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Rant: the Oregon section of the PCT got rerouted near Crater Lake last summer and I still cannot decide if it is better or worse
I hiked the Oregon stretch of the PCT back in 2019, then went back and did it again last August, and one chunk around Crater Lake is not the same trail anymore. The old route had this long boring road walk on the west side that everyone complained about, but it also gave you a real town stop and a place to dry out gear after three days of rain. The new map sends you up and over a ridge instead, and yeah the views are nicer, but it adds about 900 feet of climbing and there is zero water for 11 miles. I ran into a guy at the Mazama Village store who had done both routes and he said flat out he would take the road walk back in a heartbeat. I get why the land managers moved it, there was erosion and a washed out bridge, but a reroute is never just free miles, something always gets traded. So which is it, do you take a prettier line with a harder resupply or an ugly road with easy access? If you have walked the new section, did the lack of water bite you or did I just plan it wrong?
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juliaa6511d ago
I used to say bring back the road walk, but after doing the ridge with a full load of water I honestly liked the new route more. The climb is real (my legs hated me) but that view of the lake from up high is worth the extra work.
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