The Joy of Walking Long
on the Pacific Crest Trail

By Angela Ballard

Southern California. Photo by Jackie Zinger.

Hiker crosses a creek near Edison Lake.

Carson Pass, Sierra Nevada. Photo by Jackie Zinger.

Mornings carry the most memories for me. In the morning, when the streets and trails in my town are quiet and when the air is crisp, I can close my eyes and be back on the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT). I imagine having just packed up all of my gear for the day. I imagine walking away from my campsite with the knowledge that I will never sleep in that spot again and with no idea what my home for the coming night will look like.

I thru-hiked the PCT more than six years ago, and since that time I have gotten married, moved three times, written a book, and become a mother. There are days when my trail life seems like a dream. More often, the lessons learned and confidence earned over 2,650 miles keep me moving steadily through life – overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles, forging ahead when it seems burdens are too heavy to bear, and pausing to take in a view, a moment, and a simple pleasure as if I may never come this way again.

Thru-hiking is a term used in the long-distance hiking world to describe a near-continuous walk of a long trail so that you cover the trail’s entire length in one (or possibly two) seasons. A thru-hike of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail typically takes three to five months. Most hikers start in April or early May at the trail’s southern terminus near a town called Campo, located close to the California-Mexico border, hiking toward the trail’s northern terminus near Manning Provincial Park, British Columbia.

Thru-hikers are as varied as people can be. I’ve seen thru-hikers in their 70s and know a 10-year-old girl who thru-hiked with her parents. Thru-hikers come from as close as the PCT’s backyard in California, Oregon, and Washington and from as far away as Japan and New Zealand. Some are retirees from professional positions, some are on leave from the military, some are fresh out of college and wondering what to do next, and some see thru-hiking as their true vocation. But on the trail, these differences seem to fall away as the lifestyle of walking takes over.

There are many things that seem difficult and perhaps impossible about thru-hiking, but the bottom line is it’s just walking, and we humans are born to walk. Thru-hikers typically walk from sunrise to sunset with water, rest, and meal breaks in between. Wherever a thru-hiker finds him- or herself at sunset is likely where he or she will sleep for the night, sometimes in a tent but often under the stars or under a tarp. Days and nights are pared down to the bare essentials of existence — eating, sleeping, and walking, and whatever else is necessary to ensure that these three functions can be completed.

Of course, most thru-hikers do not stay on the trail all the time. Food bags must be replenished, and stops in town allow hikers to enjoy fresh meals, do laundry, contact friends and family, take showers, and rest weary legs.

I remember these town stops well. I would eagerly charge down the trail if I knew that a town was within a day’s walk. I would daydream about washing off the grime, eating ice cream, and relaxing on a motel bed. But after about 12 hours in town, my feet would start itching to go again, wanderlust would kick back in, and I would soon find my way back to the PCT.

The most amazing thing about thru-hiking was discovering what I could accomplish. Yes, my legs could carry me over 20 miles nearly every day. Yes, I could climb over boulder-strewn 10,000-foot passes. And yes, I could be alone with my thoughts day after day. I could walk the length of the United States, and I believe that you can too.

I do not want to belittle the physical and mental stamina required to thru-hike or the planning and preparation that is required. Additionally, there are real safety considerations to pay attention to — snow, ice, and freezing temperatures in mountains; scarcity of water and high temperatures in the deserts; wildlife, including rattlesnakes and bears; and health considerations such as ensuring adequate nutrition, avoiding repetitive stress injuries, and having clean drinking water. But I also want to encourage people who love to walk to consider taking that love onto the PCT for a long journey — perhaps a week, a month, or a thru-hike.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure: A chance to rise with the sun every day and carry everything you need with you, a chance to sleep surrounded by a different beautiful landscape every night, a chance to be with yourself and know yourself and know the world around you better than you ever thought possible, a chance to put walking above everything else.

If You Go
The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) is a gateway to matchless adventures, remarkable encounters with nature, and self-discovery.

Meandering from Mexico to Canada for 2,650 miles, the PCT traverses three states, three national monuments, seven national parks, 25 national forests, and 33 federally mandated wildernesses. Along the way it ascends more than 57 major mountain passes and skirts the shores of countless lakes, tarns, ponds, creeks, and rivers.

The trail travels mainly along the crests of major mountain ranges including the San Bernardino, San Gabriel, Sierra Nevada, and Cascade. Scurrying, slithering, foraging, and hunting in the trail’s environments are a wealth of extraordinary creatures — many of which PCT walkers are privileged to glimpse — including rattlesnakes, coyotes, mountain lions, marmots, bears, mountain goats, and elk.

Located within three- to four-hour driving distance of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle, the PCT is both easily accessible and magnificently untamed.

For more information, visit the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s site at www.PCTA.org. Thru-hiking permits are required and are available through the Pacific Crest Trail Association.

This article is the second in a series about the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. To read the first part of this series visit Footpaths issue 20 . Portions of this article have been previously published by Pacific Crest Trail Association’s Communicator magazine. Angela Ballard is Editor of the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s (PCTA) bi-monthly magazine, Pacific Crest Trail Communicator, and author of an award-winning book about the Pacific Crest Trail titled A Blistered Kind of Love, One Couple’s Trial by Trail. For more information about the Pacific Crest Trail and how you can help protect and maintain this national treasure, or to join the PCTA, visit the Association online at www.PCTA.org.