Review of Yogi's PCT Handbook

I'll go ahead and say that this is the best book for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. If that is ALL you wanted to know...You're Welcome. The PCT Handbook is the most up-to-date, with varying opinions by people that hike the PCT year after year.

Quick word on How I hiked the PCT:
The PCT Handbook was the only book I ended up hiking with, and I'm still here to talk about it. I carried no maps for the entire trail. My partner only carried the Data Book, by Ben Go. Yes; We got lost, mostly in the High Sierra’s. The snow blocked the ability of any kind of visual markings, and we were left to follow footprints. Hours were spent daily guessing where the trail may lead on snowy passes. I would recommend to others on a snowy year that maps be carried in the High Sierra’s, and depending on the snow year, probably shouldn't be left at home; or considered a weight issue from Kennedy Meadows to Yosemite. Maybe just carry the maps for your sanity along the rest of the way. The PCT doesn't seem all that well marked to me, especially comparing it to the markings of the Appalachian Trail. I tended to question the logic behind a very "seeable" trail in front of me that is marked twice within 200 yards; and one marker for 5 miles of trail with varying turns..."What were they thinking?" I chose not to use any water caches. Most would say that we hike very light. 20 miles through the Sierra's was the norm including being lost for an hour or two every day. Not a whole lot of planning went into the 2,600 mile adventure. Only one food drop box was created in Aqua Dulce and sent to Kennedy Meadows to make the march from Kennedy Meadows to Mammoth Lakes in 9 days (200+ miles) without resupplying. The rest of the way we ate in towns - Learn about how we Resupplied.

Yogi's PCT handbook comes in an 8 ½" x 11" binder. Accessing any page becomes easy.
Part One helps you understand the basics of long-distance hiking. Teaching others the lessons learned for those that follow. "Two cents" from someone who laid the footprints before you seems valuable knowledge in and of itself to me. Everyone seems to hike different; and it's nice to see that one way isn't the only way to make it to Canada; or Mexico. Part One isn't a necessity. What you will get- is involved in planning what some consider an enormous adventure for those who wish to plan it that way. The PCT Handbook provides references to all the outside resources you could possibly need. From learning about the Pacific Crest Trail, to places where you can keep an online journal. From gear to permits, the PCT Handbook lays it out for you one step at a time for a 2,600 mile adventure in pretty short order with all the cracks full.

Part Two of the PCT handbook "On the Trail"
The second section of the PCT Handbook comes unbound and ready to go into Ziplocs.
You get All the basics of a guidebook with more information in certain sections, and some 5 - 10 miles of nothing; which may be better than a Data Book entry- "better dirt road...good dirt road" data point. Look to find a variety of Hikers' comments from the Water Source being good here in 2003, to it being empty in 2005. Yogi even gives her personal touch...and other hikers go out of their way to give you the heads-up on issues they may have faced on this particular section of trail. The PCT Handbook wipes out the need for the "Town Guide" section of any Guidebooks. Hikers list their "favorite" restaurants and motels, but please don't hesitate to ask the locals their preference and save even more Guidebook weight. The PCT Handbook seems to be filling in the Data points where the Data Book fails to point out or be thorough. If the PCT Handbook were to add some general Sierra Pass maps and the known Data points for the PCT...The PCT Handbook could be the ONE book to carry for a thru hike, but the PCT Handbook as of today is just surprisingly stated as being complimentary to the three Guidebooks and the Data Book.

The PCT Handbook is about 1.5 inches short of fitting in a quart size bag...I want to be able to fit all my notes in a quart sized Ziploc.
I would also like to see spots were camping may be difficult. Examples include private property and areas that are known to be jungles of unkempt trail (We are talking miles here, not every step...Not everyone hikes in daylight hours only.)

I think I may be begging...but, Please don't make me carry more than one book for a thru hike.

For the price of $35 (a bit pricey), the PCT Handbook is hands down the Guidebook of Choice.
Getting a Guidebook together that supports more than one hiker laying out and updating the Data points is just what the next hiker needs. Please keep up the good Work!

Thanks Yogi!

Learn more about the PCT Handbook.