Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Section L - Rainy Pass to Manning Park — Saturday, Jul. 4, 2026

Hiked the 90+ miles from Bridge Creek north to the PCT Terminus then back to Hart’s Pass in 6 days. Trail was in great shape for the most part with intermittent soft snow fields that were easy to cross without spikes. There were two major obstacles on the trail - one washout about 8 miles north of Rainy Pass. I would not recommend crossing this section for anyone who isnt a very experienced hiker and comfortable deciding on their route based on their own risk tolerance. The second is a series of blowdowns about 1-3 miles south of the northern terminus. The blowdowns were all navigable just slowed everyone down a bit and gave us a few scratches. Recommend doing this section without a full pack if possible (there’s a campsite 3.8 miles south of the border where you can stash gear - be sure to be bear secure with your food as there’s a lot of fresh bear scat in the area).

Wildflowers were beautiful. Mosquitoes were a problem at every camp. Water sites all flowing plus several of bonus snowmelt streams. Saw 10-20 hikers everyday but still plenty of campsites.