The Pacific Crest Trail isn’t just for thru-hikers. It never was.

Working on a sign during an invasive plants removal project on the Columbia River Gorge NSA. Photo courtesy of Terry Hill.

From the Columbia River Gorge to the volcanic peaks of the Oregon Cascades, from the high desert of Southern California to the granite crest of the Sierra Nevada, the PCT passes through some of the most remarkable landscapes in North America — and most of it is reachable in a day.

So far, we’ve published 97 of the PCT’s best day hikes. You’ll also find that our database has 487 trailheads, printable maps and descriptions, beautiful photography, and filters to help you find exactly the kind of outing you’re looking for.

What’s new

The 25 hikes span the length of the trail through California, Oregon and Washington. In Southern California, new listings include walks along the edge of Mount Laguna, into the San Jacinto Mountains, and above Big Bear on Nelson Ridge. The Sierra Nevada additions include a stunning ridgeline hike from Sonora Pass to the shoulder of Leavitt Peak and a loop through the lakes near Donner Pass. Oregon highlights include the beloved Ramona Falls Loop on the west side of Mount Hood and a route to South Matthieu Lake at McKenzie Pass. In Washington, the Naches Peak Loop and the walk to Lake Valhalla near Stevens Pass are not to be missed.

Get outside

Browse all 25 new hikes — and the full collection — at explore.pcta.org.

If a hike moves you, consider becoming a PCTA member. The trail you walk on exists because thousands of donors and volunteers work to protect and maintain it every year.

The post PCTA’s Explore Website Now Features 97 PCT Day Hikes appeared first on Pacific Crest Trail Association.

Much welcomed trail magic during a very hot day in the desert. A reminder of the community that keeps this trail alive. Photo by Dan Punshon-Smith

Good News at the Border

It’s been a complicated few months at Mile 0. Earlier this year, land near the Southern Terminus was designated a National Defense Area, and for a time hikers were unable to touch the border wall. That restriction has since been lifted. Read the conditions at that link, but basically you can visit the wall and take your photo. 

If you’re looking for a hangtag, Crest Runners are there most days typically morning through early afternoon.  They don’t have exact set hours as they need flexibility to shift their schedule if weather, hiker traffic patterns, sickness, etc. necessitate. 

Southern California Conditions

Recent flooding has left parts of the Southern California corridor scoured, damaged, or still recovering. Expect some trail surfaces to be rougher than older descriptions suggest and expect loose footing. It’s also a light snow year in the Sierra, which is generally good news for your Kennedy Meadows arrival. In the desert, though, nothing changes: start early, rest midday, carry more water than you think you need. Please submit your own water reports to pctwater.com when you can. The hikers behind you will thank you. 

Use the PCT Closures website and smartphone app to stay current on what’s open. Submit trail conditions at pcta.org. You are one of our best sources of information out there. 

PCTA’s Class of 2026 Information Webinar 

Watch the recording if you missed it. 

The Trail Angel Community

From Campo to Cascade Locks, you are going to be stopped in your tracks by the generosity of strangers. Free rides to town, a lawn to camp on, a meal you didn’t expect. The trail angel community is one of the great things about this trail, full stop. Accept it graciously and find your own way to pay it forward. 

A Word About Our Public Lands

The Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service have all seen significant staffing reductions through layoffs and retirements this year. The rangers and trail crews who maintain this corridor are stretched thin. That puts more responsibility on each of us. Please practice Leave No Trace like you mean it: pack out your trash, use a cat hole or wag bag, camp on durable surfaces, and don’t cut switchbacks. The trail is protected through the good behaviors of everyone walking it. 

Be Safe and Self-Sufficient

Photo by: Julianna Tsao

Leave a trip plan with someone at home. Carry a satellite communicator if you can. Know your limits and don’t be afraid to turn around. Search and rescue resources across the trail’s length are limited, and the backcountry does not grade on a curve. Two people have died this month from rattlesnake bites already in Southern California. That’s rare. These tragic incidents were not on the PCT but take care to avoid rattlers! 

Wash your hands. Gastrointestinal issues like norovirus tears through the trail community every season and it’s entirely preventable. Soap and water at every opportunity. If you’re sick, please be thoughtful about shared spaces and food.

Come Help Us Out There

PCTA staff and volunteers are already on trail doing critical maintenance work — clearing drainages, rebuilding storm-damaged tread, replacing signs. If you want to join us in person, sign up. There is always room for more hands. 

Go Have the Time of Your Life

You are about to spend a lot of nights outside. You will wake up to light hitting ridgelines before it reaches the ground. You will fall asleep to sounds you can’t quite identify. The wilderness has a way of asking something of you and giving something back that’s hard to put into words. 

We hope you find it. 

Class of 2026, the trail is yours. Head north. 

Photo by: Kim Liou

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The Pacific Crest Trail Association ended 2025 on a high note, purchasing an impactful property in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, and began 2026 with another win on the opposite end of California (helping to put 40 more acres under conservation near Castle Crags Wilderness in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest).

Hatton Place, Riverside County, California

On the outskirts of Whitewater, California, five residential lots covering 1.3 acres illustrate how key conservation efforts are often built parcel by parcel, one deal at a time. Lying at the juncture of the Palomar Mountains and the Transverse Range, the Whitewater area is a hot spot for wildlife moving across the desert in search of food, water and cooler mountain temperatures, so much so that local governments and environmental groups are looking to improve an undercrossing of Interstate 10 or build a wildlife overcrossing to accommodate key large-scale connection of habitat.

Thanks to a generous gift from a donor, PCTA purchased these five relatively small properties to join a collection of parcels owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Coachella Valley Conservation Commission, Friends of Desert Mountains and The Wildlands Conservancy. The parcels help to connect the nearby San Bernardino National Forest and Sand to Snow National Monument.

“The Sand to Snow National Monument, home to 30 PacificCrest Trail miles, encompasses 154,000 acres from the Sonoran Desert floor up to over 10,000 feet in the San Gorgonio Wilderness on the SanBernardino National Forest. It was specially designated as a national monument in 2016 by President Barack Obama, in recognition of the landscape’s beauty and natural splendor.” – Paolo Perrone, PCTA Senior Conservation Manager

Future hikers traversing this PCT section will never have to worry about homes crowding the edge of the trail. But this PCTA acquisition contributes so much more than just a protected trail experience. It also makes room for wildlife to roam and continues the momentum of conservation in an area of continental importance, where mountain ranges push skyward under pressure from the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. For more on this acquisition, visit Land Protection: Preservation of Hatton Place.

Castle Creek, Siskiyou County, California

In early 2026, Jane Cole, a longtime PCTA member, generously donated 40 acres nestled against the Castle Crags Wilderness and deep in the Shasta Trinity National Forest for permanent protection. The PCTA will steward the property until it can be included in a larger collection of conservation lands between the Trinity Alps and Castle Crags Wildernesses and transferred to the United States Forest Service. Cole and her late husband John Sawyer purchased the land for its unique flora and abundance of reptiles, but also for its proximity to the PCT. Now, as hikers ascend one of the area’s most taxing but beautiful inclines, gaining more than 3,000 feet of elevation as they pass the Castle Creek property, awe-inspiring views will remain unimpeded by future logging or development.

This latest success caps a string of wins between the PCTA, Trust for Public Land and Shasta Trinity National Forest, where previous projects over the last 14 years have added more than 13,000 acres of protected land to the forest. Looking forward, work continues adjacent to the Castle Creek parcel on the Alps to Crags project to protect more than 7,000 acres of forestland in Northern California. Work on these projects continues thanks to broad support including investments from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the California Wildlife Conservation Board and private donations from foundations and individuals, all helping to ensure this landscape stays protected and thrives through ecological and recreational improvements.

The two projects outlined above are 1,304 trail miles apart (that’s nearly half the length of the PCT), have the entire Sierra Nevada between them, and host vastly different ecoregions. Their similarities, however, highlight the types of accomplishments the PCTA is uniquely poised to achieve: These deals were philanthropically driven through generous gifts of funding and land, both lie in wildlife corridors of large-scale significance, and both show the beauty of partnerships in a time when those bonds are more important than ever.

What lies ahead

As the PCTA looks ahead to its next land protection projects, there are opportunities to build on these successes and to work in other amazing places like the Anza Borrego Desert, the southern Sierra Nevada and the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Efforts in each of these areas will rely on the steadfast support of our community and our strong partnerships with other nonprofit organizations and government agencies. We look forward to conserving more lands not only to make the trail a better place, but to support wildlife, protect cherished places, and create a stronger conservation community along the PCT and beyond.

The post Worlds Apart, PCTA Land Protection Celebrates Successes Across California appeared first on Pacific Crest Trail Association.

The U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. military express recognition of what a tremendous moment it is for hikers and equestrians who will be starting or ending their journey on the trail at the Southern Terminus monument. Safety continues to be their top priority. That being said, trail users can now enter the NDA to visit/take a picture with the wall. This is an important update regarding the previously prohibited entry south of the monument. Specific procedures will need to be followed.

What This Means for Hikers and Equestrians

• There will be only one designated area where trail users will be authorized to enter the National Defense Area
• Entry and exit are permitted only at the 30–40 ft road opening where there is a break in the fence/wall providing access.
• North–south entry and exit must occur through this opening in the access road; east–west travel along the wall is not permitted.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. military personnel may be operating in the area and approach trail users for a check-in or wellness check. Trail users may be asked to present a Passport, REAL ID/state-issued ID, and possibly a Long-Distance Permit.
• Trail users will not be required to register on the military access request website.

It is important that all visitors continue respecting posted boundaries and follow current regulations. The PCTA will continue to update information on access and safety precautions as needed.

Please be mindful, and we look forward to seeing you at the Southern Terminus!

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For those of you who are starting early in the season, you may have already had a chance to say hello to them down at the Southern Terminus. If not, no worries, they’ll still be around to give you a warm welcome and send off as you embark on this journey.

Now in its 4th year of operation, the PCTA’s Crest Runner program in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, exists in an effort to reach the hiking community to help share Leave No Trace principles, the importance of permits, and the nuances of trail and trail town culture. We want you to have fun out there, but we also want to make sure you’re safe. It’s all part of having a good time, and that is exactly what the Crest Runners are all about. This year’s Crest Runners are Olive Fortner (They/She) and Eileen Wassel (She/Her).

Olive is from Santa Clarita, California, and growing up, they got a taste of everything outdoors, from camping, kayaking, and hiking up the coast in Morro Bay to skiing in Mammoth. When they were 17 years old, their mom sent them on an Outward Bound Expedition in North Carolina to develop “some sense of self.” It was the kind of trip that has you swear you’ll never do anything like it again, but hard things usually yield new perspectives. Olive came back a little more confident, ready to take on Colorado College and climb 14ers in their free time. They went on to become an outdoor educator, eventually returning to where it all started, at the North Carolina Outward Bound School, and have spent the last three springs, summers, and falls instructing teens and adults on how to safely have fun outside!

Eileen is from Loveland, Ohio, and at 22 years old, she set out on a camping trip with friends that would set into motion a drive later that year, cross-country to live in the remote North Cascade Mountains. This would introduce her to solo hiking and eventually backpacking, to one year later find herself at 23 years old, thru-hiking from Mexico to Canada on the PCT. All because Eileen wanted to prove to her friends that camping just wasn’t for her. (Spoiler: She was proved very wrong)

“One of my biggest takeaways from trail was the love, support, and community. When I was struggling to believe in myself, there was no shortage of others who believed in me. I was never made to feel small for being a young, solo, female hiker. In the backcountry, we are all just individuals with a shared ambition. So many societal labels and expectations are stripped away leaving only how you treat others and the trail to speak for you. The PCT was a transformative experience that allowed me to come home to myself.” – Eileen Wassel

We are thrilled to have both Olive and Eileen with us this season, and they’re just as excited as we are. Although it’s still fairly early in the season for hikers getting to trail, they’ve reported that those who have started are in good spirits with good weather to accompany them. 

When we caught up with them earlier this month to ask what they were most looking forward to this season, Olive expressed joy at getting back to the Sierra and meeting hikers in a setting that is completely in their element. No stranger to the PCT/JMT section; it’s a heart and soul call to return to those mountains. Eileen similarly shared her eagerness to greet hikers, listen to people’s stories, and make sure they have a positive kick off to their hike. At the end of the day, the Crest Runners are out there to make sure people feel supported and part of a larger community that is rooting for them every step of the way. 

“It is energizing getting to uplift individuals on their first day of trail with encouragement and all the information they will need to succeed. The trail is a wild and wonderful place and I feel honored to be just one drop of positivity in people’s long and beautiful thru-hikes.” – Eileen Wassel 

Sharing the stoke and information 

What’s a typical interaction with the Crest Runners like? Well, they’ll be stationed at the Southern Terminus, ready to greet fellow hikers and help make sure that they have everything they need. This includes collecting permit data, which helps us (the PCTA) better understand trail usage and improve the overall trail experience. That way, the trail remains safe and accounted for.

After that, they’ll share Southern California pertinent information about Leave No Trace Principles, any updates on trail conditions, and send people on their merry way with a PCT hangtag. Some hikers might even run into them later down the trail, but that’s for another blog post. In the meantime, we’ve asked Olive and Eileen to share a few words of encouragement and advice directly to the incoming class. A pre-introduction, before setting foot on the trail!  

“The trail is fragile, and we are increasingly losing access to resources we need to keep the trail in good condition. Be aware of your impact. Be careful with fires and water, and please, be a good steward of the land. Take care of it – take only pictures and leave only footprints. And have fun!” – Olive Fortner

“To all the hikers getting ready to set off for their 2026 thru hike, come prepared, but know that no amount of research can truly prepare you for the journey to come. Take in every moment and don’t take a second for granted, including those pre-trail jitters! We are excited to see you all at the terminus!” – Eileen Wassel

The post Meet the Crest Runners for PCT ’26 appeared first on Pacific Crest Trail Association.

For thousands of hikers, Barney and Sandy’s impact began before the first mile. For decades, they opened their San Diego home to northbound hikers starting their journeys. What they offered was more than a place to stay. It was reassurance, guidance, laughter, and a sense of belonging at the very beginning of something life-changing.

Their hospitality became part of PCT lore. Their home became a gateway to the trail.

Their leadership extended far beyond those early miles. Barney served as Chair of the PCTA Board of Directors, helping guide the organization through pivotal years. He later served as president of the Partnership for the National Trails System, advocating for the broader National Trails System and strengthening ties across trail organizations nationwide, as well as the board of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. Sandy inspired the next generation of PCT advocates by organizing groups of students from the Environmental Charter High School to join PCTA at Hike the Hill in Washington, D.C., to lend their voices in support of the PCT and public lands.

As an author and PCT historian, Barney also preserved the stories of the Pacific Crest Trail and its people. Through his books and storytelling, he captured the humor, hardship, history, and heart of the trail community so those stories will endure.

A Community Memory

To honor this legacy, PCTA created a commemorative memory book filled with stories and photos from hikers, friends, family, PCTA staff, board, and volunteers, and the long-distance trail community. The book was presented to Barney and Sandy during the award ceremony. 

Even so, we know the memories stretch far beyond those pages. We are now inviting stories from the trail community who wish to share with Barney and Sandy how they touched their lives. If you have a story or photo to contribute, we welcome your submission through our online form. Selected submissions will be shared with the Mann family and may be featured in future PCTA communications celebrating their legacy.

Submit your story here 

Barney Scout Mann and Sandy “Frodo” Mann helped build more than trail magic. They helped build a community. Their kindness, leadership, and love for the Pacific Crest Trail continue to echo along its length, mile after mile.

The post Honoring Luminaries of the Pacific Crest Trail: Barney Scout Mann and Sandy “Frodo” Mann appeared first on Pacific Crest Trail Association.

Fast-forward from one small class group to a few months later, and Jennifer is asking Justin for help using a map and a compass, essentials for her summer plans to hike 1,400 miles of the PCT. As the story goes, he wasn’t the best teacher, but a bad lesson led to a great dinner, and it seemed things were moving along nicely. So much so that when it was finally time for Jennifer to embark on her summer adventure, she wouldn’t be going alone.

He was only meant to accompany her for a week or two, but together over 3 months, they walked 1,100 miles. By May 2015, they were living together in San Francisco, working at the same management consultancy, with plans to finish what they started and get back on the trail. It wasn’t until mid-April of 2016 that they finally made their grand return to the PCT, this time to hike all of it, and as it turns out, get married in the middle of it.

Here we are, almost 10 years later, and Jennifer and Justin are still happily married. They live in Denver, Colorado, with their 3 children. Since 2021, Jennifer has served on the PCTA’s Board of Directors, and it seemed to us a fitting opportunity to close out our Love on the Trail series with someone who not only fell deeper in love while hiking the PCT but returned years later in a new way, to see how that love could flourish in serving the trail community. We chatted with Jen earlier this month to ask her a few questions. A decade on, where do the lessons stand, and how does the trail continue to show up?

Q: Approaching your 10-year wedding anniversary (congratulations), what lessons stand out? How has the PCT continued to manifest in your partnership? 

A: Spending essentially the first summer of our marriage together on the PCT was such an exercise in partnership and so foundational for everything that came, so there’s definitely a bunch of metaphors that we still use from the trail that are evocative of different feelings or emotional states or ways of being that still come up.

One that we say a lot is  ‘We’ll figure it out when we get there.’

I remember being in the desert, and we’d be doing all this planning around water like, are we going to be able to fill up at this stream, or if it’s dry, are we going to be able to do this—and we finally were like we can’t plan for all of this and some of it we’re just going to need to figure it out when we get there and that has definetely been a good metaphor for us in terms of knowing that we can plan for all kinds of things but there’s some stuff that we’ll just need to figure out when we have more information.

Dragging the poles.

If someone’s having a rough time, especially with 3 kids, if one isn’t feeling their best, and one of them is dragging their poles or otherwise woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

We spent so much time outside in the first months of our marriage, that it has continued to be a huge part of our family and how we’re trying to raise our kids. All the kids were sleeping in tents by the time they were a few months old.

Q: What memories from your time together on the trail anchored your relationship?

A: Both the big things, like standing at the top of Forrester Pass in a snow year, getting off-trail for our wedding in the middle, to the tiny things, like sleeping in the manzanita bushes, to the gigantic pancakes in Seiad Valley. The last day we were on the trail, it was raining, cold, very unpleasant, but we had so much adrenaline from being almost finished that we ran the last 8 miles. We were so excited about this milestone; there was joy there, and we try to capture that in other parts of our lives.

Rain is not acid.

You can go outside even if it’s raining. We can continue to live our lives regardless of the weather.

Q: Since joining the board in 2021, how has that continued to inform your understanding of the PCT? From thru-hiker to board member, how has that relationship evolved?

A: As a thru-hiker, my understanding of the PCT was very focused on the thru-hiker experience. Now, as a board member, I’ve got to see how complex the work is in preserving and protecting the Pacific Crest Trail, and I’ve also been super inspired by our volunteers and our land acquisition.

Q: What excites you/inspires you most for incoming hikers/equestrians looking to experience the trail for the first time?

A: I’m excited for them in terms of the unparalleled beauty, and I hope they can stop and appreciate it. My husband and I, when we felt like we were doing punishing miles and not stopping to enjoy stuff, instituted The Hot-D (Hang of the Day) to set a timer, sit for 10 minutes, and soak it in.

Don’t just look down at the ground. Pick your head up and look around.

Stopping to appreciate what you’re in the middle of is really special. Those volunteers are going to have amazing food. Incredible backcountry cooking, same with the thru-hikers. Nothing makes you hungrier and happier than being in the backcountry.

Q: Finally, do you have any advice for couples who are considering hiking the PCT together? Any words of wisdom?

A: Figure out your hiking pace. We hiked the whole thing within 5 feet of eachother but that might not work for everybody else. Sort out dinner responsibilities and get that taken care of as quickly as possible; you’re going to be hungry. A 3-person tent, while not ultra lightweight, is not the worst idea in the world. And just enjoy it!

The post Jennifer Albinson and Justin Cohan-Shapiro: Love on the Trail (10 years on) appeared first on Pacific Crest Trail Association.

Photo by Joe Benson

The GAOA’s main intent was to reduce the maintenance backlog on public lands across the nation, including on trails. For decades, federal budgets have not kept pace with the maintenance needs on public lands. And despite the $9 billion investment through the GAOA to correct this oversight, the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates more than $40 billion in deferred maintenance remains on public lands across the country.

The Pacific Crest Trail Association mobilized to make sure the PCT and its users benefited from this landmark legislation. We identified deferred maintenance projects all along the trail. We hired 6 full-time staff to support GAOA projects and volunteer efforts, and partially funded the hiring of 10 Field Project Specialists to oversee PCT maintenance.

Through 2025, the PCTA spent $3.2 million from this targeted grant program on deferred PCT maintenance. That spending harnessed 65,651 volunteer and corps crew hours during projects that maintained 872 miles of trail—in addition to our regular annual maintenance efforts.

PCTA volunteers clear overgrown brush on Mt. Gleason.
Photo by Christine Beatty

We can and need to do more.

Despite this extra GAOA funding, reducing the list of deferred maintenance needs continues to be a challenge because of increased frequency and severity of wildfires, hurricanes, erosion and other disruptive weather-related events. The GAOA expired in September 2025, but worn-out roads, trails, campgrounds and other facilities still need our attention.

A bipartisan bill to extend the Legacy Restoration Fund, the America the Beautiful Act has been introduced in the U.S. Senate and has bi-partisan support. We are urging the Congress to pass this bill without delay, or derive another means to eliminate the long list of deferred maintenance on public lands.

Underfunding our public lands is shortsighted given their value and impact on the national economy, especially in rural communities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis latest figures, outdoor recreation generated $1.2 trillion in economic output in 2023—2.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—and provided 5 million jobs to American workers.

Photo by Kyle Tisdale

This week, PCTA staff and board member are in Washington, D.C., to talk to Congress, federal land managers and administration officials about the needs of the PCT, public lands and the National Trails System. As nonprofit groups work nationwide to raise private donations and marshal volunteers to maintain our trails in partnership with government agencies, we need help and oversight.

The PCTA and the National Trails community will be asking Congress to extend the Legacy Restoration Fund and continue to reduce the maintenance backlog so that America’s public lands and facilities like trails and campgrounds continue to meet the nation’s recreation and conservation needs.

And you can help.

Please let your elected representatives in the House and Senate know how much the PCT and public lands mean to you. Tell them you support the America the Beautiful Act and urge them to pass it. Your voice, our collective voice, can make the difference between action and inaction.

Thanks for all you do for the PCT and public lands.

The post Congress should reauthorize the Legacy Restoration Fund in 2026 appeared first on Pacific Crest Trail Association.

Photo by Shauni Bernau

Anyone who has spent time kicking up dust on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) knows the journey is about much more than just putting one foot in front of the other. It is about the profound connection forged with the land and the community built along the way. Since 2009, the Pacific Crest Trail Association and Osprey Packs have partnered to protect this experience. But the shared heartbeat of our two organizations goes back much further. We are both driven by a relentless, authentic passion to make wild places accessible, sustainable, and protected for generations to come.

Photo by Justin McCormick

You can trace this shared connection right back to our respective beginnings. The dream of the PCT was born from visionaries like Catherine Montgomery and Clinton C. Clarke in the 1920s and 1930s, who fought a skeptical system, believing deeply in the power of a border-to-border wilderness experience. Decades later in 1974, a 16-year-old Mike Pfotenhauer learned to sew from his mother. Frustrated by clunky, uncomfortable gear, he started stitching his own backpacks to make carrying his life into the mountains feel more natural. Whether it was mapping a 2,650-mile trail or hand-sewing a custom pack, both legacies started with a passionate and beautiful desire to connect with the outdoors in a more meaningful way.

The commitment to stewardship is literally woven into the fabric of Osprey’s gear. By taking rigorous steps to minimize their environmental impact, they do not just make gear to get hikers out there; they are actively working to safeguard the landscapes everyone loves to explore.

Photos by Justin McCormick

The PCTA’s vision is a trail for all that connects land, people, and communities. If you have ever experienced the absolute magic of a trail in the middle of nowhere, you know exactly what that connection feels like. Osprey champions this same sense of welcoming strangers and building connections. They operate on the belief that outdoor recreation has the power to transform lives and foster a mindset rooted in empathy. By focusing their philanthropic efforts on increasing access and breaking down barriers, Osprey helps ensure the outdoors remains a welcoming space for everyone.

Photo by Shawn Hoffman

Protecting a 2,650-mile trail is an enormous responsibility, and it is a labor of love that requires authentic, dedicated partners. Osprey brings more than just great backpacks to the table. They bring a shared moral compass. As both of our organizations look forward to the future, we are proud to walk alongside a partner that so deeply values conservation, community, and the courage to act for the good of the planet. Together, we will keep working to inspire current and future generations to pack their passion, hit the dirt, and experience the transformative power of the Pacific Crest Trail.

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It’s our opportunity to stop, look around, and appreciate all the wonderful stories the trail weaves. People from all walks of life, finding or falling even deeper in love because of one long-distance trail spanning from Mexico to Canada. Perhaps it’s by chance or fate that these stories come to be, but without a shadow of a doubt, it is because people had the audacity to venture into the unknown and allow the PCT to lead the way.

We’re thrilled to be bringing this storytelling series back, and we’re even more excited for you to meet the couples who went the distance. Although these pairings did not meet on the trail, they certainly met different versions of themselves in their relationships. The PCT has a way of doing that. It’ll push you, and it certainly pushed them closer to one another…with a few surprises along the way. We hope you enjoy!

Chipalope and Nose Job

We started the Pacific Crest Trail in May 2025 as long‑term partners with every intention of walking to Canada. The trail was beautiful, but it was also hard. We fought sometimes, especially when weather or gear problems put us in bad moods (“I told you not to wear those boots, honey”). We did not hike at nearly the same pace. I liked to go slower and take pictures. He liked to hustle and track his fitness stats. But we always stopped for breaks and lunch together, and, most importantly, we never went to sleep angry. You can’t when you share a two‑person tent. There just isn’t enough room for bad feelings.

Before we knew I was pregnant, we entered the Sierras, and that was where we would really be tested as partners. The passes felt harder and harder for me as we moved north, something that makes sense now, but at the time just made me feel like a bad hiker. When we left the trail for a resupply and double zero in Mammoth, we were excited to stop in Yosemite for pizza, tackle what looked like easier passes ahead, and finish the Sierras.

But we never found out if those passes were easier. We wouldn’t find out if we would start crushing miles again after sending our bear cans home in Truckee. We wouldn’t enjoy a lazy lake day zero in Tahoe, see Crater Lake, or make it to Washington for a warm family welcome from my uncle, who had been so excited about our journey. At the trailhead after our resupply, I finally took a test. We were smiling and so, so happy, but it was bittersweet because we knew this would change everything. Long trails teach you how to reroute when the path ahead is no longer the right one, and suddenly, our map looked very different from the official red line. We turned around and headed back to Mammoth, not because we were done, but because we needed a new route.

The reality set in quickly.

We would need stability, work, and a way to provide for a baby. The timing was hard. We were far from home, not working, living out of backpacks, and eating some of the weirdest, not‑necessarily‑shelf‑stable food imaginable. We were very much the opposite of prepared. We would not get to finish the trail we were so excited to complete, the one everyone was cheering us on to finish. Letting go of that dream hurt, even as a new one was taking shape. Still, we had traveled over 1,000 miles together. We had weathered storms, gear failures, mismatched paces, and the highest peak in the contiguous US. We learned how to wait for each other, how to compromise, and how to keep choosing one another even on the hardest days.

Life as soon‑to‑be parents looks different than life on trail. We spend time together differently now. We argue about different things. But if the trail teaches you anything, it is flexibility and resilience. Recently, we returned to Mt. San Jacinto, one of my favorite parts of the trail and a place that feels like home to me. There, on the trail that changed our lives, he proposed. We are married now, expecting our baby in a month’s time, and endlessly grateful for the Pacific Crest Trail.

We did not finish the trail. But the trail finished our story, at least this chapter. And we hope one day we will finish what we started. Maybe our map will look a little different. Maybe we need a three-person tent.

~story submitted by Alyssa Munson

“3…2…”

My name is Cailin Keenan, and while my love did not originate on the trail, it definitely blossomed and is now and forever guaranteed. I started this trail with my long-time boyfriend Sean. While how we met is not original (we met on Hinge), the rest of our story is nothing short of unique. We came to match on Hinge by liking each other’s backpacking photos and confirmed on our first date that the PCT was something we both dreamed of doing. Over the course of 5 years, we went on multiple backpacking trips, moved/road tripped across the country, and traveled the world together.

We had gone through difficult times together, not always recognizing ourselves but trusting the other to remind us of who we are and loving us and finding unconditional love and support. That statement now means more than it ever has. We changed on the PCT, not so much individually but as a couple. Many people question how you could survive and be with your significant other, for every second of every day, but the truth is that most of the time it was easy. Being on the trail together proved that no matter how hairy my legs get, no matter how bad I smell, how terrible my hat hair is, or how much I complain within an hour, this man is there for me.

We are a team.

He is my best friend, someone I can bask in the silence with, chat about deep thoughts, admire nature with, or be goofy and silly with (he initially gave me the trail names of Wind Farm and Foot Face). This trail pushed me to a point I did not know existed. And when faced with challenges this difficult, you are forced to question yourself, decisions, and strength. Sean never let me forget how strong I was; he was my crutch when I needed it, and the tough love guy when I did not know I needed it.

I did not believe that this trail would ever end, yet it did. I stood in disbelief at the Northern Terminus on the Washington/Canada border. We had done it, we had walked over 2655 miles together and maintained a continuous footpath. And made it together despite the challenges we, as individuals, had faced. It was just us at the Terminus, just like we had started this adventure. After a few pictures, Sean took out the tripod I had suggested we carry for the last few hundred miles to take pictures at the end.

Sean assumed the role of setting up the tripod- stacking it on top of our bear cans, and we snapped a few pictures. Then he suggested we take jumping pictures. I thought this was an odd request, and I can’t say my legs were eager to fulfill the request, but I was not about to rain on his parade. He tells me to “practice my jumps” as he goes to riffle in his bag for something and set the camera timer. Or so I thought…I “practiced my jumps” (High School Musical jump, or star jump…) until he came up next to me and started counting down “3…2…” and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him, holding out a beautiful, sparkling ring. I am utterly shocked, then feel an odd sense of relief. Relief that despite the end of our adventure on the PCT, I will always have this memory of this adventure to share with Sean. This makes the adventure not feel as though it is ending, but simply starting a new chapter.

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