Tag: 2026

Day 1 – Daleville, VA to Lambert’s Meadow
Today’s Miles: 9.6

Trip Miles: 9.6

Sunday, March 29, 2026. Up at 8:00. Sunny and 34 going up to mid-50s. Sunrise: 7:08 a.m. Sunset: 7:41 p.m.

Had a big breakfast in Blacksburg, VA with Ed and our friend Jon. Dropped my truck off at our friend Don’s house for the week and drove to Ed’s brother Stuart’s house to drop off Ed’s car. Stuart drove us to the trailhead. Thanks a lot, Don and Stuart. We really appreciate the support.

We got on the trail where the AT crosses US 220 near Daleville, VA at 12:30. We are headed SOBO. I hiked this section in 2024 on the thru-hike NOBO.

I’m carrying my full load for the PCT including 5.5 days of food and 1.75 liters of water. Call it 33 lbs. I won’t have to carry more than 3 days of food on the PCT until mile 300 or further. This is a good test / prep. There won’t be water until we reach camp in 9.6 miles today. If it were summer, like last time I did this, I would carry a third liter today.

Power line warning

The first 2 miles were our worst climb of the day. Hiked up to a massive set of high-tension lines. You can hear them humming and crackling.

We made it to an overlook of the Roanoke Reservoir at 1:45. That steep climb is as bad as I remembered it, plus I don’t have trail legs yet.

Ed at Roanoke reservoir overlook

Chuck at Roanoke reservoir overlook

I’m also still getting used to this new pack. I need to fine-tune it a lot over the next few days. Passed about a dozen day hikers in this area.

We took a break to swap water bottles at 3:49 and 5.77 miles in. We have 3.8 miles to go until we reach camp. The pack is doing okay after some adjustment.

We reached an overlook and cliffs at 4:30 and 7.1 miles in. My hips and calves are not happy. I have not carried more than 28 pounds yet this year and on less steep terrain.

View from ledges looking over Daleville

Chuck at ledges looking over Daleville

We got to the ledges at 5:00 with 1.4 miles to go. Took a short break. My back is not happy. More on that later.

We arrived at Lambert’s Meadow campsite at 5:45. There is 1 bar of cell service. Great water right by my tent spot.

Lambert’s meadow camp site

We both set up our tents. I set up about 5 feet from a babbling stream just past that picnic table. While we were setting up, a group of 6 high school kids stopped for water. They are camping 2 miles further ahead. I guess they are out for the week based on their loads.

We filtered water and made dinner fairly quickly as it’s getting cold fast. We had to put on my fleece while making dinner. We both finished dinner and got in our tents by 7:15. It’s going to be COLD tonight.

Decent day overall. My hips hurt a fair amount, but that’s expected with this much weight. My calves were a slight issue, which did surprise me. The real bummer is my back…again. The last 2.5 miles were very annoying. I will try shortening the torso length on the pack (thank god it’s adjustable) so that I can crank down my load lifters to raise the weight off my shoulders. The net effect SHOULD be to get more weight off my back and instead transfer it to my hips. I also need to rearrange the gear in my pack and try to get my camp shoes inside my pack so that they are not pulling down and back on the rear of my pack. I will work on all that in the morning.

Tomorrow we have 17 miles and 2 big climbs in the first half of the day. There are only 2 options for water, and both are in the first 9 miles. This time of year, that should be fine in terms of water. Given my pace, which is very slow at present, and my back issue today, I guess we will need about 9-10 hours tomorrow.

Curious to see how bad my back feels in the morning. It could be annoying, could be very painful. It also depends on how well my back feels after sleeping on an air mattress on the ground:)

Talked to Dana for a few minutes and played some games on my phone until 10:30 before trying to get to sleep.

Technical Notes:
- 2 eggs: 140
- 4 pieces of bacon: 210
- 4 sausage patties: 250
- Coffee: 90
- Peanut M&Ms: 250
- Dehydrated chicken: 170
- Curry noodles: 450
- Water liters: 1.5
- Miles: 9.6
- Time: 5:25
- Up: 2352
- Down: 1642
- Calories consumed: 1600
- Calories burned: 2969
- iPhone battery used: 30%
Pre-Hike – Daleville, VA to Big Stoney Creek Rd, VA
Ed and I are slowly section hiking the entire AT. Since my AT thru-hike in 2024, I have a goal to section hike the entire trail again over the next few years between big thru-hikes.

In addition, this hike will serve as a shakedown hike for my upcoming PCT thru-hike starting on April 24, 2026. The goals of a shakedown hike include:
- test all my gear and clothes
- make sure I did not forget to pack anything
- double check how much for per day I need
- fine-tune my new backpack
- generally get my mind ready for another thru-hike
I have been training for the PCT for the past several months. Day hiking with 20+ lbs and/or working out in the gym 4-5 days a week. We have had some wild winter weather for Maryland including the harshest winter in a long time. That has been great training for the PCT including the heavy snow with a thick layer of ice. The weather for this upcoming shakedown hike will be a good test with nights in the upper 30s and days in the mid-80s. Plus a little rain.

I have my exact pack load that I will be carrying on the PCT including a 5.3 day food supply. That is the longest food carry that I will have on the PCT, so this is a great test.
PCT Permitting – The Lottery

Unlike the Appalachian Trail and many other trails on the east coast, the PCT requires a permit to hike the trail. “If you plan on hiking or horseback riding 500 or more miles along the PCT in a single, continuous trip, the Pacific Crest Trail Association can issue you an interagency PCT Long-distance Permit.”

Those permits are not easy to get for a desired start date. The PCT Association uses a lottery system to assign permits. You can only apply for one permit once per hiking season. Between October 22 and October 31, 2025 you need to register for a PCT permit. This is simply the process of signing up for the lottery. You provide your basic information (name, birthdate, etc), and get registered for the lottery and assigned a login to the PCT Permit Management Portal. The portal is where you can apply for a permit, check availability of permits for specific dates, check the status of your permit/application, and make changes to your permit if you are lucky enough to get one.

For the 2026 hiking season, Permit Release Day is November 13, 2025. The day before Permit Release Day, everybody who registered for a permit is assigned a random 20 minute application time slot between 10:30 am PST and 3:00 pm PST.

The way Permit Release Day works is that there are 35 permits available per day from March 1 through May 31. On Permit Release Day, people login to the portal any time beginning at their assigned time and view a calendar that shows how many permits have been taken for any given day. You need to quickly select a date with available permits, fill out the rest other the permit application including your start point, end point, and estimated number of days to complete your hike. The permits for a given date are assigned on a first come first server basis. That means the earlier in the day you get assigned a time slot, the better your chance of getting a good start day. Later in the day (typically by 1:30-2:00), all the permits are taken for all the dates. Hence why not everybody who wants a permit gets one. It is a lottery!1

After Permit Release Day, you don’t actually have a permit. You have applied for a permit starting at a specific location on a specific date with a specific destination and duration. All permit applications are reviewed and manually approved. This takes up to 2 more weeks. There needs to be something really messed up on your application of rat to get rejected.

On November 12, 2025 I received the email for my application time slot:

Are you hoping to submit an application on the Permit Release Day tomorrow?

Your unique appointment time is:
Thursday, November 13, 2025 – 12:20:40 PM Pacific Time

Log in to your Permit Management Portal and be ready to click the “New Application” button at the time that is assigned to you. If you want the most choices, you’ll apply right at that time. You could wait until later in the day, but the longer you wait the fewer permits will be left. There’s no reason to log on more than a few minutes before your assigned application time as the system will not allow you to apply any earlier.

I was happy with my draw in the lottery. A 12:20 application time put me a little before the half-way point, which should mean that there are a few dates in April still available.

On November 13, I logged into the portal a few minutes before 12:20:40 PST and hovered my mouse over the APPLY button. The moment the clock struck 12:20:40 I pressed that button and was presented with the calendar of available dates and permits. I wanted April 23, 2026 (more on why that date later). I was immediately presented with this calendar for April.

2026 PCT Lottery Calendar

Less than half way through Permit Release Day and half of the April permits were already gone, including April 23 permits. Luckily there were only 28 permits already assigned for April 24, so I jumped on that fast and completed my application. The entire process took about 3 minutes. I immediately received an email that confirmed the details of my application including:

You must start on the day and at the location listed on your permit. If you start somewhere else or on a different day, your permit is not valid and you will not be able to apply for a new long-distance permit. Now is a good time to review the Terms of the PCT Long-distance Permit (PDF).

Your application details

Name Charles Stump
Starting location Mexican border near Campo (CA SR 94)
Ending location Canadian border
Starting date 2026-04-24
Ending date 2026-09-30

Out of curiosity, I looked at the available permits once I finished my application, and there were only 2 permits left on April 24. This process moves FAST!

For people who don’t get a permit in this initial lottery, there is another smaller lottery in January where an additional 15 permits per day are available. Also, any permits that were declined by the hiker are added back into the pool for the January lottery.

On November 20, I received my email from the PCTA that my permit has been approved!!!!

Your permit application is approved! It’s getting real.

Hi Charles,

We’ve looked over your application and it’s approved. Incredible!

I will start my PCT thru-hike on April 24, 2026 with a goal of completing by September 30. That completion date is not set in stone. That is an average of roughly 16.75 miles per day for 158 days. My plan is to average closer to 19 miles a day and take a zero day approximately every 10 to days. That comes to 158 days on trail with 18 zero days at 19 miles per day for 2,660 miles. That is a rough plan as there are some big wild cards including the amount of snow that the Sierra’s receive this winter as well as wildfires next summer that can mess things up. More on those later.