Trail news

State of the Trail: Southern California

The Southern California section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) faces a dynamic set of challenges that evolve each year. Currently, the most pressing concerns include fire-related closures and damage, as well as route-finding difficulties caused by overgrown vegetation, storm damage, and eroded trail sections. In preparation, we’ve just launched ... Read more

Here’s where to get a PCT hangtag in 2025

PCT hangtags are distributed to PCT Long-distance Permit holders as a keepsake and a way to encourage people to be personally engaged in protecting the trail and fragile places the trail passes through. They’re a tool for getting people to talk to rangers and discuss how they can Leave No ... Read more

Our National Trails Depend on Federal Support – Which is Now in Doubt

By Sandra Marra, Appalachian Trail Conservancy CEO & Megan Wargo, Pacific Crest Trail Association CEO

The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) stretch over a collective 4,800 miles. They are some of the longest and most iconic hiking trails in the world. Our dynamic bicoastal footpaths connect some ... Read more

I Give Thanks for Meadow Ed

Written by Angela Ballard, PCTA Communicator Magazine Co-Editor

For many of us, it’s a season to give thanks and share love, generosity and soul-nourishing food. An apt time to turn my thoughts to Ed Faubert, who I was lucky enough to have known, like thousands of other PCT hikers, as ... Read more