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.
The Trump Administration this week formally announced its intention to roll back longstanding protections for Inventoried Roadless Areas in National Forests, potentially compromising 231 miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail.
Just under 9% of the PCT’s 2,650 miles run through 71 Inventoried Roadless Areas in California, Oregon, and ... Read more
The U.S. Senate’s proposed spending bill, released last week, includes a provision that could allow the sale of up to 3.3 million acres of public lands across the American West—including lands that surround or intersect the Pacific Crest Trail.
It seems improbable, if not impossible, that the government would ... Read more
The White House’s recently proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) would significantly reduce funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), America’s most important conservation program.
For more than 60 years, the LWCF has been a major source of funding for land and waterway preservation and recreation projects ... Read more
We often tell you that your voice matters.
Last week we asked you to tell your elected representatives in Congress that you were opposed to a plan to sell off public lands in Nevada and Utah. I’m happy to report that these land sales were removed from the proposed federal ... Read more
Public lands are a cornerstone of American life—used for recreation, hunting, fishing, ranching, and family traditions across generations. These lands belong to all of us, and decisions about them should be made openly, with public input and local voices at the table.
A Dangerous Shortcut in CongressLast week, a ... Read more
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. ... Read more
The work of Pacific Crest Trail Association volunteers is a sight to behold.
There’s no better feeling than traveling on a recently maintained section of trail. It reminds me of the thousands of volunteers who dedicate tens of thousands of hours of sweat and muscle to keep the trail open ... Read more
Moving south on the PCT through the Mojave Desert, hikers close in on a massive obstacle: the north slope of the iconic San Gabriel Range. These high mountains above the wild desert also frame the Los Angeles Valley on their southern flank. Winter snowpacks provide drinking water for millions of ... Read more
Welcome to the blog of the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Check back often for news about the trail.