Pacific Crest Trail " 35 Years Ago" Vintage Look At Thru-Hiking 1977 Photo Gallery by Monte Dodge at pbase.com

Pacific Crest Trail " 35 Years Ago" Vintage Look At Thru-Hiking 1977

This gallery is my own little net tribute to the " Class Of 1977" on the Pacific Crest Trail and a look " Back In Time " to what long distance backpacking was like 35 years ago. The " AT" on the east coast started it all off in 1948 with Earl Shaffer's first thru-hike and Eric Ryback brought thru-hiking to the west coast in 1970 with his thru-hike and book. When congress declared the PCT a National Trail in 1968, few thought it would be as popular ' World Wide" as our Pacific Crest Trail has become. Hopefully the tradition of long distance hiking is alive and well " For Everyone" 30 years from now............ ( Special Thanks to Carl Siechart ( Kelty Kids, Strider ( Greg Hummel), Marty McCormick ( San Diego Trucks) And Bill Jenson ( Portland Trailblazers) For their photo donations and to all the " Class Of 1977" for this look back into the early days of " Thru-hiking " the PCT and the Vintage Gear we packed........

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Camping Below " Trail Crest" At 12,000ft. ( May 21th, 1977)	Paul And Soji At Weldon ( Old PCT Route) 1977	Norden Store Near Donner Pass Resupply ( June 1977)	Bob Alexander And " Chairman " Ron Hall Walking Old " Road Route"
Hiker Feast ( In Weldon After First 540 Miles On Old PCT Route)	" San Diago Truckers" Near Top Of Forester Pass, 13,200 ft.	Crossing The Sierras ( Truckers Photo)	Three Handed Hiker ( San Diego Truckers)
The Trail Was Much " Steeper And Difficult " Back In 1977	Great Water Supply In Mojave Desert!!	Old " Sandy River Cabin" ( Now Washed Away)	Kelty Kids Check P.A.Jeff's Load Before Leaving Weldon For Sierras
Dick Kelty Checks Out One Of " Kelty Kids" Packs In Action ( Town On Old PCT Route)	Great " Alpinelite " Classic Pack And Sieera Cup On Hip	Strider, P.A. Jeff And "Hacker" Side Trip Up Rainier	Lone Wolf ( Steve Taylor) In Goat Rocks With His Sunbird Adventure 16 Backpack

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comment |

Jakub		14-Feb-2013 10:04
Hello! Just amazing to see. I have been planning to do the PCT since 1998, but life has its ways of changing what a person finds important. Instead of the PCT I hiked across the Czech Republic and Slovakia- 1500 km. Which was also a blast, but the PCT is the BIG one. Now I have 3 children and live in Europe... But the Wife and kids know that this is my dream and we spend alot of our free time in the wilderness, hiking, climbing and canoeing ( the kids are ages 12,5 and 2. I suppose I will do the PCT with the family in the next 5-10 years...

Lynn Palmer		23-Jul-2012 00:56
I really enjoyed looking at the pictures! I can't consider myself a member of the class of 77; although my buddy Tom Ehlers and myself, Lynn Palmer hiked 30 days from Castle Craig Hwy 80 to Dunsmuir Ca. Tom was 13 and I was 15. We hiked part of the way with the Bay City Bombers and herd stories about the Chairman and the Kelty Kids sounds familiar too. When I retire I plan on doing the entire trip. By the way, my daughter married a thru hiker Chris Prysok, who did the AT and part of the PCT. He and my daughter own a mountaineering store in Weaverville Ca. Wolfpaw mountaineering. May the forest be with you! Mr. Lynn Palmer

Nora MAe Ball-Smith		16-Mar-2012 05:49
Thanks fo r sharing this again my daughter is looking at training for her own hike soon and I have passed along the site to her so she can relate for prepare of the long hike ahead of her... lets all suppoet her on her own wild dreams...

Ali Majdfar		04-Apr-2010 11:16
Fantastic gallery, thanks for sharing. ~V

Marjan Schavemaker		26-Jan-2010 14:08
Great gallery, Monte, brought me back to the days I lived in the US and hiked a lot in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont! V

Matthew Sobke		18-Oct-2009 03:37
Wow, great gallery! It brought back a million memories from the paltry 100 miles or so I did back in the scouts in the early eighties. Except that my Jansport was blue... and I still have the A16 pack! That picture of Banner Peak from Thousand Island Lake had to be taken from my campsite, lol! And I can't tell you how many local weekend trips began or passed trough Kitchen creek. Thanks for the memories!

Guest		25-Jul-2009 14:45
Fantastic gallery - this was a golden age in backpacking. Thank you so much for putting this up.

Happypoppeye		09-Mar-2009 20:24
A few comments here Monte. First off, great gallery. Although I've never done a thru-hike on the PCT I have done sections that bring back good memories (Mt Rainier, N. Cascades area, and Sierra Nevada's). Second, I hate that this gallery is buried so deep in your other galleries - I know, not my place to really say wherre to put it - I would put this one right in main gallery section. It's too good to miss for those who know what their looking at. Third. I am almost sure thru hiking will still be going 30 years from now. It's still going today, maybe alot more than you, or anyone else, would think. Just in different places in a different way. I think the world has become alot more accessible, and "smaller" so to say, in the last 30 years and it's easier to move around the world and see other countries. You have people doing thru-hikes everywhere from Timbuktu to Taoudenni, Lhasa to Kathmandu, crossing Papua New Guinea, crossing Borneo, the outback in Australia, etc, etc... I think it's a good thing. It may be dying down a bit in the US where, lets face it, money is the most important thing in life (not for all but most) and the PCT isn't as world renown as some other places, americans aren't willing to take the time to do a hike of this magnitude so it sort of gets lost in the world. I am actually one of those people, looking towards SE Asia, the Middle East and Africa for new opportunities. It's not a bad thing - imagine a million people all hiking the trail. Sort of defeats the purpose and it would destroy the environment along with it. I do think the PCT will always be there though and have people hiking it from start to finish, so enjoy the solitude and don't worry!!! ...and thanks for the good comments - I noticed you picked out just about the only "mountain" shot I have. I will get to the western states eventually, but for now I'm working backwards... Thanks John

TParrey		06-Mar-2009 03:35
This is just a great gallery!!!! Hard to believe that '77 was 32 years ago - it feels like yesterday.

Guest		31-Oct-2008 07:32
Wow, what a great gallery, you must have had a blast! Brian.

Alfie		12-Aug-2008 03:42
What interesting pics-don't want to take off booties.

Giancarlo Guzzardi		31-Jul-2008 06:38
Magnificent. Beautiful and pleasent pictures to see, Great memories and splendid experience

Liz Bickel		20-Dec-2007 07:07
What an interesting and very cool gallery. I really enjoyed my visit. Memories like these are irreplaceable. Thank you so much for sharing.

edwina beaumont		19-Dec-2007 15:37
What a wonderful set of memories

Guest		26-Oct-2007 23:22
Monte... told you that you have photo talent. Loved seeing pics of Nancy Gardner who tracked me and Dave Odell down in Ophir, Alaska in 1978. Wonder what she is up to todays. I always think of her as the model of "Sissy," in "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues", as she had hitchhiked bush planes to show up at camp. My daughter Bernadette and I visited Campo a few years ago and were sorry to see the the old customs house had melted away, and the simple US/Mexican border barbed wire fence was now a welded steel wall. Will be washed ashore on a beach somewhere in Baja this winter. Come on down. Barry Murray, noted Ryback basher.

Teri Chapman		05-Jul-2007 15:16
Thanks for the photo of Bill Foster! I met him at the hostel in the ski patrol lodge at Stevens Pass and then camped with him a few nights over the next week as we made our way north around Glacier Peak. It was rainy and the third week of August, 1972. He was hiking from Mexico to Canada and had been hiking for five years at that time. For me, he is "Hotel Pine Bill" because he strolled by my campsite at Pear Lake and asked me if I'd seen any "Hotel Pines". He didn't carry a tent or a tarp...he used his rain poncho and a densely leaved tree to keep dry. He made a "Mulligan Stew" for us and stayed with me under my slightly larger tarp in the more exposed campsite at Lake Sally Ann. Great lightning show! In September 1976, I came back into Hungry Horse, MT after a week out on a USFS trail crew to see Bill's photo on the front page of the local newspaper. The article mentioned he was hiking from Mexico to Canada through the Rockies. He'd passed through town and told the reporter he would be completing his trip on Forest Service roads because Glacier NP trails were closed due to grizzly attacks. The article mentioned he'd be stopping by a great little mercantile. I called the mercantile and he was there. He had no recollection of teaching me about "hotel pines" and I had no recollection of teaching him that "rushes are round, sedges have edges and grasses have joints"...but that's what he remember about me. Two friends rode with me, and we caught up with him, parked and walked with him for three or so hours before returning to our VW bus (Ketchup). Please let me know if you know more.

Guest		16-Mar-2007 05:19
great gallery...are ya still hittin' the trail.???

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