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Speaker 1: The Pacific Crest Trail is a two thousand six hundred and fifty mile trail.
It’s open to hikers, walkers, and equestrians, runs from Mexico to Canada through California,
Oregon, and Washington, and most people who use the Pacific Crest Trail are day hikers,
weekend backpackers, families looking for a beautiful spot to have a picnic, and a few
hardy souls attempt to hike the entire trail every year, and we refer to those folks as
thrill hikers or thrill riders in the case of horseback riders.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association is an organization that’s dedicated to protecting,
preserving, and promoting the Pacific Crest Trail. To take care of a twenty-six hundred
mile trail is a huge project, and requires hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. Last
year we had over fourteen hundred volunteers that put in a hundred and fifteen thousand
hours, maintaining the Pacific Crest Trail. Speaker 2: Last November there was two high
pressure systems that came together and created a cyclone. Two hundred mile an hour winds
all through this area, and winds started whipping through the canyons and getting over the glossy
lakes and everything that was in the path of that. This was one of the biggest ones
we’ve seen but we’ve hiked up around, over, and under hundreds of these, and apparently
about twenty-five hundred of these trees have fallen. We’ve run into a number of crews.
Pacific Crest Trail Association’s organized a lot of this, and they’re out there cutting
and freeing up the trail, so we can hike through here, and they’re doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 1: The Pacific Crest Trail Association does receive some government funding, but
the majority of the funding comes from the private sector. Many people are surprised
to hear that the majority of our private funding comes from individuals, and we are looking
forward to expanding our support from the corporate sector by partnering with organizations
like well.org, REI, and other organizations that are interested in the work that we’re
doing to take care of the trail. There are many ways to get involved with the
Pacific Crest Trail Association and to do your part in taking care of the Pacific Crest
Trail. You can get out and volunteer on a trail project. There are many options available
for that, depending on your time commitment and your location. You can join the Pacific
Crest Trail Association, become a member, and provide support for the services that
we’re providing to the Pacific Crest Trail. About ten percent of the trail needs to be
permanently protected so that future generations can enjoy the trail, so that the trail is
here into perpetuity. The more people that we have who care about the Pacific Crest Trail
and can lend their name to our efforts to talk with Congress and talk with the forest
service about the importance of the trail are extremely important.
I’m inspired to protect the Pacific Crest Trail because I love getting out on the trail,
and I use the trail to connect with nature, escape from the city, find solitude. When
I come back from a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle
the things that are in front of me again. There’s so many beautiful spots along the
trail and that’s why I use the Pacific Crest Trail.