Short of actual experience, one of the best ways to prepare for a PCT thru-hike is by reading PCT thru-hiker blogs.  (Read on for some of the best of these stories from 2017.)  Among other useful information, blogs will make you familiar with the hazards and challenges of hiking the PCT. However trail hardened you may be, you will likely have a rude wake-up call at some point during a thru-hike. Short of actually living it, reading other's stories can help set expectations, perhaps reducing the shock of...