By Kimberlie Dame. Hear silence. Finally hear what the non-stop thoughts in your head have been saying to you about yourself and others your whole life. Have something new and exciting for Facebook updates. Get crazy fit. Wear socks with sandals without appearing geeky. Learn how to get lost. Become very adept at knowing exactly what time it is based on … Continue reading 40 truly compelling reasons to hike the PCT
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We’ve got to say it: some of you need potty training. Don’t panic, the PCT is nearly entirely poop free. You can walk miles and miles without coming across someone else’s business. Thank goodness. But walk long enough and you’ll develop the outdoors sixth sense: the ability to notice things you didn’t see before. Uncovered feces, barely covered feces, and … Continue reading Basic skill: pooping in four steps
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Watch the Wild movie trailer right here! Cheryl Strayed’s Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, her best-selling memoir about her hike on the PCT, is being made into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. The release date for the Wild movie, is December 5th, 2014.
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You’re convinced that hiking can be cool and you’re ready to give it a shot. Great! A world of stunning beauty waits. Planning a hike shouldn’t be an ordeal. After a bit of preparation, jump in the car (or if you’re lucky, a bus) and get yourself to the trailhead. First time? We recommend day trips. But this guide also … Continue reading Planning your first hike (the easy way)
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Get outside but be darn sure that it’s not your last trip. Plan and play while avoiding the whomp, whomp, whomp of a helicopter. No one goes into the wilderness intending to be rescued. Even seasoned outdoor enthusiasts get into trouble. Unfortunately, outdoor emergencies are not rare. Three facts of life There is intrinsic risk in the wilderness. Lightning, cold … Continue reading Safety class: avoiding search and rescue
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Cheryl Strayed was 26 in 1995 when she set out to hike more than 1,000 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. Coping with her mother’s death to cancer at age 45, divorce and heroin use, Cheryl says she was at a very desperate and sad point in life and had “to save myself.” She saw a PCT guidebook in a department … Continue reading Watch the WILD book trailer by Cheryl Strayed
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Leave No Trace: the golden guidelines of the outdoors. Here they are, specifically tailored to the PCT with a hope that they’ll be more relevant and thus you’ll read and follow them. Plan Ahead and Prepare Poor advance preparation can cause damage to the environment. Small impacts repeated by thousands become major impacts. Examine PCTA, U.S. Forest Service, National Park … Continue reading Memorize these PCT Leave No Trace principles
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This post about Cheryl Strayed’s first PCT fundraiser originally appeared on the main PCTA blog. The Keen room in Portland was at capacity, and author Cheryl Strayed had the crowd of 200-plus captivated from her first answer. This was a PCTA fundraiser on the evening of Nov. 13. at Keen’s headquarters in the Pearl District. Keen is a PCTA corporate … Continue reading Cheryl Strayed wows the crowd at PCTA fundraiser
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This column by our Executive Director and CEO, Liz Bergeron, was first published in our PCT Communicator magazine. Download a PDF of it here. Please become a member and support the Pacific Crest Trail. We recently learned that WILD, the movie based on Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling book of the same title, will be released Dec. 5. It’s been a long time in … Continue reading The Wild Effect – perspective before the movie
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