Happy Trails To You, Until We Meet Again

Faithful readers, this is my last blog entry for a couple of weeks, as I will be heading up to Washington to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from Stevens Pass (near Glacier Peak, above) to Snoqualmie Pass.

The Pacific Crest Trail was the brainchild of Clinton C. Clarke, the acknowledged "father" of the PCT. A Harvard graduate, successful oilman and avid Boy Scout leader, Clarke first articulated his vision in the 1930s: a border-to-border trail along mountain ranges in California, Oregon and Washington "traversing the best scenic areas and maintaining an absolute wilderness area."

To create the PCT, Clarke recommended linking several existing trails: Washington's Cascade Crest Trail, Oregon's Skyline Trail and California's John Muir and Tahoe-Yosemite Trails. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Trail Systems Act, which named the Appalachian Trail and the PCT as the first National Scenic Trails.

Next week, I will be providing logistical support for my hiking companions -- fellow former wilderness ranger Kelly Tjaden (bottom, left) and his recently-retired better half, Lupe Marroquin -- who started the trek at the Canadian border nearly three weeks ago.

I'll be meeting them at Stevens Pass and we will repair to Owl Farm for hot showers and cold beer, and to restock supplies. Then it's back to Stevens Pass, where I will join them for the next leg of the PCT, a 75-mile trek through the Alpine Lakes Wilderness to Snoqualmie Pass.

As you might expect, I'll be packing my camera. By the end of our sojourn, I should have some spectacular shots like this sunset pic I took from High Pass (above) about 30 years ago. The shot below of Kelly and me was taken on the PCT at Pear Lake back in 1979.

Happy trails, and as Lupe would say: "love the journey!"