Pacific Crest Trail | Books and my backpack

You can call ’em a bunch of old fogeys, if you dare. But when is the last time you hoisted a backpack onto your shoulders and walked nearly 8,000 miles, completing the Triple Crown of long-distance trekking? That’s what the Wander Women did, joining a growing group of people who view their older years as a time to get outside and find adventure.

Click on the underlined words above to read their stories.

(The journalist should have used ”Crest,” not ”Coast” for the PCT.)

Sue and I fall short of the Wander Women’s accomplishments, but, since we stopped working when I turned 60, we have walked more than 1,400 miles on six famed trails in seven countries, including our recent backpacking adventure on California’s John Muir Trail. But CNN didn’t write about us. Ah, well.

However, we have teamed up to write and illustrate two books about our adventures. You can pick up your copies on Amazon: Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows and Trippin’ Through My 60s: When Adventure Calls, the Trails of Europe Answer.

Whether you are thinking of tackling a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, walking the entire 2,653 miles, or want to glimpse the trail from your armchair, these guidebooks are for you.

In the Pacific Coast Trail: Oregon and Washington, Jordan Summers presents a user-friendly guide that addresses my questions: Could I walk the two states’ sections? Or just one state? Or should I try a short section first?

Summers’ book, updated in 2020, includes PCT history, mile-by-mile points of interest, permitting, and equipment. Topographic maps and elevation charts accompany blue text boxes highlighting all-important water sources. Looking for campsites or resupply information? Summers has you covered.

In Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail: Oregon, Eli Boschetto covers similar basics for the middle state of the PCT.

After walking five famed distance trails in Europe, I wondered if I could enjoy a backpacking trip in the USA, without the perks of hostels, hotels, and places to eat at the end of each day. I read both guidebooks as I prepared to walk California’s John Muir Trail in August 2021. For a month, I filtered water, bathed in streams and lakes, and lived in a tent. I was part of a group of 11 backpackers who were mule-supported, relieving us of the need to carry a heavy pack for 243 miles on the northbound walk through the Sierra Nevada.

The high-elevation trek included summitting Mt. Whitney and conquering 12 passes as high as 13,150 feet. It was the greatest physical challenge of my life, but, as tough as it was, I long for more.

The next logical step would be to tackle another section of the PCT, but without mule support. No doubt, I hear the PCT calling, but I have yet to answer.

At the very least, these books allowed me to appreciate and understand the challenges of one of the world’s great trails. If I decide to answer the call, even if just for a weeklong section, I will return to their pages.

Check out my new book about my adventures on four iconic trails in Europe: Trippin’ Through My Sixties.

My first book is Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows.