#pcta

In early September, the Pacific Crest Trail north of Harts Pass closed due to fires on both sides of the border. Harts Pass lies just thirty miles from the Northern terminus of the PCT. For so many this is a bitter end in their endeavor to complete the PCT in 2022. It is possible that the trail could re-open but when is anyone's guess. Conditions in the North Cascades have taken a late summer turn rather suddenly.

Many believed this year might allow some respite from the past smoke filled years. The mountains received late winter snows and a wet spring followed. Apparently this was not enough. Sadly it appears that for many Harts Pass will be the northern terminus this season.

Following is the news release from the US Forest Service:

Release Date: Sep 8, 2022

Increased fire activity on some of the lightning caused fires, burning in the very remote, steep, and inaccessible terrain in the northwest corner of the Pasayten Wilderness Area, spurred trail and area closures over the holiday weekend. Hot, dry, and windy conditions are expected today as a trough moves into the area which is expected to create conditions for increased fire behavior. The Shull, The Parks, Kid, Three Fools, Skagit, and Elbow fires, located near the Canadian-U.S border, are expected to grow in acreage today.

In a joint delegation with the National Park Service, a National Incident Management Organization Team, NIMO Team 2, assumed command yesterday over the six fires now being called the NW Pasayten Fires, located in the Pasayten Wilderness on the Methow Valley Ranger District of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, as well as the Chilliwack Complex Fires within the North Cascades National Park Service Complex.

A number of closures are in effect including an area closure for the Freezeout Creek basin and a number of trails and portions of trails in the area. Portions of both the Pacific Crest Trail and Pacific Northwest Trail remain closed at this time.

Currently, there is no reroute in place for hikers. In a post, the PCTA reminded hikers not to cross into Canada on alternate trails, which is a violation of Canadian law and could result in deportation and a ban from the country; instead, they should exit the trail at Harts Pass at mile 2623. 

The closure is a blow for northbounders, who make up about 90% of thru-hikers on the PCT. The northern reaches of the trail often see significant snow in late September or early October, making travel considerably more difficult. In an email, Scott Wilkinson, Content Development Director for the PCTA, called the closure “totally indefinite” and noted that what happens will likely depend on how the fire north of the border behaves.

Major wildfires have become an annual feature of hiking on the PCT, necessitating closures and reroutes that have forced some hikers onto roads, convinced others to skip sections of the trail, and driven others off the trail entirely. Currently, another 24.7-mile section of trail is closed in Oregon; fires had previously closed other parts of the trail in Oregon and northern California this year.

Ascend 3969ft, Descend 4222ft

The Trinity Alps:

One end of the valley:

The same view from a few miles further on:

The valley opens up:

Rain on the horizon:

Fire patch (likely a controlled burn)

Moss covered trees:

Starting to hail:

Out of the valley:

22 June 2017

Today was A. Day. What a day. What a FIRST day back on trail. I’m torn between embarrassment and being excited about conquering old snow fears. Here’s the regaling tale:

Necktie and Joe showed up in the morning to give us a lift to Truckee. We had a super cathartic political discussion to get it out of our system pre trail and stopped off at the Emerald Bay overlook on HWY 89. The lighting was a thousand times better than when we first stopped on our way to Tahoe and I wholly approve of the resulting photos. Joe dropped us off at Donner Ski Ranch. Really great guy, helped me remember how great the PCT community is. 

(Necktie, me, Butters)

With the drive from Tahoe we weren’t on trail until after 11am. Encountered snow almost immediately. There really wasn’t that much of it, it was just in the most unfortunate places. We had to climb up around it and then almost immediately encountered more and had to take a probably longer than necessary bushwack around it. Initially all the off trail hiking stressed me out, but then I decided it made me more of a badass and made my peace with it. Most of the day was spent in this fashion, either gingerly hiking over the slightly slushy snow or somehow finding our way around it. The trail itself could be hard to find at times and we were constantly looking at the GPS. So it goes.

(just after HWY 40)

All of this was really fine. Until my trekking pole broke. I’ve had these carbon leki trekking poles for a couple of years now, but this was the day that would be their downfall. Crawling up some rock covered in bushes, I came to a pretty high step up. Just as I was saying to Necktie, “How did you get up this!?” My trekking pole snapped. It must have been a weird angle for them or SOMETHING. My theory is that it was just old. I scrambled up and held the pole up in front of the snow. There were at least a couple dozen other times this should have happened and didn’t, yet this was the one that did it in. Oh well. Necktie let me use one of his poles in the interim, his were aluminum and hopefully wouldn’t break.

We crossed some other sketchy snow and then encountered a couple of day hikers with a golden retriever named Lucy. “Friend!” I said when I saw the pup. She came over and loved me, licking the salt from my skin and I tossed her a few snowballs. What a happy pup! And the perfect medicine after the trekking pole incident. Necktie swears the pictures he took are adorable, but I haven’t seen them yet. We moved on, encountering other day hikers who were astounded by the amount of snow. “Well we were going to hike over to the lakes...” We kept hearing. Welp. That’s a drought cancelling snow year for you. 

Made our way up to the side trail to the i80 rest stop. Had enough reception to call Lee’s from Butter’s phone to see if I could replace my trekking poles. They said they’d ship a new pair out to me and I ordered them over the phone!! SAVED. Thank you, Lee’s Adventure Sports! They would be waiting for me in Sierra City! It was lovely to hear friendly voices on the other line.

We tried to hitch to the other side of the freeway, since we knew the route under the interstate was going to be full of water. After several failed attempts, we decided to check it out. It was INDEED a river. A freezing cold river that was moving quite fast. We went one by one, the first bit was only up to mid calf. About halfway through the first tunnel the cold started to hurt. So bad. I ran through the rest of it and hopped onto the bank with Butters and Necktie. We sat there swearing and making inhuman noises while waiting for the burning to stop. We still had more to do. Got back into the water after the other two went, walked a few steps, and then a sudden dip. I felt something give and found myself in the water, banging my knee on a rock, and soaking my entire left side and the rest of me from the waist down. I stood up. I’d just broken my other trekking pole. “REALLY!?” I shouted over the noise of the water. Ugh. How. Even. So. FRUSTRATED. I crawled up onto the bank before the final tunnel, holding up my broken pole. “You broke the other one???” Butters asked, Necktie just gaping. We rationalized that they were old and carbon and the water was terribly cold. It was probably just me. I don’t know. I’m still bitter about it. 

(very bad picture of the raging water, but I put my phone in Necktie’s pack, so no better pictures from me!)

One last section to do! We hopped down into deep water just before the tunnel, then the trail started to incline and we ran out to the other side. I ripped off my shoes and dumped the numbing water out. I couldn’t feel my legs. So. Cold. We walked up the trail a bit and found yet another water crossing. This one was almost waist deep. Stomping through it in a frustrated way we crawled up onto the bank and stopped by a trailhead sign. I called my mom for a minute and thought about what I wanted to do. Butters offered me one of his trekking poles, but his are carbon too and I didn’t want to break another person’s pole! This was ridiculous. I looked at the elevation profile and knew that the snow would just get worse. We were on the South side of the mountain and it was still this bad, I couldn’t imagine what the North side would be like. I wasn’t confident going on with one pole, and my knee was aching as the sensation returned to my leg. I called it. I bailed out of the section. 

Fireant and Travis came to get me, Butters and Necktie pushed on. I gave Necktie my microspikes and ice axe, told them to be safe, I’d see them in Sierra City. A nice day hiker gave me a ride to Truckee, cutting down time for their drive. I sat and thought. I should be angry, but instead I felt the exact opposite. The funk I’d been in before getting on trail was totally gone. Instead of being mad about bailing, I was proud of myself for knowing my limits. I’d already hiked over a lot of questionable snow that day, a fear I had wanted to overcome. I looked down at my scratched up legs and soaked gear, thought about how it had only taken me a few hours to descend into hiker trash. This is all I really wanted. So what if I was skipping a section I didn’t feel comfortable doing. 

The icing on the cake was that night, after eating a wonderful dinner with Fireant and Travis, Butters called me from the shelter. Said they’d used microspikes for the last two hours of the day and had to boil snow for water. There was no trail to speak of and they’d relied on GPS. Confirmed that I’d definitely without a doubt made the right choice. They were going to hike back down to Truckee the next day. 

The time has come to consider whether or not this is your time to venture on the Pacific Crest Trail. Thru hike permits opened January 11th. Section permits for places like central Oregon are also in the offing. If you want to pursue a dream or are simply wondering if the PCT is in your future then now is the time to make those dreams a reality.

With what appears to be a notable trend, the snow is accumulating up and down the length of the PCT. That suggests that there may be fewer fires to contend with this summer. This may also create some challenging water crossings especially in the Sierras. Like some past years what things look like in January may fade by the time we get to February.

All that being said, if you are considering a sojourn on the PCT in 2022 then the excitement and anticipation is building. The available resources are many and the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) is the best place to begin since they issue the permits to thru hikers. Other resources include the Forest Service for specific information about any one of the many National Forests you will pass through. There are any number of books and blogs. Be discerning and take each one with a small grain of salt. What was really difficult for someone in the past may not be so for you and visa versa.

Going to blogs, You Tube, and the like can be interesting at best. It can also be a rabbit hole of sorts promoting ideas and understandings that may not fit you or your style. One good example of that is many discussions around base weights. Search these many resources with an open mind and remember there is no such thing as a dumb question. Talk to people who have hiked a long trail. If you know someone who has hiked the PCT then pick their brain for their impressions, advice, and general wisdom.

March-April will be here before you know it. As the days go by we will offer other ideas and impressions that could be helpful. Of course if anyone who follows this site has an angle that deserves a voice please share it, we would be happy to post it.

Howard Shapiro

I noticed that a woman from Eugene, Oregon just established the FKT (Fastest Known Time) for running the Oregon PCT. Emily Halnon aged 35 did it in 7 days, 19 hours, 23 minutes on Aug. 9, 2020. Emily was supported along the way by a team of people who ran with her, provided food, massages, and all sorts of other encouragement. By the way that record represents covering 455 miles in total and averaging 57 miles a day. Reading her story is inspiring, daunting, as well as left me wondering. 

About a year ago I completed the PCT. I did not thru hike it, did not run it, did not even hint at a Fastest Known Time or FKT. I section hiked the PCT. Part of what I wondered was my effort to achieve a  SKT (Slowest Known Time)? Let’s see, I started in 1981 and finished in 2019, that’s pretty slow. Unlike Emily, who got out on the trail day after day for seven days in a row, I ventured out initially for a personal record of 30 continuous days (no zeros) and a wide variety of lesser days after that. There were also some gaps. After completing Washington in 1982 my partners and I didn’t get back on the trail until 1991. That’s pretty slow. We picked up the pace after that. Still, it took from 1991 until 2019 for me to complete the trail. 

My curiosity about all of this took me to the Pacific Crest Trail Association. If any one or any organization would know anything about any records it would them. Much to my surprise that is not something the PCTA is really tracking. They can give you a pretty good idea of who finished the trail in many given years but they don’t really ‘track’ records. The PCTA is  much more interested in the diversity of who makes up the trail community. In fact, one focus for the PCTA is promoting the value and shining a light on the trail community through both those that hike it and those volunteering to maintain it. They also appreciate anyone who wants to support the PCT through donations. 

The PCTA’s Trail Information Manager, Jack Haskel, reminded me that it might  be important for the trail community to have a discussion around beliefs related to records. Once the ‘fastest’ got noticed the rules changed around what some of us think and what some of us believe about our trail experience. Records are amazing things. They set a bar for everyone else who follows. Records matter but to who? 

If I am the owner of the slowest known time (SKT)  for section hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, who does it really matter too? Maybe it makes  me another in a long line of ‘iconic’ PCT hikers. Maybe I can share the podium with others who have staked out their claims to these records: Fastest Assisted , Fastest Unassisted, Fastest California section, Fastest Oregon section, Fastest Washington section, First Winter Southbound, First Yo-Yo, Most Completions, First person to complete the PCT on horseback, Oldest Person to complete the PCT, Oldest combined couple age to complete the PCT, Oldest Man to section hike, Oldest Woman to section hike, Youngest person to hike the PCT, First Thru hike, First Woman to Thru hike, First person to run the entire PCT, The lowest REI membership number to complete the PCT, and my potential category; Longest number of years to complete the PCT.

Actually, I am NO Martin Papendick who is the earliest known person to complete the trail back in 1952. This is before the PCT was the PCT! I am no Heather “Anish” Anderson either, aside from the fact that I am not a woman. I am really not nor do I fit any of the above many categories to be sure. I do have the pleasure of knowing that I spent many days and nights over a lot of years doing something I never thought I would. Walking just over two thousand six hundred miles allowed me to spend some of the most valuable time in my life (so far)  with some of the most valuable people in my life. Over the years I gained confidence in my self, imagined future goals, and generally sorted my self out numerous times. That realization is in itself better than any record or space on a real or imagined podium. 

Each year the Pacific Crest Trail Association prepares an annual report documenting the work they have done in support of the Pacific Crest Trail.  It reviews the achievements in protecting the trail.  This year that included the Trinity Divide purchase.  2019 also marked the creation of the first dedicated PCT Management Area, a mile-wide corridor established by the Inyo National Forest.

It reviews the tremendous number of volunteer hours donated in support of the PCT.  Although there are many ways volunteers contribute, I can’t imagine the maintenance of the trail without the countless hours of volunteer effort.

And of course, none of this happens without money.  This comes in the form of grants and contracts and contributions from many individuals and businesses.

All of this so that we can walk the trail . . . be it thru-hikers, section-hikers, or day-hikers.  But, as the report notes, “Far more than a trail, the PCT is a place, an experience, and a passion worth protecting. . . It lives in our hearts as a sweeping span of wildness and beauty across the great mountain ranges of the American West.”  How true.

Anyone who spends significant time on the Pacific Crest Trail comes to realize that the maintenance, preservation, and protection of a 2,650-mile trail through rugged wilderness buffeted by severe winter weather and summer fires is no small task.  Perhaps even more importantly is addressing the 200+ miles of the trail that crosses private land and is impacted by the encroachment of development.  And, there is the concern that the trail itself will be loved to death by the dramatically growing number of users. We count on the PCTA to quietly manage all of these things.  Most of us just want to walk on the trail without thinking about the challenges of sustaining this graceful ribbon of a path.

The PCTA recently put out their 2018 Annual Report that captures some of the impact of the organization in numbers and what happens behind the scenes so that you and I can just take that wonderful walk. 

In 2018, the PCTA permanently protected 3,107 acres along the PCT and transferred three properties to the Forest Service.  The PCTA led the restoration and re-opening of 14.5 miles of trails through the San Jacinto Mountains that had been closed by fire since 2013 and have participated in much of the recovery of the Eagle Creek alternative north of Mt. Hood.  And, much more.

While the PCT has been an official entity since 1968, the PCTA was not established until 1992 with the merger of the PCT Conference and the PCT Club.  It was not until 2000 that the first full-time employee was hired.