The Summer issue of the Pacific Crest Trail Communicator had some eye-opening statistics. In 1997 the Pacific Crest Trail Association (governing body of the PCT) issued 16 thru-hiking permits. This year, however, by April 15th it had issued 1,211 to thru-hikers and thru-riders (equestrians) for the 2013 hiking season. The trail could now fairly be said to be wildly popular. And there is no reason to think this trend won’t continue. No, the...

  Travel Books Skywalker: Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail Bill Walker Price: $4.95 Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian trail Bill Walker, Jerry Gramckow, Audra George Price: $4.95 The Trail Life: How I...

Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine article below on Bill Walker (‘Skywalker). http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/meet-the-best-athletes-in-the-blue-ridge/   Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine is the premier outdoor magazine (distributed from Baltimore to Atlanta) in the eastern United States. Thus it was with surprise that I greeted the news that the magazine wanted to interview me. And I was outright amazed that the magazine named me an...

We all know that Virginia is the longest of the 14 states on the Appalachian Trail, at more than 500 miles. And those of us in the hiking community have certainly heard of the ‘Virginia Blues’ that afflicts so many thru-hikers to the point of knocking them off the trail. In Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail, I wrote, “The initial frisson of excitement has worn off by the time thru-hikers reach Virginia....

The following article: http://www.mercurynews.com/travel/ci_23387926/pacific-crest-trail-finds-itself-wildly-popular-this   is very good news. The number of hikers who filed for PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) thru-hiking permits has almost doubled to 1,004. Some worry. Donna Sauffley, who runs the most renowned hiker hostel on the PCT, worries about the impact on the environment, as well as the crush of hikers that will arrive at the same time at...

  Let me assure you of two things. First, if you have gotten the idea of attempting an Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hike lodged in your head, the great odds are that sooner or later you will find yourself–backpack bravely strapped on–facing north at Springer Mountain in north Georgia. That is the good news. The bad news–and I am even more sure of this–is that you will never find a perfect time to attempt your...