PCTA’s 2025 Hike the Hill Team, from left to right, are Director of Advocacy Mark Larabee, Director of Trail Operations Justin Kooyman, NorCal/Southern Oregon Regional Representative Ian Nelson, and retired Air Force Veteran PCT ’21 thru-hiker and volunteer Jason France.
For more than a decade, I’ve been traveling with a Pacific Crest Trail Association delegation every February to the nation’s capital to advocate for trails, robust agency budgets and legislation affecting public lands. This annual sojourn is called “Hike the Hill” and it’s been happening for more than 20 years. The event is sponsored by the American Hiking Society and the Partnership for the National Trails System.
This year I was joined by two other colleagues, Justin Kooyman and Ian Nelson—the three of us collectively having more than 50 years of experience advocating for, managing, and maintaining the PCT while living in PCT communities. Our team was rounded out by a volunteer Jay France, a retired, disabled Air Force veteran who served seven combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He started his PCT hike two weeks after leaving the military in 2021, and says his time on the trail helped him overcome a lot of the trauma associated with his deployment experiences.
Director of Advocacy Mark Larabee Talking with Jacob Egler of Oregon Senator Ron Wyden’s staff about the impacts of the federal funding freeze and agency layoffs on our ability to maintain the PCT.
In many ways this year’s Hike the Hill was like previous visits to D.C. The PCTA team was joined by trail partners from across the country, united in our mission to thank our elected representatives in Congress for years of federal support and remind them that our nation’s trails and outdoor spaces are part of our heritage and national identity and that they deserve ongoing investment.
Despite these similarities and the incredible energy and comradery of our PCTA team and partners, this trip to D.C. was different from any of our previous visits. Staff from congressional offices representing PCT districts said they also were alarmed about the new administration’s unprecedented and drastic changes to the funding and management of public lands. Our normal budget conversations were quickly acknowledged then set aside as we discussed how the administration is cutting grant funding for community groups like ours and severely reducing land management agency staff. The long-term stakes for public lands and trails have never been as consequential as they are today.
Jay France posing in front of the United States Capitol.
Spending a week watching PCTA volunteer Jay France talk with Congressional staff about his military service, overcoming traumatic brain injury, and how his PCT thru-hike helped him recenter himself after years of combat duty made me feel like no problem is too big to overcome. His experience is extraordinary and it’s one of many that illustrate why trails are important to our country. I feel honored to have him as a new friend and partner in this work advocating for trails and public lands.
Photo by Lauren Ruhe.
The National Trails community provides just over 70 percent of the resources required to take care of grand trails like the PCT through donations and volunteer work. The remaining 30 percent is federal funding for agency staff oversight and other related costs. This is a good deal for taxpayers: our groups maintain these trails with dedicated volunteers, supported by nonprofit and agency staff with years of expertise and passion. Simply put, our cooperative management agreements with the government are the least expensive way to get this work done.
The trails community is determined to work together and to meet today’s challenges head on. We know it’s possible that our nonprofits will have to bear an even larger financial responsibility for the work on our public lands and trails if we want them to be here—not only for us but for those who will come after us. This will be a new paradigm, and we need your partnership and support.
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Your support today can make all the difference. By making a gift, you can support our ongoing programs to manage and care for the trail, recruit and train volunteers, and advocate for the PCT.