Michinoku Coastal Trail Elevation Profile

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Michinoku Coastal Trail Southbound Elevation Profile (Hachinohe to Soma)

The below profile shows the elevation if you thru-hike the Michinoku Coastal Trail SOBO(southbound). So, starting in Hachinohe towards Soma. The highest point on trail is just outside Hachinohe, so hiking SOBO means you’ll have a hard start.

Michinoku Coastal Trail Northbound Elevation Profile (Soma to Hachinohe)

The below profile shows the elevation if you thru-hike the Michinoku Coastal Trail NOBO(northbound). So, starting in Soma towards Hachinohe. As you ca see this starts off easier than the SOBO route.

Which way should I hike the Michinoku Coastal Trail? NOBO or SOBO?

The Michinoku Coastal Trail (MCT) is still a new trail and only very recently has it been open in its entirety.

From the MCT organizations perspective SOBO is the ‘traditional’ direction. The databook and the map books 1 thru 10, start in Hachinohe (although they list both NOBO and SOBO distances).

However, I think anyone with thru-hiking experience and who studies the route from a logistics perspective would say it probably makes more sense to hike it NOBO.

Why I chose to hike NOBO on the Michinoku Coastal Trail

  1. The highest climb on the route is just outside Hachinohe, So if you hike SOBO you do the hardest part of the trail first. Whereas if you go NOBO you have a more gradual and easier transition to the trail.
  2. The first NOBO 100/200km go through a lot of urban areas. This allows you time to get your trail legs before hitting the bigger climbs later.
  3. Motivation: The northern part of the trail is the more rural/wild part of the trail. So I prefer to have that to look forward to instead of getting that out of the way at the start of my hike. If you go SOBO, that last 200km of your hike will be relatively boring, whereas if you go NOBO they’ll be the most epic.
  4. It’s much easier to plan the island hopping sections when you go NOBO as you can plan all this before you start you hike. Whereas if you go SOBO, you’ll have to plan all that whilst on the trail
  5. I think there is something more romantic and adventurous about hiking northbound