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.
Today is the 49th birthday of the National Trails System Act.
President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed this seminal law on Oct. 2, 1968, dedicating the Pacific Crest and Appalachian national scenic trails. Surely, it was a landmark piece of legislation. But more importantly, it kicked off efforts that that continue ... Read more
An excerpt from the PCTA’s 2016 publication of The Pacific Crest Trail, Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail. The book is available on Amazon and in the PCTA online store.
By Mark Larabee and Barney Scout Mann
Since 2003, he has wandered the campground at Lake Morena County Park near Campo and ... Read more
The Inyo National Forest, through a forest order, is closing segments of the Rush Creek Trail for public safety from June 30 through Sept. 1, 2017.
The wet winter of 2016-2017, with more than 180 percent of average annual precipitation ... Read more
On April 26, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of national monuments designated over the last 21 years. On May 5, the Department of the Interior released a list of 27 National Monuments under review and is seeking public comments on this process. Much of ... Read more
When we join with other trail groups in February for our annual Hike the Hill visits with members of Congress and their staffs, one of the most important things we talk with them about is the Land and Water Conservation Fund and why it’s crucial to the National Trails System.... Read more
Spring is in the air. Thru-hikers are tending to early blisters and making their way north. Trees are budding in the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra snowpack is melting, albeit stubbornly. And we have a new batch of amazing photos to share via our annual photo contest.
This is one ... Read more
When a huge tree falls and destroys a bridge crossing a high rocky gorge in the backcountry, the challenge to replace it would likely seem overwhelming to most, even an experienced trail builder. But the seasoned trail maintainers with the PCTA’s Mount Hood Chapter look at such problems, figure out ... Read more
In PCT thru-hiker circles, it’s been a tradition going back longer than most of us can remember.
The Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off — ADZPCTKO, we’ll call it Kick Off for short — brought together new distance hikers with seasoned veterans who shared their wisdom about everything ... Read more
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