Author Archives: Mark Larabee

About Mark Larabee

Mark Larabee is the PCTA's Associate Director of Communications and Marketing. He is editor of the "PCT Communicator" magazine and manages the association's advocacy efforts. He is 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.

How the wife of a president helped create the PCT

By Mark Larabee

February 28, 2017

Book, History

First Lady Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson floats the Snake River near the Teton Range with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. This 1964 raft trip helped influence President Lyndon Johnson's decision two years later to push legislation establishing the PCT as one of the first two national scenic trails.

An excerpt from The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail

By Mark Larabee and Barney Scout Mann

“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

Eight inches of fresh snow lay on the ground but the day was sunny in ... Read more

The PCTA goes to Washington on behalf of trails

By Mark Larabee

February 24, 2017

Advocacy, Trail Protection

PCTA staff and volunteers in Washington D.C. to advocate for the trail with members of Congress.

Six PCTA volunteers and seven staff members spent last week in Washington D.C. visiting with members of Congress and their staff, federal agency partners and other trail groups to advocate for continued funding for trails, land protection and other important issues that affect our national trails.

We also were joined ... Read more

Crux Fermentation Project of Bend, Oregon, creates PCT Porter

By Mark Larabee

February 2, 2017

Fundraising, Oregon, Partnerships, Trail Town

It makes sense that the folks at Crux Fermentation Project, a popular small-batch brewery in central Oregon, felt a kinship to the Pacific Crest Trail.

Given that PCT travelers are staple customers — especially during the summer months when trail hikers and horseback riders flock to the Cascades — they ... Read more

PCTA loses caretaker extraordinaire Jack Konner

By Mark Larabee

December 14, 2016

In Memoriam, Volunteer

Jack out for a day hike. Photo by Patty Carter

Volunteer Caretaker Jack Konner, who helped build the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s Mount Hood Chapter into a trail-maintaining powerhouse, died Nov. 11, 2016. He was 89.

Jack, who lived in Beaverton, Oregon, was one of the Mount Hood Chapter’s earliest section caretakers. As the chapter’s first volunteer coordinator during a ... Read more

Enter your photos in the PCT photo contest

By Mark Larabee

October 17, 2016

Photography, Volunteer

A Pacific Crest Trail sign on a tree remained standing. Photo by Vincent Carabeo/Uphill Designs.

Did you take that magical photo this year while hiking or riding your horse on the PCT? Got a great shot of the scenery, wildlife or volunteers taking care of the trial?

Then enter our annual photo contest.

We’ll select many of the pictures we’ll publish in 2017 from those ... Read more

Our book hit stores today – event details announced

By Mark Larabee

October 11, 2016

Book

Our new coffee-table book, The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail, hits stores today! We’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to tell this amazing and important story about the trail’s history and to work with so many amazing photographers.

Special thanks to Cheryl Strayed for her inspiring ... Read more

Two men, a knockdown blow, and the big burn

By Mark Larabee

September 26, 2016

Book, History

Excerpt from The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail

By Mark Larabee and Barney Scout Mann

The PCT has a creation story and it’s filled with interesting tidbits. Our trail’s history is rich with struggle and personalities who overcame them. Here’s a taste from Chapter One of our upcoming ... Read more

New PCT book celebrates the trails history and grandeur

By Mark Larabee

September 20, 2016

Book, History

On Oct. 11, The Pacific Crest Trail Association and Rizzoli New York will release The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail. This book offers PCT fans the first in-depth history of the trail accompanied by more than 250 photographs that bring the trail experience to life in large, living ... Read more