Pathfinder: Blazing a New Wilderness Trail in Modern America

by Ron Strickland

Overview

"In the early 1970s, Ron Strickland—a young, novice hiker with an audacious idea—launched a campaign to link Glacier National Park's alpine meadows and the Pacific Ocean with a new, 1,200-mile footpath across three national parks and seven national forests. He—along with countless other volunteers—lobbied landowners, raised money, and dug dirt until, in 2009, Congress added the Pacific Northwest Trail to the National Trails System.

In Pathfinder, Strickland describes the process of untangling brush and bureaucracy to establish one of the world's most beautiful trails. He intersperses colorful portraits of memorable trail characters, insider's tips about favorite hikes, and news about the coming renaissance of hiking. "The adventure," he says, "is just beginning."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780870716034
Publisher:	Oregon State University Press
Publication date:	05/15/2011
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Ron Strickland is the founder and past executive director of the Pacific Northwest Trail Association. He is the author of seven oral histories and guidebooks, including The Pacific Northwest Trail Guide, River Pigs and Cayuses: Oral Histories from the Pacific Northwest, and Whistlepunks and Geoducks: Oral Histories from the Pacific Northwest. He is the recipient of numberous conservation honors, including the L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes Award. www.ronstrickland.com

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I Became a Hiker Because 5

The Bad Boys of Backpacking 17

Along the PNT: The North Cascades 25

Bucking the Brush 31

Ralph Thayer's Broadaxe 37

Murder Mystery at the Old Mine 51

Along the PNT: The Okanogan 57

Trail Magic 63

Along the PNT: Roll On, Columbia, Roll On 69

Off the Trail: Longing for Roots 75

Solo 83

Off the Trail: The Backpacker Parent 87

Along the PNT: The Selkirk Mountains 99

Women on the Trail 105

Pass It On 113

Along the PNT: The Purcell Mountains 125

"A Labor of Truly Obsessive Love" 131

"Willful and Eccentric" 143

Ten Essentials 155

"Very Romantic" 169

Off the Trail: Walden Pond 177

"For I Believed in Traveling Light" 181

The Path Ahead 195

Along the PNT: Shared Vision 201

Books from My Backpack 205

Hiking's Enduring Appeal 217

Glossary 223

Notes 225

Bibliography 232

Index 243