About the flip

2017 was infamously known as the year of "fire and ice" on the Pacific Crest Trail. Luckily for us, our decision to do a "flip" enabled us to hike as much of the trail as possible.

We started July 4th, 2017 at Ashland, near the Oregon/California border, and headed north to the Canadian border. During this section of the trail, we were north-bound, or "NOBO" for short. We hiked with section hikers, NOBO through hikers who had skipped the Sierras or Northern California due to snow.

Once we reached the Northern Terminus, we hitched to Vancouver and flew back to Portland, where we were lucky enough to have some family that could drop us back off at the trailhead in Etna (due to the fires in southern Oregon, there was a trail closure on the PCT). From there, we hiked south (becoming SOBOs) and walked to the Southern Terminus. While going South, we hiked mostly with SOBO through hikers that had started a little bit after us in mid-July at the Northern Terminus. 

Overall, this was a great decision for us to make - it allowed for a later start date, an easier introduction to the trail in flat southern Oregon, and ultimately allowed us to hike as much as possible.