We're publishing your stories, perspectives and contributions on the PCTA blog. Read on!
By Howard Koster
Late one recent morning, Phoenix (Rianne) and I were making our way through the North Cascade mountains toward the Canadian border when we came across a small tent set up in a marshy area directly next to the trail. Outside the tent were a backpack and a ... Read more
By Seth Levy, PCTA Corporate Partnership Consultant
You can take Jason Pastega out of the outdoors, but, as the saying goes, you cannot take the outdoors out of Jason.
Born in Corvallis, Oregon, and raised in Tillamook, Jason’s connection to the outdoors began with a childhood spent hiking the Coast ... Read more
By Kara Kieffer, PCTA P3 Hiker
2000 miles feels like waking up tired every morning, like eating the same food again and again until it loses all meaning. It feels like wondering with amazement when 20 miles became a short day. Like pushing yourself up the last climb of the ... Read more
By Kara Kieffer, PCTA P3 Hiker
The alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. and I do not want to get up. “Starman,” it would seem, is also reluctant. We snooze and snooze again, our secluded campsite insulating us from the clacking clomping footsteps of other hikers. I know we have ... Read more
By Barry Stuart Keller, Mount Hood Volunteer Wilderness Stewards
I have been a volunteer wilderness ranger in the Mount Hood Wilderness, 62 miles east of Portland, Oregon, for 19 years. I educate day hikers and campers on the trail in the Wilderness about Leave No Trace along the Pacific Crest ... Read more
By Kara Keiffer, PCTA P3 Hiker
During the course of a thru-hike or section hike, you’re likely going to end up in town where you’ll encounter people who don’t live outside and sleep in the dirt. Sure, you know the on-trail code of conduct — you know to yield to ... Read more
By Mary Anne Chute Lynch
Digging up 100- to 300-pound rocks and hammering fist-size stones into gravel to make trail cement. “I thought I was going to die,” Lisa Farr said laughing.
Laughing! Yes, that’s Lisa! Laughing about her volunteer trip busting boulders on the Sierra Buttes project with an ... Read more
By Evelina “Foodie” Averyanova, PCTA P3 Hiker
The alarm went off at 3 a.m. I wiped sleep from my eyes and mumbled something into my sleeping bag. I was driven — summiting Mount Whitney was my long-awaited dream. It took me an extra five minutes to squeeze my warm feet ... Read more
Welcome to the blog of the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Check back often for news about the trail.