“I’m 65 and can’t do the whole thing,” a lady recently responded on my Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) blog. Point well taken. Although I met a man on the PCT whose trail name was ‘Two Weeks and Three Days’. When he had retired as a civil servant that spring, he had announced to (rather than discussed with) his wife that he would now be thru-hiking the 2,663 mile PCT from Mexico to Canada. His wife, who had never...

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Given the magnificence of the 2,663 mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in its entirety, it is no surprise that there are many great section hikes also available. First though, you must decide which part of the Mexico-Canada traverse you wish to embed yourself in. There are basically four options: 1. The desert  2. The ‘High Sierra’   3.  southern Oregon   4. northern Cascades The first option would be the most contrarian, for the...

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“Skywalker, I’ve got two weeks off from work. What section would you recommend I do?” That is a question I am often asked. It’s a good one. The good news is that a person can do a lot in two weeks. Probably the easiest part of the entire Appalachian Trail is Shenandoah National Park. It runs 100 miles through the lush green hills of northern Virginia. Wildlife (black bears, white-tailed deer) is plentiful, and the...

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