August in the Pacific Northwest is generally fantastic weather wise. So when I signed onto a PCTA work project with the North 350 Blades at Snoqualmie Pass for the last weekend in August, I was pretty sure I was in for a wonderful sunny weekend filled with mountain views and ... Read more
As a hiker, I’ve always appreciated a well-maintained trail. You can travel farther with less effort. Your eyes are more often lifted to enjoy the beauty of the area rather than focused on what your feet might be tripping over.
Getting out on trail maintenance projects over the years has ... Read more
It’s the busy season for PCTA volunteer and corps crews all along the PCT, as they cut back overgrown brush, retread eroding trail and remove fallen logs. While this work is happening in all three states, I was lucky enough to catch a lot of the action in Northern California, ... Read more
As Volunteer Programs Assistant with PCTA, I take great pride in helping coordinate an expansive and high-caliber volunteer program, one that offers sophisticated training opportunities such as our annual Trail Skills College. Over the last six years, PCTA’s Trail Skills College has evolved into a premier trail maintenance education program ... Read more
By Mary Anne Chute Lynch
On his first PCT maintenance trip this season, Bill Carpenter and crew cleared out 21 trees that had fallen during winter, the remnants of a 1995 fire. Another crew cut 150. But all that was a warm-up exercise.
Bill went back three days later to ... Read more
Make sure to soak up summer while it’s still here! Volunteering on a PCTA trail maintenance crew is a great way to spend time in the sun and mountain air, not to mention a chance to do your part in keeping the PCT accessible and safe for hikers and horseback ... Read more
This spring, as part of Bellevue College’s Wilderness Skills Certificate program, 14 students taking a Hiking & Orienteering course joined their instructor, Peter Prescott, and me for a day of trail maintenance. Prescott serves as Bellevue’s Wellness Center Program Manager, Fitness Center Director and faculty member. This is the second ... Read more
By Kathleen Wynne Lynch
Mick “Salt Lick” McBride’s driveway is 35 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, but on his first one-mile trek, “I was so out of shape that it killed me,” he said.
“At the same time I loved it! I felt peace being out there, and even ... Read more
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