Hiking in the ‘High Desert’
The desert surprised most PCT hikers with its varied topography
Most PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) hikers expected the desert to be table-top flat and monotonous. How wrong we were! In fact, the desert proved quite mountainous and jagged at various points. We even ran into heavy snow fields on Fuller’s Ridge. The good news is that in this so-called high desert, the PCT hiker gets some breathtaking views out into the vast expanses of the desert. Only when we got to the Mojave, were we walking all day in the desert floor. In fact, at that point the only variable feature was the pipes that carried the water supply from Lake Owen in Yosemite, all the way through the Mojave, to Los Angeles.
Bill Walker is the author of Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail (2010). He is also the author Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail, as well as The Best Way–El Camino de Santiago (2012). Walker, who is 6’11”, is currently working on a book on the subject of height.
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