Pacific Crest Trail

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Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Point of Contact (POC): Jason Caster

You Tube Video:

Chasing the Hike: A Journey on the PCT

Use this link to learn more:

Pacific Crest Trail Association Website

Eliot Ness: What is the most dangerous part of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail?

Jason Caster: Biggest danger was injury from either falling on a snowy slope or getting swept away during river crossings.

Animal danger was very low. Black bears are more interested in your food than you, and there are no Grizzly in the west coast states. Mountain Lions are there but they largely avoid humans; I never saw any sign of them.

Racoon and Marmots are more of a threat to our food, more than anything else.

I filtered my water so that was not a concern at all.

I never once felt concerned in terms of criminals.

Eliot Ness: Was there much talk of BIGFOOT on the trail, amongst the Hikers?

Jason Caster: I don’t recall ever hearing anything on trail conversations. Although, people did talk about being creeped out by loud crackling noises at night and saying they didn’t know if it was a Bear, Elk, or something else. So I guess you could attribute the “something else” to include Bigfoot.

I had a loud encounter at night once and still don’t know what it was.

I don’t talk about it in the documentary. Basically I heard super heavy stick cracking/crunching from far away get closer and closer until it stopped right outside my tent. Was too heavy to be a deer so I thought it was either an Elk or a Bear. Bigfoot never actually crossed my mind during the encounter. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I clapped really loud to try and scare it away if it was a Bear. After I clapped it slowly moved away and I fell back to sleep.

Eliot Ness: Amazing! Do you carry Bear Spray or other protection?

Jason Caster: No it’s too heavy to justify in Black Bear territory, if I were hiking in Grizzly territory it would be essential.

Eliot Ness: Which of the Pacific Crest states comes to mind first? Which one would represent the trail as a whole?

Jason Caster: California hands down. The High Sierra are the most unique and amazing part of the entire trail.

Our thanks to Jason for sharing. We can all look forward to his next documentary, of his current trip (August 2019) on the Pacific Crest Trail.

You can stop your quest, and rest, get medical attention, or re-supply, because there are numerous trailheads where someone can meet you  and give you a ride. The whole experience has become quite the phenomenon.

The website listed above, will tell you that many people just do shorter portions of the trail. You don’t have to tackle the whole thing; thus, there are a lot of trailheads, like a network.

The Pacific Crest Trail’s – trailhead below, is a personal favorite of Bigfoot Eruption, because we pass it on our way to Central Oregon. As you reach the highest point in the Cascades, leaving the rain forest, then as your coming down in elevation, and witnessing the sudden dryer climate of that side of the Cascade Range, is this trailhead:

Santiam Pass, Oregon.

 

We can see the sign as we drive by (photo Pending). Notice Highway 20 at the bottom of the virtual map.

There are too many trailheads to list on this page, for now, but you can also use Google Maps, by typing in “Pacific Crest Trail, Oregon” (for example) and you will see options. Tinker with it, for results…

Currently Jason has hiked all the way from the Mexico border, through California, through Oregon, through part of Washington, and then got a ride back down to Oregon, as he awaits a doctor’s treatment on a knee injury. The Pacific Crest Trail, is no Joke.

If you were to go to our page for the Bigfoot Trail (California) you will see that it looks like the Pacific Crest Trail temporarily joins the Bigfoot Trail. This shows how smaller portions of trails/trailheads, can be shared.