Hiking Through Hyperbole: Tackling the Pacific Crest Trail

Most people are familiar with the Appalachian Trail. Indeed, many have probably hiked at least a portion of it. But have you ever considered, or wondered what it would be like to hike the AT's western cousin - the Pacific Crest Trail?

The Backpacking Light website is currently running a series of excellent articles about Ryan Linn's first hand account of his Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike this past summer.

The first installment of the series covers his trek through the deserts of Southern California.

"The next two days were an epic eating binge."

The second segment covers his trek over the Snowy Sierra.

"There are so many comparisons made between the two most popular long-distance trails in America, and after having hiked both of them I find all such comparisons to be in poor taste. I’ve heard so many hikers criticize the Appalachian Trail as too crowded, uninspiring, frequented by people who would rather party than hike. And I’ve heard others say that the PCT is more dangerous, it’s harder to get into towns from the trail, and you’ll be alone on the trail more often than not. During my hike, I found these notions to be flawed, at best, and now that I’ve seen both trails in their entirety I can say they are based on poor stereotypes."

The third installment takes Linn from Lake Tahoe, past the volcanoes of Northern California and Southern Oregon, and onto the Columbia River.

There will be at least one, maybe two more installments in this series, which are being published on Tuesdays.

In addition to the great narratives Linn provides, the articles also include some outstanding photography from the trail.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com