The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) passes directly through Yosemite National Park. I had never been to Yosemite before. The Yosemite world of sheer rock cliffs and running, plunging water staggers the imagination. Waterfalls were seemingly everywhere. Most PCT thru-hikers took a day off and toured Yosemite Valley. This area had been preserved a century back when John Muir had convinced Theodore Roosevelt to include Yosemite Valley as a protected...

PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hikers can expect to run into rattlesnakes at various points in the desert, which is exactly where a PCT hiker is the first 703 miles. They certainly seemed a lot more at home out there than we hikers! One thru-hiker picked up the trail name, ‘Snake Charmer’, when a rattlesnake lunged at him and bounced off his shoe. Some tried hiking at night to avoid the awful heat of the desert. This allowed them to make...

The Appalachian Trail has currently closed for camping the five mile section from Neel's Gap to Jarrard's Gap because of bears. Bears are known to be more aggressive in the West and for good reason. There is less rainfall and, consequently, less vegetation.