Perseverance is not a long race. It is many short races one after another.
– Walter Elliot
The PCT runs through three states, but in 2023, I was only interested in one: Oregon. The state was once nicknamed the Sunset State, not because Oregon’s sunsets always look as magical as this photo (taken on the PCT), but because it was once the westernmost point in the Union before Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii were admitted as states.
I love my home state of Oregon dearly. I’ve hiked endless miles through it. In 2021, I walked the entire coast from Washington to California on the Oregon Coast Trail. I’ve thru-hiked the Timberline Trail around Mt. Hood and climbed the mountain too. I’ve traveled through all 36 of Oregon’s counties on my quest to hike to the highest point in each one.
And so it’s no surprise that I ambitiously planned to hike all 457 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Oregon in 2023, beginning at the California border with my pal Poledork and heading north on a continuous footpath toward Washington.
Unfortunately, my plans went awry almost immediately. 2023 was a “high snow” year, and even the southern parts of the trail were still snow-covered when we began in early July. As a result, we hiked only 82 miles together before pausing. I headed a bit north to grab a second, less snowy section while Poledork stayed home.
Then we picked back up (together) near Crater Lake, only to end up in the local ER when Poledork took a fall that required more than a dozen stitches to her shin. That injury pretty much ended Poledork’s hiking season, and I pivoted toward some adventures in Scotland. But leaving those PCT miles unfinished in 2023 kept nagging at me. So I returned in the summer of 2026 to pick up where I’d left off.
As any section hiker will tell you, doing a trail in bits and pieces can be far harder than hiking it as a thru-hike. Driving to and from trailheads is exhausting. Fitting disjointed short backpacking trips into your other summer plans is logistically difficult. And repeatedly building (and losing) your stamina and physical strength is frustrating.
In the end, my itinerary for the Oregon section of the PCT was very wonky.
- I completed the trail over the course of 8 section hikes.
- Each section ranged from 25 to 92 miles (with a mean average of 57 miles).
- I was unable to hike my sections in continuous order due to snowpack, wildfires, and trail maintenance.
- I hiked one short section southbound with Poledork.
- I had to repeat nearly 10 miles to connect two sections near Crater Lake NP.
- And I used four scenic alternatives to connect my footsteps, rather than sticking strictly to the original trail
Truthfully, I needed a master spreadsheet just to track which miles I’d hiked and when. This post is the complete overview of when and how I completed all the miles between the California border to the Washington border.
(Note: All miles were hiked solo and NOBO unless otherwise indicated.)
Section 1 (June 2023) — CA BORDER to FISH LAKE
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA border | Stream | 1693.2 – 1705.4 | 0 – 12.2 | With Poledork |
| 2 | Stream | Carter Creek | 1705.4 – 1721.6 | 12.2 – 28.4 | With Poledork |
| 3 | Carter Creek | Utility Road | 1721.6 – 1738.3 | 28.4 – 45.1 | With Poledork |
| 4 | Utility Road | Grizzly Creek | 1738.3 – 1752.7 | 45.1 – 59.5 | With Poledork |
| 5 | Grizzly Creek | Brown Mountain | 1752.7 – 1768.7 | 59.5 – 75.5 | With Poledork |
| 6 | Brown Mountain | Fish Lake | 1768.7 – 1774.9 | 75.5 – 81.7 | With Poledork |
Section 4 (May 2026) — FISH LAKE to Crater Lake NP
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Fish Lake | Vista Trail | 1774.9 – 1794.2 | 87.7 – 101.5 | |
| 14 | Vista Trail | Goose Egg Ridge | 1794.2 – 1814.2 | 101.5 – 121 | |
| 15 | Goose Egg Ridge | Mazama Village | 1814.2 – 1822.4 | 121 – 129.2 | Repeated 2023 PCT miles |
Section 3 (JULY 2023) — Crater Lake NP
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Stuart Falls Trail | Pumice Flat | 1813.4 – 1822.4 | 114.4 – 126.3 | Out & Back with an ER visit |
| 11 | Pumice Flat | Merriam Point | 1822.4 – 1836.5 | 126.3 – 139.4 | SOBO with Poledork via Rim Trail (alt) |
Section 2 (July 2023) — Crater Lake NP to Willamette Pass
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Merriam Point | Mt. Thielsen | 1836.5 – 1855.4 | 139.4 – 161.8 | Rim Trail (alt) |
| 8 | Mt. Thielsen | Tenas Trail | 1855.4 – 1875.7 | 161.8 – 182.5 | |
| 9 | Tenas Trail | Diamond Peak | 1875.7 – 1899.3 | 182.5 – 206.1 | |
| 10 | Diamond Peak | Willamette Pass | 1899.3 – 1909.4 | 206.1 – 216.2 |
Section 5 (June 2026) — Willamette Pass to Elk Lake
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Willamette Pass | Lily Lake | 1909.4 – 1929.5 | 216.2 – 236.3 | |
| 17 | Lily Lake | Elk Lake | 1929.5 – 1954.1 | 236.3 – 260.9 |
Section 7 (Sept. 2026) — Elk Lake to Santiam Pass
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Elk Lake | Middle Sister | 1954.1 – 1971.7 | 260.9 – 278.5 | |
| 23 | Middle Sister | Lava Field | 1971.7 – 1990.3 | 278.5 – 297.1 | |
| 24 | Lava Field | Santiam Pass | 1990.3 – 2002.6 | 297.1 – 309.4 | Big Lake Youth Camp (alt) |
Section 6 (July 2026) — Santiam Pass to Barlow Pass
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Santiam Pass | Shale Lake | 2002.6 – 2025.6 | 309.4 – 332.4 | |
| 19 | Shale Lake | Olallie Lake | 2025.6 – 2048.7 | 332.4 – 355.5 | |
| 20 | Olallie Lake | Red Wolf Pass | 2048.7 – 2072.6 | 355.5 – 379.4 | |
| 21 | Red Wolf Pass | Barlow Pass | 2072.6 – 2094.7 | 379.4 – 401.5 |
Section 8 (Sept. 2026) — Barlow Pass to WA Border
| Day | Start | End | PCT Miles | OR Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Barlow Pass. | Muddy Fork | 2094.7 – 2112.1 | 401.5 – 418.9 | Ramona Falls (alt) |
| 26 | Muddy Fork | Wahtum Lake | 2112.0 – 2130.7 | 418.9 – 440.2 | |
| 27 | Wahtum Lake | Bridge of the Gods | 2130.7 – 2150.2 | 440.2 – 457 | Eagle Creek (alt) |
In the end, I’m grateful to have completed this part of the PCT as a series of section hikes. Miles tend to blur together when you hike for weeks or months on end. Hiking through Oregon in distinct chunks felt more like a series of smaller trails, each one a delightful micro-adventure.
While I was out on this adventure, I also toyed with doing the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) as a section hike. I’m honestly not sure I have 3,100 miles of continuous hiking left in these old legs. While I wouldn’t try to replicate the small chunks of this trek, I could see myself hiking the CDT as 4 moderately long hikes (New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming-Idaho, and Montana). So stay tuned to see if I have an announcement for 2027!
If you want to read more about my experience on the Oregon section of the PCT, click the link below to view my full trail journal.