Applications for 2021 long-distance hiking permits for the Pacific Crest Trail will begin this year starting at 10:30 a.m. PT on Jan. 19.
But starting a NOBO thru-hike from Campo, California, has become more difficult as trail hosts Barney “Scout” and Sandy “Frodo” Mann announced that they would not host hikers this year because of the pandemic.
Fifty permits a day from March 1 through May 31 will be issued for northbound hikes started at the Southern Terminus at the Mexican border to Sonora Pass, and 15 permits a day from June 15 through Sept. 15 will be issued for southbound hikers starting at the Northern Terminus on the Canadian border.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association posted information about the permits on its website on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Learn about how to apply for a permit here.
But in the days since the PCTA made that announcement the organization has pointed out that although permits will be issued, hikers might not be able to make a long-distance trek because of COVID-19
“Issuing permits does not mean a guaranteed safe trip on the PCT. We’re hopeful that long-distance PCT journeys can happen this spring, but it’s possible your journey might end before it begins,” the PCTA said.
“A condition of the long-distance permit is that you must follow all terms of the permit, and all Federal, state and local laws, rules, and regulations that may be in effect—including those in place due to Covid-19.”
The PCTA said that if California has a stay-at-home order at the time of hikers’ scheduled starts, their permits will not be valid.
And if stay-at-home orders are issued after hikers have started their trek, they will have to leave the trail because their permit will no longer be valid.
The Manns, who have hosted legions of hikers before they set out from the PCT’s Southern Terminus, posted on their website that they would not take in hikers at their home in San Diego, California, this year.
“Given the state of the pandemic throughout the U.S. and the world, we do not see any way to safely host hikers this spring,” the Manns said. “If you are contemplating a PCT hike this year, please consider your decision carefully. If you choose to thru-hike in 2021, you must follow state and local guidelines; you may need to leave the trail and your experience will definitely be different from thru-hikers in the years before 2020. Please read the latest PCTA Instagram post regarding permits and seriously consider postponing your hike until 2022.”
The PCTA issues the long-distance permits of 500 miles or more on behalf of federal land management agencies, which last fall delayed opening applications for permits until January because of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March 2020, at the outset of the pandemic after some hikers had already begin their NOBO PCT thru-hikes, the US Forest Service said thru-hikers with long-distance permits “can no longer complete a thru-hike due to public land and facility closures.”
The PCTA also urged hikers to get off the trail.
The Forest Service also authorized the PCTA this year to issue 1,400 permits for section hikers crossing the John Muir Trail overlap and 600 permits for trips starting in the Southern Sierra.