Marathon Pundit: California Collision: The Pacific Crest Trail

Sunday, August 30, 2009

California Collision: The Pacific Crest Trail

After an eight day hiatus, California Collision. Yeah, I ended my Upper Peninsula Upventure trip, so it's time to finish documenting that blog-o-vacation. But I will start posting about my second summer journey this week. To those who say I shouldn't run two travel series at once, I counter with this bite of wisdom from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams."

Although not as well known as the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail follows the same concept with an improvement. Unlike the former, the Pacific Crest Trail is a border-to-border hiking path. The AT begins in central Maine, its terminus is in northern Georgia.

Bicycles and motorized vehicles are not allowed on any National Scenic Trails, and running is difficult, although I did run a ten-miler on the Pacific Crest in 2005 near Julian, California. I encountered just two walkers who had begun their border to border hike a week earlier--they were "thru-hikers" from Switzerland.

Successful thru-hikers usually complete their trail journey in six months.

The trail traverses some rugged terrain, including a swath of Yosemite National Park, where it shares billing with the John Muir Trail. I didn't run the trail this time, just walked on it for a half a mile or so near Tuolumne Meadows.