Are you planning to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) with maximum joy while prioritizing your well-being throughout the journey? This book provides an efficient guide to essential considerations before hitting the trail. Thoughtful planning, preparation, and skill development can enhance your trail experience and increase your chances of successfully completing your goals. This book covers the following key topics: Physical preparation Psychological and emotional readiness Food and nutrition strategies Gear selection and optimization Logistical planning Navigation and detour management Self-assessment guidelines to determine trail compatibility While even the best preparation cannot eliminate surprises - both welcome and challenging - increasing your resilience will enable you to make sound decisions before and throughout your journey. Together with my partner and soul mate Margit, I had the immense pleasure of thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2024 on a continuous footpath. We started in Campo on April 24 and immediately felt like we were living in a movie - a good one. Thanks to careful planning, preparation, favorable circumstances, and tremendous support from countless people, we are incredibly fortunate to have finished the trail in great spirits without any setbacks. This book aims to give back to the community by helping others fulfill their dream of completing the PCT in the best possible way. Happy Trails! -Jan Read before you buy Hiking the PCT demands strong self-responsibility. This book assumes you can put things into perspective and find value in ideas that might not perfectly match your needs - ideas that require further thought and detail, consideration of your circumstances, and possible adaptation or outright dismissal. The hikers we met during our journey had vastly different mindsets and motivations. This book doesn't aim to please everyone. Instead, it presents sometimes contrarian opinions on controversial topics, not to provoke but to enrich your thought process and help you refine your own stance.