The Choice
Embarking on my fifth attempted wilderness thru-hike since 1995 is a big event and a privilege. This time it is the Pacific Northwest Trail, a 1200-plus mile route that crosses Montana, Idaho and Washington. I will hike it westbound from Glacier National Park starting July 2. After hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2021, the Camino de Santiago in 2022 and the England Coast to Coast in 2023, I wondered which trail I would attempt next. Having lived in and embraced the Pacific Northwest since 1979, the PNT was an easy choice, and not solely for the location. The PNT is a hard trail. It combines the steep, up and down terrain of the Appalachian Trail with the remoteness of the Continental Divide Trail and the unfinished, pre-90s Pacific Crest Trail. I chose the PNT because it’s better to hike it while I am still relatively young (?).
