"Most people who do the PCT have ultralight gear."
Yeah, no.
I did the portion from Yosemite to Whitney. I had 40 or 45 lbs of lightweight gear, as did most other peeps I talked to. That joke will make more sense, 10 miles into the trip, in the thin air of the high Sierras.
A 2 week trip at high altitude in the Summer is real interesting, and has changed me, as a backpacker. But a peaceful backpack w/ bears, hippies and sunburn isn't the same thing as a maximum stress freakout evasion from FSA disaster zombies.
Just sayin that I don't know off the top of my head how applicable the knowledge would be. Most through hikers would resupply whenever possible, so as to carry as little as possible.
Comments on the pics:
In the second pic, the JMT portion of the PCT has many places that look like that.
On the third pic, no doubt, thruhiking can place so much pounding on your feet that they can get torn up. But you still have to pull over and do mainteinance on your body, so it doesn't fall apart. This includes bathing in icewater, shaving, washing feet, reapplying 50spf sunscreen, hydrating, eating enough, hygiene, preventing fecal oral contamination, etc. etc. That guy just let his feet dissolve.
I didn't.
PCT thruhikers I saw on the backside of Whitney in previous years all had birdleggs, 45lb packs, and could walk relentlessly uphill, at high altitudes. And were bored sick. And had massive 5Kcalory/day appetites w/ matching metabolisms. The latest one I saw a month ago hadn't any body fat, and subsisted stovelessly on junkfood, multi thousand calorie restaurant binges, instant mash potatoes and crazed enthusiasm. He complained to me that he was so lean, that he couldn't stay warm at night in Late Spring in the Sierras.