Mark Larabee is the PCTA's Advocacy Director. He is the former editor of the "PCT Communicator" magazine and co-author of "The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America's Wilderness Trail" published in 2016. Larabee is a journalist, part of a team who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for The Oregonian newspaper. He hiked the PCT across Oregon for a 2005 series for the paper and has been with PCTA since 2010. He lives in Portland.
Along the Pacific Crest Trail there are 71 Inventoried Roadless Areas that protect undeveloped National Forest lands. These special places not only protect 231 miles (9%) of the PCT, they provide ecological integrity for wildlife, supply clean air and water to our communities, and help local recreation economies thrive.
The ... Read more
PCTA staff and board members traveled to Washington D.C. again this winter to meet with members of Congress and their staffs, agency partners and other trail, recreation and conservation groups.
Our annual “Hike the Hill” trip to the nation’s capital happened the first week of March. My apologies ... Read more
The Legacy Restoration Fund, originally included in the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, has been vital for the PCT and public lands and trails across the country.
The GAOA’s main intent was to reduce the maintenance backlog on public lands across the nation, including on trails. For decades, ... Read more
... Read moreEditor’s note (Feb 4, 2026 8:54am): The partial federal government shutdown has ended.
Editor’s Note (Jan 31, 2026 9:40am): A partial federal government shutdown began at midnight. The U.S. Forest Service is not an affected agency, therefore the PCT remains open and PCTA crews and volunteer projects continue as planned.
Congress ended the federal government shutdown this week, temporarily restoring federal budgets for trail maintenance and construction to previous year levels.
Under the “Continuing Resolution” passed by both chambers of Congress, the budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees the Forest Service, was restored to 2024 levels. ... Read more
The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 after Congress could not agree on a Fiscal Year 2026 budget or a resolution to continue funding from the previous fiscal year. 28 days in, the stalemate continues.
The shutdown is about important and complicated issues like healthcare funding and the downsizing ... Read more
The federal government shutdown is now several days old, and while there is some good news for the Pacific Crest Trail, the impacts are still real.
The U.S. Forest Service has clarified that volunteer activities can continue during the shutdown. Corps crews working under active agreements are also permitted to ... Read more
The Pacific Crest Trail crosses 71 Inventoried Roadless Areas, places where the current administration wants to reverse protections that have been in place for more than two decades.
See our Aug. 29 blog ... Read more
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