Plan your hike
Sixteen decisions, in the order the outside world forces them rather than the order that would be tidy. Add the date you plan to start walking and this page tells you which of them are live, which are still open, and which can wait.
Steps with a guide behind them link to it. The rest name the decision and what it costs to leave, because the trail asks for them whether or not we have written the page yet.
Nothing is saved. This page forgets the date when you leave it.
All 16 steps, in order. Add a start date to see which are live.
12 months out
Step 1Commit52 to 39 weeks out
This trail, this year — or defer to a season you can actually take off.
Step 2Window52 to 26 weeks out
The dates you will apply for, and how many days you are asking for.
9 months out
Step 3Entry39 to 26 weeks out
Direction, entry trailhead, and therefore which lottery you are in.
6 months out
Step 4Permit26 to 22 weeks out
Nothing about the hike itself. It opens the branch everything downstream sits on.
5 months out
Step 5Itinerary22 to 17 weeks out
Daily mileage, camps, and which day you cross each pass.
4 months out
Step 6Resupply17 to 13 weeks out
Where food comes from, and the longest carry between two of those points.
Step 9Body17 to 9 weeks out
A conditioning plan, and how many days you spend acclimatising first.
3 months out
Step 7Carry13 to 9 weeks out
Canister volume first, then pack weight.
Step 8Travel13 to 9 weeks out
Flights, the one-way car problem, and how you get home from the exit.
2 months out
Step 10Shakedown9 to 6 weeks out
Final gear list, final pack weight, and miles on the boots you will wear.
4 weeks out
Step 11Provision4 to 3 weeks out
Calories bought, repackaged and weighed, bucket by bucket.
3 weeks out
Step 12Ship3 to 2 weeks out
Buckets in the post.
2 weeks out
Step 13Conditions2 to 1 week out
Whether the plan you made in February survives the snow year you actually got.
1 week out
Step 14Eve1 week out, to departure
Permit pickup, office hours, and where you sleep the night before.
On the trail
Step 15TrailOn the trail
Daily rhythm: pass timing, water, feet, and when to turn around.
Step 16ExitOn the trail
Summit timing, portal logistics, and getting home.
Browse by topic instead
This page is the path. The guide is the library — 7 articles grouped by subject, for when you already know what you are looking for.
Conditions change the plan more than the calendar does. Check current alerts before you commit to dates inside two weeks of walking.