How I did it: I began planning well over a year previous to the hike.  Planning involved route choices, dietary planning, physical fitness, saving money, and gear acquisition.  I spent a lot of time online gathering data from previous hikers.  I also read the PNTA Guidebook from cover to cover to get a feel for how it flowed and highlighted any data I felt would help me in advance as well as on trail.

Lessons & tips: Get in shape.  Be sure you enjoy hiking on poorly maintained trails lacking in informational signs.  Prepare yourself for not seeing lots of people from the time you leave Glacier National Park until the time you walk into the Cascades. 

Resources: Joining the Internet forums on the PNTA Web site is very valuable. 
People such as myself and other former hikers provide helpful responses
to questions and most of your questions have been answered already - to
be found with a little searching.

Nov 06, 2008, 07:18PM PST | 0 comments | 2 cheers