Thru-Hike Success Rate

About 300 to 500 people attempt to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail each year.  Their overall success rate is about 40%.  The single most common cause for an involuntary departure from the trail is injury.  An even larger percentage of people choose to leave the trail for emotional reasons.

The ratio of men to women thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is about 2:1. The success of a thru-hike is about the same whether the hiker is male or female.

**Data above was compiled from over 300 randomly selected trail journals from 2005-2008. 

An analysis of 45 randomly selected 2009 PCT thru-hikers showed a slight increase in the success rate.  It is estimated that about 42% of PCT thru-hikers completed the PCT in 2009 an increase of about 5% from the earlier years.  The ratio of men to women stayed the same (2:1 men to women respectively).