I got a great present from my daughter several years ago, the book On Trails, by Robert Moor. The book went on to become a New York Times Bestseller. The story starts with Robert Moor’s rather dreadful hike on the Appalachian Trail when it rained most of the time. Staring at his feet all day led him to contemplate the trail itself, and from that inquiry grew a wonderful exploration of how trails form, how the information embedded in trails are sometimes passed from insect to mammal to native peoples to European settlers and to highway engineers. Moor shows how trails are really physical networks that capture information that teach us the way.
As a PCT hiker, I am constantly looking for the trail. You quickly learn to discern the pattern far off in the distance for where the path leads. I find myself reacting once the direction is clear. “Ugh, we are climbing that, we just descended a ridge – what is wrong with these people!” Why on earth do I think I know a better way through the four hundred plus miles of rugged terrain than those that came before me? When I go on one of these rants, my new mantra is “the trail knows the way” because it actually does.
None of the PCT trail puzzles are harder to grasp than the abrupt turn at Big Bear Lake from heading north to heading west. For nearly 200 miles, the trail is on a crash course for LA. In fact, the last few nights on the trail I have seen the twinkling lights of our second-largest city. Mt. Baden-Powel is less than 20 miles as the crows fly from Pasadena. I stayed with my mantra and enjoyed my first chance to explore this string of significant mountain ranges.
I am now starting to turn the corner to head back north (see the blue tab below). For all you trail and map geeks, I have a new treat. The Pacific Crest Trail Association has created a new interactive map that shows a great deal about this unique trail. Here is my current location on the new PCTA interactive map.
May all your journeys, whether to your garden, park, or local trails, bring you joy.
Onwards – Ribs