Pacific Crest Trail Summary Videos
Now that we have completed the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), we decided to summarize our trekking journey by creating two different videos.
Now that we have completed the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), we decided to summarize our trekking journey by creating two different videos.
Upon reaching the Canadian border, we had completed 98.4% of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, with only 42.7 miles to go. However, we still felt a nagging urge to walk every mile. It was what we had intended when we first began our thru hiking attempt in 2016.
In July and August 2023 we undertook a trek on our last major portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT): a 197-mile section in Northern Washington. Our trekking took us through several wilderness areas and North Cascades National Park. When we reached the Canadian Border, it was the culmination of over 2,600 miles of hiking that began in April 2016.
Prior to beginning our Northern Washington trek, we had spent 164 days hiking on the PCT. We made many memories as we trekked 2,419 miles in the desert, over mountain passes, through beautiful forests, and across numerous streams. As we continued to hike toward the Canadian border, we couldn’t help but reminisce about all our adventures on the trail.
When we began hiking the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2016, our goal was to make it all the way to Canada. This year, with just 231 miles left to complete, we planned a trek to finally reach the Canadian border. Even though our focus was on our final destination, it would be the day-to-day journey that would make or break our trek.
In July and August 2021 we undertook our latest journey: a 268.5-mile section hike in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our trekking took us on the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail through two national parks and five wilderness areas. The video shows some of the most spectacular and pristine scenery in the world that we saw (and heard) during our 20 days of hiking.
After 12 1/2 days and 160 miles of trekking on the Pacific Crest Trail through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, we stopped to resupply in Yosemite National Park’s Tuolumne Meadows. Now we were faced with a weather forecast of up to a half-inch of rain (and potential thunder and lightning) for each of the next three days. There was also a looming fire closure to the north of us.
During the first six days of our Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Sierra Nevada trek, we completed 69 miles and ascended over five passes of at least 11,500 feet in elevation. We also contended with afternoon heat and sudden rainstorms. While the altitude of the passes would diminish as we continued north, we knew that the trail (and the weather) would continue to be challenging.
Five years ago we attempted to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Mexico to Canada. While we didn’t finish the entire 2,650-mile path that year, we did complete over 1,800 miles in California and Oregon before stopping after 4 ½ months. Since then we have tried to get back on the trail in California to finish the 300 miles we had remaining in the state.
As 2021 dawned, we became optimistic about outdoor trekking opportunities this summer. So we created a multi-day “traverse” around the northwest Mojave Desert portion of Joshua Tree National Park, linking together 60 miles of trails, dirt roads, and overland sections.
Earlier this year we undertook our latest journey: a Trekking Europe adventure. During our travels we hiked over 500 miles in seven countries. Take a look at our summary video.
We just returned from our National Park Tour. During our travels we visited 27 National Parks (plus other National Monuments) over 136 days. We covered about 17,000 miles in our 2003 Toyota 4Runner 4WD, visiting 34 states. And we hiked over 400 miles while in the parks, including several overnight backpacking trips. Take a look.