40 Years Ago I Finished My Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike

Monument 78, September 24

On the 24th September 1982 I finished my walk along the Pacific Crest Trail at Monument 48 on the USA/Canada border. It was pouring with rain. I didn't mind. I'd just had the greatest adventure of my life. My only regret was that it was ending. 

View from Fire Creek Pass, September 17

The last two weeks of the walk were spectacular as the trail passed through the dramatic alpine mountains of the North Cascades. They were tough weeks too as over and over again the trail climbed to high passes, descended into deep valleys, then climbed straight back up to another high pass. But after over 2000 miles (3200km) of backpacking I was very fit and found the walking easier than back in the much gentler terrain at the start in faraway Southern California. 

Autumn larches at one of my last camps

After the touch of winter at Snoqualmie Pass (see this post) I felt the need to hurry even though I would have liked to draw out these last weeks, stretching every last minute in the mountains and on the trail. But winter was coming. The autumn colours were increasing by the day, the ground a swathe of red. Golden larches shimmering in the forests. Nights were chilly, the ground often white with frost at dawn. Days were hot in the sun but cool in the shade.

Mount Hardy from Methow Pass, September 22

But the weather held until the very last day and the mountains were glorious. This was the most dramatic landscape since the High Sierra. I had wondered if I would be tired of the trail and eager to finish after so many months walking. Not here, not in this magnificent landscape. I felt I could have walked here forever.

Cutthroat Pass, September 22

I couldn't of course. In two days I would be back home. The PCT would live with me forever though and my appreciation and joy in the walk would deepen over the years. 

The full story of my PCT hike is told in my book.

40 years ago on the Pacific Crest Trail: Summer ends

Snow on the trail above Snoqualmie Pass, September 11

On the 11th September 1982 I woke to soft wet snow covering my tent. It was day 161 of my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike. I'd walked around 2250 miles (3620km) since leaving Mexico early in the spring and had just 250 miles (400km) to go, if the arrival of winter didn't stop me. 

Greg Poirier descending to Snoqualmie Pass, September 8

Two days previously I'd reached Snoqualmie Pass in the company of another PCT hiker, Greg Poirier. The next day brought heavy rain and thick mist and a forecast for snow higher up. With steep ascents and narrow trails ahead I decided a rest day was wise, the first time on the whole walk I took one due to the weather. The rain continued all day and into the next morning. Hikers coming down from the mountains to the north confirmed there was snow and the going was tricky. On heading up the following day I was soon in the mist and on snowy trails. With clouds clinging to the mountainsides it felt very dramatic.

On the 11th the snow soon turned to rain that kept up all day. There was six inches of slippery snow on the trail and I was glad I still had my ice axe, which I hadn't used for the last two months. Lower down the trail had become a stream. I finished the day soaked to the skin. My lightweight waterproof clothing no longer kept out the rain. I stayed warm though and that evening wrote "quite cosy if damp and steamy in the tent". My single-skin "breathable" tent was damp inside and I was glad I had a bivi bag to keep my down sleeping bag fairly dry. This was the third day of constant rain and snow. Summer was over. The walk was becoming serious again, for the first time since the crossing of the snowbound High Sierra back in the spring.

Larry Lake crossing one of the last snow patches on the trail in Northern California with Mount Shasta in the distance.

Once out of the snow I'd parted company with Larry Lake and had mostly been walking solo. The trail in Oregon was quite easy with few big ascents or difficulties. Standouts were the string of volcanic mountains the trail passes and, especially, beautiful Crater Lake.

Crater Lake, August 10

In Northern California I'd hiked in running shoes and carried my boots. Both were wearing out so at a town stop I bought a pair of trail shoes, which were a new idea back then. The shop staff were horrified that I intended hiking the rest of the PCT in them and advised strongly against it. They still sold them to me though. And they just lasted the rest of the walk. Other gear was wearing out too. Most serious was my pack, whose internal frame had snapped, which meant it was lop-sided and hurt one shoulder as well as being unstable. I swapped it for an external frame pack at my first town stop in Oregon.

Below Mount Jefferson, Oregon, August 20

The most exciting section of the PCT in Oregon was at the very end, where it followed the Eagle Creek Trail down a narrow canyon to the Columbia River. The standout was Tunnel Falls where the trail, high on the canyon wall, is cut behind the waterfall. For the only time on the trip I arranged a photographic meeting with another PCT hiker, Wayne Fuiten, who I'd met a few weeks earlier for the first time since before the High Sierra. As Tunnel Falls is only in sunshine in the late afternoon we'd agreed to meet there then to take photographs.

Wayne Fuiten at Tunnel Falls, August 26

In Washington State the PCT returned to the mountains, crossing high passes and traversing steep slopes. I loved it! The easy walking in Oregon had been welcome after thr rigours of the snow further south but it was wonderful to be back in the mountains rather than beside them. I especially liked the Goat Rocks Wilderness where the trail follows the crest of the hills - real mountain walking on rugged terrain. 

Ives Peak, Goat Rocks Wilderness, September 2

Now the North Cascades lay ahead, a last rugged section of trail.

The full story of my PCT hike is told in my book.

 

Pacific Crest Trail Podcast on Just Up The Trail

 

A few weeks ago I recorded a podcast about the Pacific Crest Trail with Rob Jones of Just Up The Trail. This is his first podcast and it'll be launched this Sunday, May 1.

And on the PCT itself on this day in 1982 I reached the little town of Acton. Ahead lay the Mohave Desert and then the High Sierra. I spent May 1 visiting four outdoor stores in Los Angeles, courtesy of a lift from someone in Acton, where I purchased snowshoes, crampons, gaiters, and insulated bootees in preparation for the snowbound High Sierra, all of which I would haul across the desert for the next week.

Joshua Tree shade. Mohave Desert

On This Day 40 Years Ago I Began The Pacific Crest Trail.

At the Mexican border. No mention of the PCT there back then.

On the 3rd April 1982 I set off from the Mexican border to walk to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was to be the defining walk of my life. 

It was a different world then. A larger world. The communications and digital revolutions were a long way in the future. There were no mobile phones, no GPS, no Internet, no social media, no digital cameras. I communicated with home by postcard. No one knew where I was from one week to the next. I took photographs on film and sent batches back from post offices. I wouldn't see my pictures until I returned home. 

My pack at the start

My equipment wouldn't look that unusual now, though it was heavier than I'd take today. The biggest visual difference is that no one used trekking poles then. 

PCT Gear List. Some still familiar names.

There were guidebooks to the trail. As these were heavy and bulky I tore them up and sent sections ahead in supply boxes, as I did with paper maps.

Guidebook sections

The landscape in Southern California was strange. I'd never experienced hot and dusty desert hills full of spiky plants and with little water before. I had to learn a great deal in the first few days. 

Southern California scenery

The PCT was little-known and little-hiked in 1982. That year just 120 thru-hiker permits were issued and only 11 of us completed the trail. In 2019 5,441 permits were issued and 988 finished. (Information from the Pacific Crest Trail Association). Hiking the trail must be a different experience now, though the landscape is still glorious.

Ten years ago I dug out my trail journals and my Kodachrome transparencies and wrote a book about my PCT hike, which was published in 2014 by Sandstone Press. Writing the book brought back to me what a wonderful adventure it had been and reinforced my feeling of the walk's importance to my life. It was intensely fulfilling.

On this day 35 years ago I finished my Pacific Crest Trail hike

Monument 78 in the rain, September 24, 1982

In recent days I've seen many pictures of people finishing the Pacific Crest Trail at Monument 78, which marks the border with Canada, and which has been enlarged since I was there as the PCT has grown in popularity. There'll be more pictures to come as this year's hikers complete the trail before the snows of next winter set in. I can share the feelings of those finishing even though it's 35 years since I reached the Monument. It was pouring with rain back then and no-one else was there. I don't have a picture of myself, just this one of my pack. No-one was to know I'd finished for several days. And few people saw any of my pictures for quite a while either in those pre-Internet, pre-digital days. But the satisfaction of completing a big adventure was just the same as it is today.

My journal is full of notes about what was to happen next. Where I'd stay, getting to Vancouver and so on. The only comment about finishing says 'fact that it's over hasn't registered yet and probably won't until I reach Vancouver or even London'. I also noted that it was 'an excellent way to spend six months'. It would be many years before I realised just how significant the walk had been.

Autumn colours at one of my last camps

The slow winding down of the walk had been going on for many days though, my mind jumping to life beyond the trail for the first time since I'd left Mexico almost six months earlier. The seasons were changing too. The mountains shone with autumn colours and a few times in the last weeks snow fell, a reminder that winter was coming and soon the trail would be buried deep. Finishing in the autumn after starting in the spring and walking through the summer felt appropriate. Nature was winding down too.

Snow on the trail

You can read the full story of my PCT adventure in my book Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles.

May 1 on the Pacific Crest Trail, 35 Years Ago

On the Sierra Pelona Ridge just outside Acton

May Day on the Pacific Crest Trail in 1982 was my second rest day of the walk, the first for 17 days. In the previous 28 days I'd walked 388 miles. Ahead lay the Mohave Desert and then the still snowbound High Sierra. Having already slogged through deep snow in the San Jacinto and San Bernardino Mountains I knew that I wasn't equipped for 500+ miles of snow. I was staying in the little settlement of Acton with other PCT hikers. A local resident, Delree, offered to take us into Los Angeles to buy extra gear, so May Day was an urban day of vehicles, freeways and outdoor stores. The result was much extra gear to carry across the desert including crampons, snowshoes and gaiters. I wrote in my journal 'I hope I use the snow gear'. It was to prove essential.

Reviews of Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles

Update March 4. A new review has just appeared in the latest issue of Outdoor Enthusiast magazine:

"It's a captivating read as Chris takes you through each step with vivid descriptions of his thoughts and experiences"

Outdoor Experience

My latest book, telling the story of my Pacific Crest Trail hike, has been out for a few months now and has garnered some positive reviews. Many thanks to all the reviewers. Here are some quotes:

" Every mountain, pass, valley and river is recalled and described in vivid detail and draws the reader into the changing landscape of the PCT............ Chris’ passion for the trail – or more accurately, his passion for exploring wilderness through long distance walking – shines through this book."

Pilgrimchris.com

"A rattlin’ good read...... I had to force myself to take breaks between chapters in order to savour the experience."

Blogpackinglight.

"This is a great book, skilfully written with charm and authority, and it will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in backpacking or wild places."

Alex Roddie

"It's indicative of the simple honesty of using one's own two feet to cover long distances that is at the centre of all of Townsend's books, and this one is no different, but it has one extra quality that makes it important. It amounts to a walking manual - not a gear manual or a backpackers guide (he does those too!), but a manual on how to walk, think about walking, how to stop and not walk at times; and what you might get out of all of it. "

Two foot free

"Gripping reading at times ..... a real sense of life on the edge."

Rucksack Rose

"Lively and at times gripping account"

Roly Smith, Outdoor Focus

"Chris says the PCT was 'the defining walk of my life' and what followed was ' a continuation of the joy I found on that trail'. It's something of a privilege to share those feelings, all the way from beginning to end."

Roger Smith  The Great Outdoors

Pacific Crest Trail Gear in 1982 ... and what I'd take now

The North Face Back Magic II pack in the North Cascades

At the end of the film Wild (see my review here) as the credits roll there are pictures of Cheryl Strayed on her actual hike in 1995 which show just how accurately the film makers replicated the gear she used. Looking at these images and going through my slides for a talk on the PCT I'm giving in Inverness I thought again about the gear I used and what I would take today. Late last year I wrote an article about this that appeared in the January issue of The Great Outdoors. Here it is.

Thirty-three years ago I was planning my hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, which I began in April 1982 and the story of which is told in my latest book, Rattlesnakes and Bald Eagles. Returning to a walk so long after it took place was an interesting experience. In my journal I’d listed all the gear I started out with, including its weight. Reading through this I was somewhat shocked at just how heavy it all was, some 43lbs (20kg) in total, and also surprised at some of the weights. How did my first aid and repair kits weigh well over a kilo? Today their weight is about a quarter of that. I wish I’d kept a list of what was in them!

All the gear worked fine though and most was fairly lightweight for the time. A few items could have weighed less and a few I could have done without but overall I doubt I could have cut the weight by more than 3-4kg at most. Today I would expect my gear to weigh half what it did back then, partly because over the years I’ve refined what I carry but also because it was my first long distance walk overseas and I was undoubtedly erring on the side of caution and taking everything I thought I might need, and because of new designs and, especially, new fabrics. In 1982 materials like Dyneema, silnylon, fleece, microfibers, Pertex, cuben fibre and titanium didn’t exist in outdoor gear. 

Here’s what I took – and what I’d take today.

PACK

With 23 days supplies for the High Sierra

I started out with a 100 litre capacity Berghaus Cyclops Scorpion, a tough internal frame pack with zip-off side pockets. I knew I’d be carrying two weeks food at times so I wanted a big pack. As it was the Scorpion still wasn’t large enough for the 23 days without resupply through the High Sierra when I had gear strapped all over the outside. It was comfortable though and handled ridiculously heavy loads quite well. It’s 2155g weight seems quite high today but was on the lighter side for a big pack at that time. And the current similar Berghaus pack, the 100-litre Vulcan weighs 2900g.  The internal frame broke after around 1500 miles – probably due to the pack bouncing down a pass at one point – and as I couldn’t get it repaired I replaced it with an 85-litre external frame The North Face Back Magic II, which weighed even more at 2700g but which was also comfortable.

Today I would look for a smaller pack as my gear would be more compact. I’d also look for a lighter weight one. The 60 litre Lightwave Ultrahike that weighs 1230g and which I used on the Scottish Watershed in 2013 would be one possibility. Others I’d consider are the 1200g Six Moon Designs Fusion 65 and the 1330g ULA Catalyst, or, if I thought I needed more capacity, the 1550g Lightwave Wildtrek 70 and the 1652g Montane Grand Tour 70. 

SHELTER

Told I might need a free-standing tent in places (this wasn’t so) I took a single-skin Gore-tex dome tent, the Wintergear Eyrie, which weighed a hefty 2268g. It was easy to pitch, stood up to the few storms well and was very roomy. Condensation was a problem at times in wet weather towards the end of the walk but otherwise it was excellent. Although nice to have I didn’t need such a substantial shelter though and could have taken a lighter, smaller tent – there were several available at the time. Today I wouldn’t take a tent at all but a shaped tarp like the Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar with a mesh inner for mosquitoes, which were a problem early in the summer. The Eyrie still exists in slightly modified form and a very expensive price as the 2520 gram Terra Nova Gemini Bivi (Wintergear tents became Terra Nova ones).

Camp in the North Cascades near the end of the walk

I also took a fairly heavy Gore-tex bivvy bag, which was only used a few times to protect my sleeping bag from condensation in the tent. Today if I took one at all it would be something like the 210 gram Terra Nova Moonlite Bag Cover.

Knowing I should be able to sleep under the stars at times I carried a 425g reflective Sportsman’s Blanket to use as a groundsheet. This was well worth the weight as I slept out on many nights. Today though I’d take a much lighter silnylon groundsheet which I’d also use in my shelter.

Bivouac in the Yosemite wilderness with Larry Lake

SLEEPING BAG & MAT

At 1020g my down-filled Mountain Equipment Lightline, rated to -5C, wouldn’t seem very heavy today. It kept me warm, with clothes, in temperatures down to -10C and lasted the whole walk well. The Lightline still exists, the latest version weighing 1225 grams and with a comfort rating of -6C. It would probably prove excellent on the PCT today but I’d now take something lighter such as the 755 gram Mountain Equipment Xero 300, 860 gram Montane Featherlite or 874 gram Rab Infinity 500. 

Therm-A-Rest self-inflating mats were still new in 1982. In fact there was only one model, available in two lengths. The foam inside was solid so it was warm for sleeping on snow. The 709g weight was high though. Therm-A-Rest is now a big range of mats from which I’d take either the 310 gram NeoAir X Therm S or the 430g Prolite Plus S. 

KITCHEN

In 1982 I was advised that the only stove fuel I’d find along the way was white gas (such as Coleman Fuel) or petrol. Stoves running on these fuels were standard for backpacking then and I took the lightest available, the 539g Svea 123, which looks like a brass can. This was before the days of hose-connected fuel bottles and the Svea had a small tank under the burner that held 120ml. The stove worked fine throughout the trip, including for melting snow at high camps in the Sierra Nevada. It’s still available from Optimus and is a lovely stove. The weight would put me off taking it again though. Gas canisters and alcohol fuel are available now so I’d take a stove that runs on one of these, probably the 225g Trail Designs Caldera Ti-Tri that I used on the Pacific Northwest Trail and the Scottish Watershed.

As the Svea 123 held so little fuel I also took litre and half litre Sigg fuel bottles so I could carry enough for two weeks when needed. These were the only metal fuel bottles available at the time.

My aluminium pots and cup were quite light but were so badly scratched and dented by the end of the walk I never used them again. Today I’d save a little weight and take my much tougher titanium pots that are veterans of several long walks and weigh 220g.

FOOTWEAR

The lightweight footwear revolution was just beginning in 1982. Fabric boots and brands like Brasher didn’t exist and the first trail shoes weren’t yet in the shops. Heavy, semi-stiff leather boots were standard for backpacking. I’d worn a pair, Scarpa Bronzos, on my first long distance walk, Land’s End to John O’Groats, and I chose them again for the PCT. That this was a mistake I discovered very quickly. The PCT begins in hot desert country and my feet were soon swollen, blistered and very sore. Luckily I was carrying a light pair of New Balance running shoes for camp and town wear and quickly found that my feet were better with these on my feet and my boots in my pack. However there was much snow in the mountains when I often used crampons and snowshoes so my boots were needed. Eventually both boots and shoes wore out. Out of the snow and happy with the shoes I bought a pair of new-fangled trail shoes made by Asolo, despite the staff in the store warning me they weren’t suitable or safe for backpacking. These proved fine though and just lasted the final 1000 miles.

Asolo Trail shoes & torn Cool-T shirt in Oregon

CLOTHING

Wool and cotton were still the main materials for outdoor clothing in the early 1980s but new lighter fabrics were starting to appear. The first thin, lightweight, breathable, fast-drying and windproof clothing made from a 50/50 polyester cotton mix had recently been launched by Rohan. The outdoor trade was not impressed, saying the stuff wouldn’t last and was too insubstantial for the outdoors. I thought otherwise and was delighted when Rohan offered me clothing for the trip. I had trousers (Bags – still made of the same fabric in the same design today), breeches, shorts and a windshirt and they all worked well. Why I took both trousers and breeches I now have no idea! Rohan sparked a revolution in clothing and today such garments are standard. I’d take similar garments again, made from 100% synthetic fabrics though.

Rohan also supplied me with synthetic base layers (not that the term was used back then) that were faster drying and much more comfortable than cotton or the wool garments then available (merino, which I’d use today, was a long way in the future) but which I have to admit did stink after a while.

My warm garments were a Helly-Hansen nylon fibre-pile jacket, which looked like a shaggy type of fleece, and a down vest. The combination worked well and I’d use a similar one today.

For rain Rohan made me up a set of experimental lightweight Gore-Tex garments. They don’t seem particularly light now but at the time 800-1000 grams was standard for Gore-Tex. There was only one type of Gore-Tex too and no alternatives. The Rohan garments just lasted to the end. Today I’d take much lighter garments, probably no more than half the weight.

SNOW GEAR

I carried an ice axe the whole way. At a hefty 765g it was the lightest I could find. Today I’d take the 245g Camp Corsa, and probably not carry it the whole way either. For the High Sierra I bought crampons and snowshoes and needed both as it was a late snow year. Once out of the high mountains I dispensed with them. I didn’t have trekking poles, which hadn’t appeared then. I should have got some ski poles for use with the snowshoes but didn’t realise they’d be useful until it was too late.

GEAR LIST AT THE START

                                                             Weight             lb oz                   Grams

PACK

Berghaus Cyclops Scorpion pack                                   4  12                 2155

Pack liner                                                                          2                     57

CAMPING

Wintergear Eyrie Gore-tex tent                                      5    0                 2268

Mountain Equipment Lightline sleeping bag                    2     4                1020

Wintergear Gore-tex bivvy bag                                      1     3                  539

Sportsman’s Blanket                                                    -     15                 425

Therm-A-Rest ¾ inflatable mattress                               1     9                  709

Total                                                                         15    13                7173

KITCHEN

Svea 123 gasoline stove                                                 1      3                 539

Sigg 1 litre fuel bottle                                                             5                 142

Sigg ½ litre fuel bottle                                                            4                 113

Field & Trek Lightline aluminium pots & Sierra Cup                 11                312

Stuffsacks, spoons, pot grab, lighter, matches                        10                283

Field & Trek 2 gallon Water Bag                                              4                113

Sigg ½ litre aluminium water bottle                                          4                113

Wide mouth 1 litre plastic water bottle                                     4                113

Total                                                                            3      13              1728

FOOTWEAR

Scarpa Bronzo leather boots                                         4       8                2041

New Balance 420 running shoes                                    1       1                  482

Total                                                                            5      9                 2523

CLOTHING

Rohan Cool T shirt                                                                5                   142

Rohan Long T shirt                                                               6                    170

Gordale chlorofibre long johns                                                7                   198

M&S Viloft briefs x 2                                                            4                    113

Rohan polycotton shorts                                                       5                    142

Rohan polycotton Knickers (breeches)                                   9                    255

Rohan polycotton Bags trousers                                          10                    283

Helly Hansen Double Pile jacket                                     1     4                    567

Snowdon Mouldings Down Vest                                           14                    397

Rohan polycotton Action Jacket                                          12                    340

Rohan Gore-tex jacket                                                  1     5                    595

Rohan Gore-tex salopettes                                            1     3                    539

3 pairs wool knee length socks                                      1     7                    652

Field & Trek Viloft Thermclava balaclava                                3                      85

Goredale Chlorofibre balaclava                                              2                      57

Cotton sun hat                                                                    2                      57

Damart gloves                                                                     3                      85

Wintergear Gore-tex Overmitts                                             3                      85

Nylon Stop Tous                                                                 2                      57

Total                                                                        10     10                  4819

SUNDRIES

First Aid/Repair Kits in plastic tubs                            2        7                 1106

XL Food stuffsack                                                              4                   113

Simond Cougar ice axe                                             1      11                   765

Compass & whistle                                                            2                     57

100 foot nylon cord                                                           11                   312

Head torch + 3 sets batteries                                            14                   397

Sunglasses                                                                       3                    85

Notebook, pens, documents                                              12                   340

8x20 binoculars                                                                  8                   227

Total                                                                          7       8              3402

Grand Total                                                            43       5             19645

For the crossing of the High Sierra I added the following (no weights recorded)

Sherpa Featherweight Snowshoes

SMC 12 point crampons

A16 Gore-tex gaiters

Polarguard bootees

At Mammoth Lakes I added 120 feet of 7mm rope for river crossings.

After around 1500 miles I replaced my damaged pack and my worn-out shoes and boots with the following:

The North Face Back Magic II pack

Asolo trail shoes

Camera Gear (no weights recorded)

Pentax ME Super SLR

Pentax MX SLR

Pentax 28mm lens

Pentax 50mm lens

Pentax 75-150 zoom lens

Camera Care Systems cases

Kodachrome 64 transparency film