names. For two months, I hiked across Southern California with the veteran AT hikers pondering what my trail name should be. We finally reached Kennedy Meadows and saw the movie Grizzly Adams. Next thing I knew, my trail name Gentle Ben came into being, bestowed by the one and only "Rude Dog." FROM THE AUTHOR: THE JOURNEY The future begins with a dream . . . . And what a wonderful dream it was! I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 1996; to this day, memories of that life continue to make me smile. The sweet innocence of the unknown, the lessons still to be learned. How I yearn to feel those moments! I started on the PCT not fully knowing what to expect. It was the most challenging journey I had ever attempted. The long expanse of the desert, the refreshing High Sierra, and the beautiful Cascade Mountains--nature became my home. Every night, I slept in different places, sometimes on a hill, in a valley, or on top of a mountain. I found myself seeking and finding special places, and treasuring the times when I could feel deeply. In nature, I saw more moments that in my mind could not be possible, and yet they happened. I remember the uncertainty, the not knowing of what would be. But, at the same time, as my knowledge increased and gave power, it also limited me. Knowledge created a boundary that at times became the border of my life. It was only by questioning what I knew and in doing difficult things that I could grow. Here I learned my four treasured lessons: Take care of those whom you love. Take care of your health. Do not limit yourself to what you know. Try and learn. Share your life. We are not meant to be alone. I am glad that many continue to protect this most beautiful treasure. To the future! --Ben "Gentle Ben" Go, June 2013 A note about my trail name: When I started on the PCT, I met many Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, most of whom had trail names. For two months, I hiked across Southern California with the veteran AT hikers pondering what my trail name should be. We finally reached Kennedy Meadows and saw the movie Grizzly Adams. Next thing I knew, my trail name Gentle Ben came into being, bestowed by the one and only "Rude Dog." Benedict Go thru-hiked the PCT in 1996 and since that time has been committed to updating the essential pocket guide to the trail. All of his book royalties are donated to the PCTA's Jane and Flicka Endowment Fund, which helps fund trail maintenance and promote trail use. INTRODUCTION The Pacific Crest Trail Data Book contains a summary of the entire Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), covering a distance of more than 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada. The trail passes through three states: California, Oregon, and Washington. The PCT te