Pacific Crest Trail | Not To Be Forgotten
The Pacific Crest Trail started out as a simple dream of Catherine Montgomery’s back in 1962. She envisioned a trailway that ran along the crest of the western mountains from Mexico through California, Oregon and Washington to Canada. Her dream started to form into reality in 1932 when Clinton C. Clarke began getting the backing from area leaders to set aside land for the trail. That effort is part of what pushed President Johnson to enact the National Trails System Act in 1968 which established two of the greatest scenic trail efforts in the National - the Appalachian Trail system and the Pacific Crest. The governments enthusiasm for preserving the trailway and building them out for future generations is waning.
Currently 250 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail are still owned by private landowners and much of it is in danger of being logged or developed. Though trailway infrastructure development is probably not at the top of the governments funding issues list right now, many are calling for more aid in preserving these recreational and sometimes historic areas along the trail.
For more on the dilemmas facing the Pacific Crest Trail, read the complete Oregonian story.
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