Top 5 Detours to take off the Pacific Crest Trail

Just do the sidequest, Trust me.

It’s 9am and I’m clambering over the loose slabs of rock that form the famous knifes edge ridgeline in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Each stone sliding and shifting under my feet and I absently think they sound strangely like dinner plates. I take a moment to pause and look around. Mount Rainier looms behind me, St. Helens is in the distance to the west, Mount Adams beckons me forward, and I can see the tiny form of Mount Hood peeking out from behind Adams. Indian Paintbrush cover the meadows like a crimson blanket. I continue on my way passing by a sign pointing up to Old Snowy Mountain, a peak only a mile off the PCT. I’m certain the view can’t be better than what I’d already experienced that morning, and I still have a long day ahead of me. No detours for me today, I’ve got places to be.

Don’t be me.

Trust me, you’ll regret not making the extra effort. Who knows when or if you’ll ever be back in some of these places. Besides, you’re already walking 2650 miles, what’s a few more? So, take a few side quests, these 5 in particular you really won’t want to miss.

Old Snowy Mountain summit
Goat Rocks WIlderness, WA
The sunrise from the trail that made me think I'd seen it all.

Only a mile detour off the main trail it’s hard for it to be any more accessible to thru hikers passing by. The Goat Rocks Wilderness is often many hikers’ favorite section of trail regardless of tacking on Old Snowy. So why pass up an opportunity to scramble up, enjoy the 360-degree view of the surrounding peaks, and spend just a little extra time appreciating an incredible place. Not making the effort to go up is one of the few regrets I have from my hike in 2022. Don’t be the one kicking yourself every time your hiking buddy tells you how awesome it was. 

Crater Lake Rim ALternate
Crater Lake National Park, OR

This one is fairly obvious as 99% of hikers opt for this alternate. The official route of the PCT will take you through the national park but exclusively through the pine trees. The lake never comes into sight. Lame! Instead, hang a left at the junction for the rim trail. It’s an 11.5 mile alternate (which happens to be 5 miles shorter than the official route) that follows right along the west rim of the lake before dumping you straight back onto the PCT. To make this detour even better, spend a night at Grouse Hill Backcountry Site (the closest you can camp to the rim) and get up early the next morning to catch the sunrise over the deepest lake in the United States. Then treat yourself to the Rim Lodge buffet for breakfast, throw together a quick resupply, and keep on trucking. 

Yosemite Valley
Yosemite National Park, Sierra NEvada mountains

Yes, the trail goes directly through Yosemite National Park so why bother with this detour? While you get a good taste of the Yosemite High Country from the PCT, you do not get even a peek at the famous Yosemite Valley, home of the iconic landmarks Half Dome and El Capitan. It’s a bit of a logistically tricky detour. You can either walk yourself down to the valley which would entail a 25-mile (one way) jaunt down the John Muir Trail all the way into Curry Village. If you have extra time, it’s worth the effort. I did not, however, have time for a multiday detour, as my SOBO weather window in the Sierra was rapidly closing. Turns out though, there is another more efficient option. Enter *public transport*.

Here are a couple of options.

  1. The Valley to Tuolumne Meadows hiker shuttle
    1. This is by far the most convenient option if it is running for the season.
    2. More info can be found here Guided Bus & Tram Tours | Yosemite National Park CA | TravelYosemite.com
  2. The YARTS bus
    1. This was the option we chose and took an extra day off in Mammoth Lakes to spend a day taking the bus back to the valley to explore. 100% worth it particularly if you’ve never been before.
    2. More info can be found here YARTS – Public Transit to Yosemite – Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System
Mount Whitney SUmmit
Sequoia National Park, SIerra Nevada mountains
Don't leave your layers at camp. It's cold up there!

Another classic side trip most hikers will opt to take, and for good reason. Why pass up the chance to summit the highest point in the contiguous United States? Especially when you can get one of the infamously impossible lottery permits included with your PCT long distance permit. Check that Whitney Summit box when applying for your permit and then cross your fingers that the weather is still good when you get there. Set up camp at junction with Crabtree Meadows, dump some gear, and slack pack the 8 miles up to the top. Even though you should be best friends with your bear can by now, no need to haul the it all the way up there. Many choose to wake up in the middle of the night and hike up to watch sunrise from the summit. I wasn’t quite feeling that crazy, and fortunately it’s beautiful during the day too. 

mount San Jacinto Summit
San Jacinto Wilderness, Southern California

Extremely popular with NOBOs and the occasional SOBO. Unfortunately, I missed this one as well. Thankfully this time it was due to safety and not my own laziness. I happened to time my arrival to the area with a snowstorm and freezing temperatures, and the micro spikes I sent to Cabazon Post Office in anticipation of the icy conditions never arrived. Instead, I chose to road walk around a potentially dangerous section of trail into Idyllwild missing the junction to the peaks. If you don’t find yourself in the same unfortunate situation, it would be an amazing way to put a bow on your Pacific Crest Trail experience. The alternate is 6 miles and take you past San Jacinto Peak and Miller Peak (both over 10,000 feet) before returning you to the PCT. It adds about 1.5 miles compared to the official route and takes you up above the pine forest to a 360- degree view looking out over the San Jacinto Wilderness and the San Gorgonio Mountains you just passed through. 

© 2024 Ashley Teifke