Now to how it came about… there was a man by the name of Clinton C. Clarke, who had a great idea derived from his love for nature and the hope for everyone to be able to enjoy it. The idea was a trail, but not just any trail. A trail that expanded from Mexico to Canada displaying some of the most amazing natural settings the United States had to offer. It began in the 1930s with a dream, hard work and a lot of help. The dream formed into the concrete idea of a path running along the mountain ranges in California, Oregon, and Washington. It was Clarke’s plan to connect already existing trails to complete his masterpiece. These trails include Washington’s Cascade Crest Trail, Oregon’s Skyline Trail, and California’s Tahoe-Yosemite and John Muir’s Trails.
Clarke founded the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference
in 1932 to lobby and plan for the trail’s construction. With the dedication of
40+ YMCA groups, Clarke hiked, explored and evaluated a route over 2000 miles.
I don’t know if you read that right, 2000 MILES!!! One YMCA member who stood
out during this process was man named Warren Rogers. He was a soul devoted to
the process of exploring, maintaining, and publicizing the trail after it was
mapped out for years to come. The incredible part of his story was that he was crippled
as a child by polio (interesting fact to blurt out). Today’s trail closely
resembles the path Rodgers embarked upon. On October 2, 1968, they got well deserved
credit when President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Trails System Act.
This Act named the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails as the 1st National
Scenic Trails. Even with the notoriety, the work was still incomplete. It
wasn’t until 20 years later the trail was declared finished.
Today’s PCT is nothing short of the vision Clarke had set out for it to be. It expands 2,665 miles, zigzagging through 3 different states. The terrain includes 6 out of 7 ecozones in North America! Elevations range from 180 ft above sea level to a staggering 13,153 ft. Luckily for hikers they can even top that by summiting Mt. Whitney(the highest elevation in the contiguous US at 14,505ft)(another interesting fact to blurt), which is a side trail along the PCT. The trail includes over 50 major mountain passes, 27 Nation Forests, 7 National Parks, numerous bodies of water and an abundant amount of wildlife. This is a dream come true and we applaud all who strive to preserve it.
Today’s PCT is nothing short of the vision Clarke had set out for it to be. It expands 2,665 miles, zigzagging through 3 different states. The terrain includes 6 out of 7 ecozones in North America! Elevations range from 180 ft above sea level to a staggering 13,153 ft. Luckily for hikers they can even top that by summiting Mt. Whitney(the highest elevation in the contiguous US at 14,505ft)(another interesting fact to blurt), which is a side trail along the PCT. The trail includes over 50 major mountain passes, 27 Nation Forests, 7 National Parks, numerous bodies of water and an abundant amount of wildlife. This is a dream come true and we applaud all who strive to preserve it.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO GIVE DONATIONS TO HELP TO PROTECT THIS PRECIOUS TRAIL PLEASE VISIT WWW.PCTA.ORG
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