Our three year old five-rail pressure treated pine fence at our home in northern Maryland is starting to show a bit of age, so it's definitely time to stain. I've read-up on this from a number of sources (including gardenweb, as well as stain ratings at consumerreports.org). For aesthetic reasons, we are going to go with a semi-transparent stain, and yes I realize that this means I'll be reapplying about every three years. I have about 800 feet of fence line to paint. Since most of the staining information I found is for decks (which get foot traffic and have their board faces exposed horizontally) I wanted to see if there is any nuanced experience that lead to different methods or recommendations for fences. Here are my questions and thank you in advance for sharing your experiences:

1. Pressure washing a fence prior to painting makes sense, but it's a bit more difficult than washing a deck. Any alternative approaches for cleaning and prep?

2. Spraying stain would seem to be the easiest approach, but my experience with staining decks says that I really want to brush completely or spray and then quickly brush to ensure good contact and penetration. Any thoughts on application approach?

3. In terms of stain brand recommendations for semi-transparent, I see that Consumer Reports rates Thompsons Water Seal Deck & House as their highest rated this year, though I recall that Olympic and Cabot have rated as well in years past. Any recent recommendations for products typically available at major home centers (HD, Lowes, Ace, TrueValue)?

4. Any other tips, tricks or things to avoid?

Thanks very much.