Did you know people are 63% more likely to believe information they see in presented in a chart versus simply reading the same information in a paragraph? Did you know I made that up? Would you like to see some Pacific Crest Trail related charts anyway? Great.

Yes, it's time for the fifth installment of this year's Pacific Crest Trail Hiker Survey (in case you missed the other three, here they are: Survey Results, Gear Guide, Resupply Guide, Horror & Heartbreak). Here, we break down PCT hikers in a number of ways (by age, by pack weight, by country of origin) and compare an even larger number of measurements (completion percentage, hike speed, dollars spent). Do I think that ingesting this information is going to help you have a successful Pacific Crest Trail hike? Nope. Do I think it's interesting? A little, yeah. A lot of what you would expect comes out of this chart (e.g. female hikers had warmer sleeping bags and experienced hikers started with a lower base weight), but there are some surprises as well (you'll have to read further to find those out).

A lot of the data here is more along the lines of, “Hmmm…I think this would be an interesting thing to look at,” as opposed to something that might actually assist you in completing the Pacific Crest Trail (remember, planning is useless).

The categories I've split hikers into are based on sex, age, country (domestic vs. international), experience (first thru-hike vs. experienced thru-hiker), pre-trail fitness level, length of hike, cost of hike, and pack base weight (pre-hike). The data points we look at for each of these breakdowns are: sex, age, education, start month (NOBO), average start date (NOBO), days on trail, fitness level, longest day, zero days, near-o days, resupply stops, resupply boxes sent, starting base weight, ending base weight, amount spent on gear, amount spent on entire hike, sleeping bag temperature rating, backpack size, and pairs of shoes used.

Not sure what one or more of the terms listed above means? Check out the thru-hiker glossary.

The comparisons below are:

JUMP TO A SECTION

NOTES ON THE DATA

This year we had 502 completed surveys .

. The responses to some questions have been sorted and colored in hopes of more usefully and accurately presenting the data (e.g. northbound vs. southbound).

in hopes of more usefully and accurately presenting the data (e.g. northbound vs. southbound). Not all PCT hikers document the stats of their thru-hike (yes, I'm weird). Because of this, the data is not 100% guaranteed accurate (again, this is not science we're dealing with).

For simplicity, I refer to the survey respondents collectively as this year's “ class “. Remember this is only a fraction of this year's PCT hikers and it is not necessarily representative of the entire PCT Class of 2018.

“. Remember this is only a fraction of this year's PCT hikers and it is not necessarily representative of the entire PCT Class of 2018. If you find some small and meaningless discrepancy in the data, get over it . If you find large or obvious errors, please lets me know.

. If you find large or obvious errors, please lets me know. If you would like to be notified of new surveys, click here.

Labels differentiating hiker segments:

THRU : Thru-hikers (all)

: Thru-hikers (all) FINISH : Thru-hikers (all) who completed the entire PCT

: Thru-hikers (all) who the entire PCT NOBO : Northbound thru-hikers (all)

If NO LABEL has been appended to a data point, then I used all data collected (this includes section hiker data).

If at any point you find yourself wondering, “It would be interesting to see how X compares to Y,” then let me know in a comment or via message and I may be able to add it to the collection.

NOTE: if some of the “overall” numbers look strange in relation to the categories it's because the overall stat includes all hikers in the group while the other numbers may only include the finishers (e.g. the ages of hikers in the “Fast vs. Slow Hikes”).

PCT THRU-HIKER SEX

We'll start with some statistics that won't be very useful to anyone planning a thru-hike (I have a feeling that most of what follows is mostly fow entertainment purposes, but there's definitely some wisdom to be had here). What was the split between men and women on the Pacific Crest Trail this year? 56.7% Male

43.1% Female

0.2% Genderqueer* *This group was not included in the chart below because it contained only one person (and therefore would reflect the data of a single person and not a group).

FEMALE MALE OVERALL AVERAGE THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE 74% 82% 78% AVERAGE AGE 30 35 34 EDUCATION LEVEL 1.4% <12th grade

8.1% High School Diploma

10.5% Some College

4.8% Associate Degree

53.1% Bachelor's Degree

22% Graduate Degree 1% <12th grade

5.4% High School Diploma

19.2% Some College

6.5% Associate Degree

46.7% Bachelor's Degree

21% Graduate Degree 1.2% <12th grade

6.7% High School Diploma

14.9% Some College

5.7% Associate Degree

49.5% Bachelor's Degree

22% Graduate Degree THRU – NOBO START MONTH 17.6% March

58.2% April

19.4% May

2.4% June 0.4% February

21.9% March

49.6% April

26.3% May 0.3% February

20.3% March

54.4% April

23.5% May

1% June THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 16 April 16 April 16 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 152 148 149 THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 5.98 6.38 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 38.07 mi / 61.27 km 40.68 mi / 65.47 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 17 17.5 17 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 17.2 16 16.46 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 42.4 40.5 41.9 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 9.55 8.15 8.7 THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START) 17.13 lbs / 7.77 kg 17.99 lbs / 8.16 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 14.56 lbs / 6.60 kg 15.24 lbs / 6.91 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR $1,583 $1,544 $1,565 FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE $6,363 $6,633 $6,504 THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 15.4°F / -9.22°C 18.6°F / -7.44°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 55 L 56 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.5 4.47 4.43

PCT THRU-HIKER AGE

The youngest hiker to participate in the survey was 18, the oldest (thru-hiker) was 70 (this person has not been included in the data below as they are the only one in their group). 1.6% <20

19.1% 20-24

29.7% 25-29

16.4% 30-34

9.2% 35-39

9.2% 40-49

8.2% 50-59

6.1% 60-69 AVERAGE AGE | 34 (σ = 12)

The average age of survey respondents was 34 (σ = 12). Will this help you plan your hike? Probably not. Is it interesting to look at? Yes. Did this chart take way too long to make? You bet it did.

<20 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 OVERALL AVERAGE THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE 71% 80% 81% 86% 86% 82% 62% 30% 78% SEX 86% Female

14% Male 49% Female

51% Male 53% Female

46% Male

<1% Genderqueer 35% Female

65% Male 46% Female

54% Male 16% Female

84% Male 24% Female

76% Male 37% Female

63% Male 43.1% Female

56.7% Male

<1% Genderqueer THRU – NOBO START MONTH 0% February

14% March

58% April

14% May

14% June 0% February

16% March

49% April

32% May

3% June 0% February

16% March

58% April

25% May

1% June 0% February

24% March

60% April

16% May

0% June 3% February

9% March

61% April

24% May

3% June 0% February

34% March

45% April

21% May

0% June 0% February

27% March

50% April

23% May

0% June 0% February

39% March

45% April

11% May

5% July 0.3% February

20.3% March

54.4% April

23.5% May

1% June

0.3% July THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 19 April 23 April 17 April 14 April 23 April 9 April 12 April 8 April 16 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 144 143 150 154 155 150 139 154 149 THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 5.86 6.38 6.12 6.15 5.63 6.24 6.66 6.45 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 39.43 mi / 63.46 km 41.50 mi / 66.79 km 37.31 mi / 60.04 km 38.42 mi / 61.83 km 37.53 mi / 60.40 km 34.97 mi / 56.28 km 32.10 mi / 51.66 km 26.45 mi / 42.57 km 37.31 mi / 60.04 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 18.75 16.56 17.11 19.23 17.84 15.84 12.81 19.67 17.21 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 22.00 15.88 18.12 18.43 16.68 11.90 10.81 8.00 16.46 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 41 40 42 41 40 41 37 40 42 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 9.6 8.7 8.2 7.9 7.4 10.0 12.7 10.4 8.7 THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START) 17.67 lbs / 8.01 kg 16.72 lbs / 7.58 kg 17.75 lbs / 8.05 kg 17.36 lbs / 7.87 kg 17.26 lbs / 7.83 kg 19.69 lbs / 8.93 kg 18.61 lbs / 8.44 kg 17.78 lbs / 8.06 kg 17.63 lbs / 8.00 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 11.25 lbs / 5.10 kg 14.44 lbs / 6.55 kg 14.50 lbs / 6.58 kg 15.34 lbs / 6.96 kg 14.08 lbs / 6.39 kg 18.66 lbs / 8.46 kg 14.88 lbs / 6.75 kg 16.33 lbs / 7.41 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR $1,643 $1,379 $1,562 $1,710 $1,676 $1,562 $1,772 $1,437 $1,565 FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE $3,900 $4,916 $6,533 $7,681 $7,219 $7,421 $6,667 $6,667 $6,504 THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 17.7°F / -7.94°C 17.8°F / -7.89°C 15.9°F / -8.94°C 18.5°F / -7.50°C 16.6°F / -8.56°C 17.1°F / -8.28°C 20.3°F / -6.50°C 16.0°F / -8.89°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 52.7 L 53.5 L 55.3 L 55.9 L 56.3 L 57.8 L 58.9 L 57.8 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.50 4.37 4.46 4.67 4.84 4.60 4.69 4.50 4.54

PCT HIKERS: DOMESTIC VS. INTERNATIONAL

This year, we had hikers from 31 countries (including the US) from every populated continent (that's right, nobody from that uninhabited wasteland, Australia). International hikers accounted for 37.7% of this year's PCT Class. From the US, we had every state represented except for Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming (I guess Wyoming and Montana were busy with the Continental Divide Trail, but Kentucky and North Dakota, you have no excuse).

COUNTRIES | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA (31 TOTAL)

US STATES | AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA,VT, WA, WV, WI (46 TOTAL)



MOST REPRESENTED COUNTRIES USA 62.3% Australia 7.8% Canada 6.8% Germany 5.8% United Kingdom 4.7% New Zealand/Switzerland 3.1% Austria/France/Israel 1%



MOST REPRESENTED STATES California 22.4% Washington 12.5% Oregon 8% Texas 4.2% Colorado/Michigan 3.5% New York 2.9% North Carolina 2.6%

DOMESTIC INTERNATIONAL OVERALL AVERAGE THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE 75% 84% 78% SEX 45% Female

54% Male

<1% Genderqueer 42% Female

58% Male 43.1% Female

56.7% Male

<1% Genderqueer AVERAGE AGE 35 33 34 EDUCATION LEVEL 0.7% <12th grade

3.8% High School Diploma

15.6% Some College

6.5% Associate Degree

55.9% Bachelor's Degree

17.5% Graduate Degree 1.8% <12th grade

12% High School Diploma

13.2% Some College

2.4% Associate Degree

44.3% Bachelor's Degree

26.3% Graduate Degree 1.2% <12th grade

6.7% High School Diploma

14.9% Some College

5.7% Associate Degree

49.5% Bachelor's Degree

22% Graduate Degree THRU – NOBO START MONTH 0.3% February

20.2% March

47.9% April

20.2% May

1% June 0% February

17.2% March

56.1% April

24.8% May

0.6% June 0.3% February

20.3% March

54.4% April

23.5% May

1% June THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 16 April 17 April 16 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 151 147 149 THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 6.45 6.10 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 39.34 mi / 63.31 km 39.75 mi / 63.97 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 17.7 16.7 17 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 16.4 16.7 16.5 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 42.5 41.2 41.9 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 9.6 7.1 8.7 THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START) 16.70 lbs / 7.57 kg 19.06 lbs / 8.65 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 14.40 lbs / 6.53 kg 15.84 lbs / 7.18 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR $1,465 $1,727 $1,565 FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE $6,084 $7,125 $6,504 THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 17.1°F / -8.28°C 17.3°F / -8.17°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 55.7 L 55.7 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.41 4.48 4.43

PCT HIKERS: ROOKIE VS. EXPERIENCE

This year, 70% of Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers were taking on their first long-distance trail and 30% had experience on one or more long-distance hikes in the past.

The trails most commonly hiked by those with experience are:

27% Appalachian Trail

22% John Muir Trail

11% Camino de Santiago

10% Pacific Crest Trail

10% Tahoe Rim Trail

9% Te Araroa Trail

8% Colorado Trail

6% Wonderland Trail

4% Continental Divide Trail

4% Long Trail

3% Arizona Trail

26% Other Long-distance Trail

FIRST THRU-HIKE EXPERIENCED THRU-HIKER OVERALL AVERAGE THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE 77% 81% 78% SEX 44% Female

56% Male 39% Female

60% Male

<1% Genderqueer 43.1% Female

56.7% Male

<1% Genderqueer AVERAGE AGE 32 34 34 EDUCATION LEVEL 1.3% <12th grade

5.6% High School Diploma

13.6% Some College

5.6% Associate Degree

53.2% Bachelor's Degree

20.3% Graduate Degree 0.7% <12th grade

9.6% High School Diploma

17.7% Some College

3% Associate Degree

46.8% Bachelor's Degree

22.2% Graduate Degree 1.2% <12th grade

6.7% High School Diploma

14.9% Some College

5.7% Associate Degree

49.5% Bachelor's Degree

22% Graduate Degree THRU – NOBO START MONTH 0.3% February

20.8% March

56.5% April

21.6% May

0.3% June 0% February

17.2% March

56.1% April

24.8% May

0.6% June 0% February

18.5% March

50% April

27.8% May

2.8% June THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 15 April 20 April 16 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 152 144 149 THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 6.02 6.64 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 39.40 mi / 63.41 km 40.03 mi / 64.44 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 15.4 18.1 17 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 15.6 16.9 16.5 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 42.0 41.3 41.9 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 8.1 10 8.7 THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START) 18.86 lbs / 8.55 kg 14.91 lbs / 6.76 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 15.56 lbs / 7.06 kg 13.80 lbs / 6.26 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR $1,465 $1,372 $1,565 FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE $6,713 $5,249 $6,504 THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 16.8°F / -8.42°C 18.2°F / -7.67°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 56.6 L 53.8 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.63 4.35 4.43

PCT HIKERS: FAST VS. SLOW

How about people who hiked the trail quickly vs. those who took a bit longer to complete their thru-hikes? Here we split and compare hikers based on the length of time it took them to finish the trail. The average number of days thru-hikers spent completing a thru-hike this year was 149 days (basically five months). I've divided hikerss into “Fast Hikes” (quicker than 149 days) and “Slow Hikes” (those that took 149 days or longer). NOTE: Since this chart is measuring stats based on the completion time of the PCT, all of the hikers included here completed the trail.

HIKES UNDER 149 DAYS HIKES 149 DAYS & OVER OVERALL AVERAGE FINISH – SEX 45% Female

54% Male

<1% Genderqueer 35% Female

63% Male

<1% Genderqueer 39% Female

60% Male

<1% Genderqueer FINISH – AVERAGE AGE 35 31 31 FINISH – EDUCATION LEVEL 0.7% <12th grade

3.8% High School Diploma

15.6% Some College

6.5% Associate Degree

55.9% Bachelor's Degree

17.5% Graduate Degree 0.6% <12th grade

4.5% High School Diploma

10.3% Some College

2.4% Associate Degree

58.3% Bachelor's Degree

23.7% Graduate Degree 1.2% <12th grade

7.4% High School Diploma

12.7% Some College

4.4% Associate Degree

53.7% Bachelor's Degree

20.6% Graduate Degree FINISH – NOBO START MONTH 0.6% February

26.8% March

64.8 April

7.3% May

0.5% June 0% February

7.9% March

42.5% April

48.8% May

0.8% June 0.3% February

19% March

55.6% April

24.5% May

0.7% June FINISH – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 9 April 27 April 24 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 131 166 149 FINISH – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 6.85 5.91 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 41.89 mi / 67.42 km 37.56 mi /60.45 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 11.4 22.1 17 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 14.0 18.6 16.5 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 38.9 44.5 41.9 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 9.1 8.3 8.7 FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (START) 15.40 lbs / 6.99 kg 18.59 lbs / 8.43 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 13.63 lbs / 6.18 kg 16.26 lbs / 7.38 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR $1,488 $1,604 $1,565 FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE $6,005 $7,181 $6,504 FINISH – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 17.0°F / -8.33°C 17.7°F / -7.94°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C FINISH – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 53.6 L 57.2 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.59 4.56 4.43

PCT HIKES: CHEAP VS. EXPENSIVE

Now to an issue that many future thru-hikers worry about: how much will it cost to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (and how much should they spend)? Will spending a lot of money on a thru-hike make it more successful? Epic? Sexy? Probably not. That said, if you're looking to reduce cost on a thru-hike, then it appears completing your hike as quickly as possible (and not taking many days off) is a good solution (as you would probably expect?). NOTE: Since this chart is measuring stats based on the completion time of the PCT, all the hikers included here completed the trail.

CHEAP(ER) HIKES EXPENSIVE HIKES OVERALL AVERAGE FINISH – SEX (F/M/Genderqueer) 39% Female

60% Male

<1% Genderqueer 40% Female

60% Male 39% Female

60% Male

<1% Genderqueer FINISH – AVERAGE AGE 30 33 31 FINISH – EDUCATION LEVEL 0.6% <12th grade

7.8% High School Diploma

10.6% Some College

3.3% Associate Degree

57.2% Bachelor's Degree

20.6% Graduate Degree 2.2% <12th grade

5.2 High School Diploma

15.7% Some College

6% Associate Degree

50% Bachelor's Degree

20.9% Graduate Degree 1.2% <12th grade

7.4% High School Diploma

12.7% Some College

4.4% Associate Degree

53.7% Bachelor's Degree

20.6% Graduate Degree FINISH – NOBO START MONTH 0.6% February

13.5% March

53.5% April

31% May

1.3% June 0% February

17.2% March

57.8% April

24.8% May

0% June 0.3% February

19% March

55.6% April

24.5% May

0.7% June FINISH – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 20 April 12 April 17 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 144 158 149 FINISH – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 6.45 6.10 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 40.84 mi / 65.73 km 38.22 mi / 61.51 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 14.6 20.4 17 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 15.4 18.1 16.5 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 41.0 43.5 41.9 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 9.1 7.9 8.7 FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (START) 15.94 lbs / 7.23 kg 19.13 lbs / 8.68 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 14.19 lbs / 6.44 kg 16.35 lbs / 7.42 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg FINISH – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 17.5°F / -8.06°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C FINISH – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 54.8 L 57.1 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.31 4.79 4.43

More on how much it costs to hike the Pacific Crest Trail here.

PCT HIKES: LIGHT VS. HEAVY PACKS

And now to the proverbial thru-hiker dick-measuring competition: pack weight. The average starting base weight for this year's PCT thru-hiking class was 18.21 lbs / 8.28 kg and the average ending base weight was 15.53 lbs / 7.06 kg.

I split this section based on starting base weight. What did we find out here? Well, nothing really. I suggest taking a look at the gear data instead of trying to glean any information from this chart.

The charts below show the distributions of hiker base weight before and after the trail (note: the charts are in pounds – sorry, rest of the world).

LIGHT PACKS HEAVY PACKS OVERALL AVERAGE THRU – COMPLETION PERCENTAGE 82% 71% 78% SEX 43% Female

56% Male

<1% Genderqueer 39% Female

61% Male 43.1% Female

56.7% Male

<1% Genderqueer AVERAGE AGE 33 33 34 EDUCATION LEVEL 1.5% <12th grade

8.1% High School Diploma

14.7% Some College

3.7% Associate Degree

51.5% Bachelor's Degree

19.5% Graduate Degree 0.7% <12th grade

4.7% High School Diploma

16.1% Some College

6% Associate Degree

49% Bachelor's Degree

23.5% Graduate Degree 1.2% <12th grade

6.7% High School Diploma

14.9% Some College

5.7% Associate Degree

49.5% Bachelor's Degree

22% Graduate Degree THRU – NOBO START MONTH 0.4% February

17.6% March

57.6% April

23.9% May

0.4% June 0% February

25.2% March

51.1% April

21.5% May

2.2% June 0.3% February

20.3% March

54.4% April

23.5% May

1% June THRU – AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) April 16 April 15 April 16 FINISH – DAYS ON TRAIL 138 156 149 THRU – PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL 6.39 6.03 6.20 FINISH – LONGEST DAY 40.51 mi / 65.19 km 37.76 mi / 60.77 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km FINISH – ZERO DAYS 16.5 18.8 17 FINISH – NEAR-O DAYS 16.7 16.1 16.5 FINISH – RESUPPLY STOPS 41.6 42.4 41.9 FINISH – RESUPPLY BOXES SENT 8.9 8.1 8.7 THRU – BASE WEIGHT (START) 13.43 lbs / 6.09 kg 19.06 lbs / 8.65 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg FINISH – BASE WEIGHT (END) 12.81 lbs / 5.81 kg 15.84 lbs / 7.18 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg THRU – AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR $1,541 $1,727 $1,565 FINISH – AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE $5,941 $7,127 $6,504 THRU – AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING 17.0°F / -8.33°C 18.2°F / -7.67°C 17.2°F / -8.22°C THRU – AVERAGE PACK SIZE 53.7 L 59.6 L 55.7 L FINISH – AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED 4.47 4.48 4.43

PCT THRU-HIKE OVERALL WINNERS & LOSERS

Wrapping up, let's look at which of the above groups had the overall lowest and highest averages for each of our data points.

Experienced thru-hikers spent the least on gear, people who spent the longest on the trail had more expensive hikes, longer hikes had more zero days, and people with heavier base weights had the largest backpacks (in terms of capacity). But there were a few surprises too, I guess – older hikers started their hikes the earliest and hikers under 20 had the lowest reported level of pre-trail fitness (I guess you could call those surprises).

LOWEST HIGHEST OVERALL AVERAGE COMPLETION PERCENTAGE Hikers Aged 50-59

62% Hikers Aged 30-39

86% 78% SEX Hikers Aged 20-24

49% Female

51% Male Hikers Aged <20

86% Female

14% Male 43.1% Female

56.7% Male

<1% Genderqueer AVERAGE AGE Female Hikers

Cheap(er) Hikes

30 Male Hikers

Domestic Hikers

Hikes Under 149 Days

35 34 AVERAGE START DATE (NOBO) Hikers Aged 60-69

April 8 Hikes Under 149 Days

April 27 April 16 DAYS ON TRAIL Light Packs

138 Expensive Hikes

158 149 PRE-TRAIL FITNESS LEVEL Hikers Aged <20

5.86 Hikes Under 149 Days

6.85 6.20 LONGEST DAY Hikers Aged 60-69

26.45 mi / 42.57 km Hikes Under 149 Days

41.89 mi / 67.42 km 39.56 mi / 63.67 km ZERO DAYS Hikes Under 149 Days

11.4 Hikes 149 Days & Over

22.1 17 NEAR-O DAYS Hikers Aged 60-69

8 Hikers <20

22 16.5 RESUPPLY STOPS Hikers Aged 50-59

37 Hikes 149 Days & Over

44.5 41.9 RESUPPLY BOXES SENT International Hikers

7.1 Hikers Aged 60-69

10.4 8.7 BASE WEIGHT (START) Experienced Thru-hiker

14.91 lbs / 6.76 kg Hikers Aged 40-49

19.69 lbs / 8.93 kg 17.16 lbs / 7.78 kg BASE WEIGHT (END) Hikers Aged <20

11.25 lbs / 5.10 kg Hikers Aged 40-49

18.66 lbs / 8.46 kg 15.01 lbs / 6.81 kg AMOUNT SPENT ON GEAR Experienced Thru-hiker

$1,372 Hikers Aged 50-59

$1,772 $1,565 AMOUNT SPENT ON ENTIRE HIKE Hired Aged <20

$3,900 Hikers Aged 30-34

$7,681 $6,504 AVERAGE SLEEPING BAG RAING Female Hikers

15.4°F / -9.22°C Hikers Aged 50-59

20.3°F / -6.50°C 17.2°F/-8.22°C AVERAGE PACK SIZE Hikers Aged <20

52.7 L Heavy Packs

59.6 L 55.7 L AVERAGE PAIRS OF SHOES USED Cheap(er) Hikes

4.31 Hikers Aged 35-39

4.84 4.43

Leave a comment and let me know if you what you find to be useful, interesting, or if there's something you would like to see included in the future.

THE OTHER PCT SURVEYS

HIKING THE PCT NEXT YEAR? ENTER YOUR EMAIL BELOW TO TAKE NEXT YEAR'S PCT SURVEY!

You'll Like These Too: