Could a 2,650-mile footpath with a lofty name like “The Pacific Crest Trail” possibly have enough material to make an interesting history article?
It is an impressive trail, but after all, it’s only been a phenomenon in the last several years, right? This internal debate ended quickly when I barely scratched the surface to find a treasure of great stories.
My personal interest in the Pacific Crest Trail story began in my teens, when I backpacked through a beautiful section of the route in Kings Canyon National Park. Since then, I’ve logged many miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, on several different sections. I’m always surprised and inspired by the trail’s wilderness feel, even when civilization is just over the next hill.
The stats for today’s completed version of the trail are impressive. The 2,650-mile course begins near Campo, California, and crosses 26 national forests, 7 national parks, 5 state parks, and 4 national monuments before reaching its northern terminus in Manning Provincial Park, in British Columbia. The elevation on the trail ranges from just above sea level near the Washington-Oregon border, to 13,153 feet at Forester Pass, in California’s Sierra Nevada Range.
The story of the Pacific Crest Trail (also referred to as the “PCT”) began in the early 1930s when the country was in the grip of the Great Depression. An outdoor enthusiast named Clinton C. Clarke began to formulate an ambitious plan for a wilderness trail that would traverse the mountain ranges of the western states from Mexico to Canada.
The idea for a western wilderness trail actually started in the late 1920s, and it gained traction from the success of the 1925 Appalachian Trail Conference, where a 2,200-mile trail from Georgia to Maine was proposed.
Clarke, a resident of Pasadena, realized that the wilderness areas of the Western states were rapidly being dissected by civilization, and the opportunity for creating such a magnificent trail was slipping away.
In 1932, Clarke started to earn his unofficial title as “father of the Pacific Crest Trail” when he organized the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference. Clarke also proposed the trail system to the U.S. Forest and National Park services, and received their approval to move forward with the plan.
The conference and the government approval began the transformation of the trail from a concept, into a serious endeavor. The initial route that was formulated would eventually connect a patchwork of new and existing trails into an officially recognized, continuous trail, spanning more than 2,600 miles.
In the early 1930s, mapping of the existing trails was sparse, and the new crest trail would require extensive field work to locate and map the best routes. The existing 445-mile Cascade Crest Trail in Washington, the 440-mile Skyline Trail in Oregon, and the 185-mile John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevadas were some of the well-established routes that were chosen to be incorporated into the Pacific Crest Trail.
The early development of the Pacific Crest Trail coincided with the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) created by President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1933. The CCC contributed a significant amount of labor to help construct sections of the trail, and rapid progress was made in the early years. The CCC camps often served as outposts for laborers working on the trail.
Another interesting, and little-known piece of the Pacific Crest Trail story is that equestrians have always been allowed to travel the route. However, the trail is extremely difficult in places for animals, and the logistics of traveling the entire distance by horseback are challenging. Over the history of the trail, only a handful of individuals have made a successful thru-ride (end-to-end).
A group of dedicated individuals led by Clinton Clarke pushed forward, and the Pacific Crest Trail started to become a reality. In the 1930s, the exploration and mapping of the trail became one of the most fascinating chapters of the story. Next time , part 2: The YMCA Relay, and completion of the Pacific Crest Trail. For more information, go to the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s website at: pcta.org
(Part 1 of a two-part series)
Mark Landis is a freelance writer for the Sun. He can be reached at: firstname.lastname@example.org