The PCTA is sponsoring Crystal’s Footprints for Change Hike for Justice this summer on the Pacific Crest Trail portion of the Great Western Loop. Crystal is sharing her experience to encourage members of the PCT community to become more aware and more mindful of ourselves. We hope that you respect ... Read more
By Kendra Slagter
I remember sitting at my desk at the office in February, crossing my fingers and hoping there would be a permit date available for mid-April. I had already written off the possibility of getting one considering how quickly they were snatched up when originally released in October ... Read more
By Sara “Peaches” Basinger
April 16th was supposed to be my start date for the Pacific Crest Trail. Instead of standing at the PCT Southern Terminus that morning, posing for the picture I have been dreaming about for years, I went to my job as a registered dietitian at a... Read more
By Heather “River” Porter, 2018 PCTA P3 Hiker
I decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail to meet the person I’d become at the end.
They say an experience like this changes you. You’re cut off from your family and friends and the influence of social media and left to ... Read more
As I look over the jagged Washington mountains, I’m trying to find something profound to say about this photo project that, to be honest, started as a joke.
Hiker Trash Vogue is an editorial style photo project featuring portraits of long-distance hikers pretending ... Read more
By Jonathan B. Grant
Veterans have used nature and hiking to come to terms with their combat experiences since the Revolutionary War, when the primary form of transportation to return home was by foot. The first documented thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail was Earl Shaffer, who told a friend in ... Read more
By Laura Johnston, PCTA P3 Hiker (2017)
The Pacific Crest Trail’s half-century birthday on Oct. 2 has me thinking about how much the trail means to me, someone born 14 years after it was established. I thru-hiked the trail and fell in love with it, but I also a discovered ... Read more
By Kara Kieffer, PCTA P3 Hiker
2000 miles feels like waking up tired every morning, like eating the same food again and again until it loses all meaning. It feels like wondering with amazement when 20 miles became a short day. Like pushing yourself up the last climb of the ... Read more
Welcome to the blog of the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Check back often for news about the trail.
A PCT community blog feed.