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Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) - 2,650 miles - View Gallery

Along its 2,650-mile route, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) spans extremes of climate, habitat, and elevation. With a route first planned by YMCA volunteers in the 1930s, the second major long distance trail in the United States became reality as trail pioneers Clinton Clarke and Warren Rogers lobbied Congress for a trail that connected our northern and southern borders, and volunteers stepped up to make the trail a reality. Designated a National Scenic Trail in tandem with the Appalachian Trail in 1968 as the beginning of the fledgling National Trail System, the PCT involved both hikers and equestrians in its planning and construction, making it open to pack animals and casual riders as well as backpackers and day hikers.

With radical differences in terrain, geology, and ecosystems along its route, the PCT rises from the deserts of Southern California to the crests of the Sierras in Central California, heading into the volcanic Cascade Mountain range in Northern California. Elevations along the route range from 180 feet (over the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington) up to 13,180 feet (at Forester Pass, the trail’s high point), with eight passes over 11,000 feet in Central California alone.

There are many challenges that face long distance hikers who attempt a thru-hike of the PCT, from stretches of waterless desert to snowy Alpine conditions in the Sierras that require knowledge and use of crampons and ice axe. Unlike the Appalachian Trail, there are few towns along the way, so resupply points are few and far between as hikers cross vast stretches of wilderness. Despite daunting logistics, nearly 300 attempt a thru-hike each season, gathering in late April to celebrate ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off), providing moral support to one another as they prepare for their grand adventure.

Despite its remoteness, certain portions of the PCT are easily accessible to day hikers and weekend backpackers. In California, the trail passes through Yosemite National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park, where active volcanic features – mudpots, hot springs, and fumaroles – are a part of the landscape. Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States, is along the trail’s route through Oregon, as is the state’s largest active volcano, Mt. Hood. Crossing the Columbia River, the PCT continues into the North Cascades of Washington, where Alpine Lakes and North Cascades National Park are popular destinations.

Along with the AT, the PCT is considered complete. Managed by the USDA Forest Service in conjunction with the Pacific Crest Trail Association, ongoing protection and maintenance of the trail is a labor of grand proportion, given the length and wild nature of the trail. Learn more about the PCT through the PCTA at www.pcta.org.

“Fun Facts”
For a look at North America’s volcanic past, the PCT can’t be beat. It zigzags along the defining edge of the Pacific Rim, from the San Andreas Fault – which it crosses three times – in Southern California to the massive volcanoes of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington. 

As it dances along the eastern edge of the Central California border with Nevada, the PCT comes within less than 5 miles of Lake Tahoe.

More people have climbed Mount Everest than have completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail!