The Pacific Crest Trail: A Hiker's Companion [Paperback]

Karen Berger (Author), Daniel R. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

For many people, the Pacific Crest is the ultimate long-distance hiking trail. Beginning in the dry valleys of southern California, it follows the crest of the snow-capped Sierras, and ends in the ancient forests of Washington's Cascades. This is a guide to hiking the Pacific Crest. For each section of the trail, the authors describe the route in detail and recommend the best day hikes and short backpacks from each trailhead. They describe the plants and animals hikers will see, tell stories about local history, and even explain plate tectonics. In addition, the authors draw on their own experiences - for together they have logged more than 12,000 miles on the PCT - to give tested advice on trip planning, gear and safety, seasonal considerations, trailheads and resupplies, permits, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An excellent reference for anyone wishing to enjoy this national scenic trail to its fullest. -- Robert Ballou, executive director, PCT Association

About the Author

Karen Berger is the author of three Trailside Guides: Hiking and Backpacking, Advanced Backpacking, and Scuba Diving. She and Daniel Smith co-authored Where the Waters Divide and Along the Pacific Crest Trail. Karen was a contributing editor to Backpacker magazine for many years before becoming a contributing editor for gorp.com, a leading outdoor internet site. Dan is a professor of history and political science at Iona College. They live in Bronxville, New York. The authors are two of only a handful of people to have completed the through-hiker's "Triple Crown"--the complete lengths of the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide, and Appalachian Trails.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Countryman Press (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881504319
• ISBN-13: 978-0881504316
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Berger writes about travel, the environment, hiking and backpacking, scuba diving, music, global health, and the business of being self-employed.

Her books here on Amazon.com are divided into three categories:

Eleven books on hiking and backpacking, including accounts of walking the entire 3,000 mile Continental Divide from Mexico to Canada ("Where the Waters Divide") and walking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada ("Along the Pacific Crest Trail"). Her hiking books also include instructional guides for those new to the sport -- and for those seeking to further develop their skills.

One book on Scuba Diving: "Scuba Diving: A Trailside Guide" was developed with the assistance of Tec Clark, the former director of the Y.M.C.A.'s instructional scuba program.

Three books on learning and teaching music for the "Complete Idiot's Guide" series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great background info on the trail..., May 25, 2001

By 

Mike MacFerrin (Baton Rouge, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pacific Crest Trail: A Hiker's Companion (Paperback)

"The PCT: A Hiker's Companion" is great for those wanting to find out more of the history, geology, climate, flora and fauna along the PCT. If you're looking for a pure guidebook (trail mileages, stopovers, alternate routes, etc), you're probably better off going with Jeffrey Schaffer (et. al.)'s "The Pacific Crest Trail" industry-standard guidebooks (California and Oregon/Washington).

BUT, for those wanting more in-depth background, this is a great reference. I've hiked several sections of the PCT, and this book gave me great insight into the things I was seeing along the way... from the climate and life in the Mojave Desert to the geology of Devil's Postpile National Monument. It wasn't written in boring textbook fashion... I found it well written and very easy to read.

If you're familiar with other Karen Berger works on the PCT, you'll recognize a few of the stories and photography used in this one, but mind you, I don't mean to say she's only recycling earlier material for this book. There really is a lot of new stuff in here, and it's definitely worth a look.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice photos and information, July 23, 2003

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pacific Crest Trail: A Hiker's Companion (Paperback)

It's one of my dreams to eventually thru-hike the PCT and I gobble up everything written about this magnificent trail. This book is not so much of a practical guide to the PCT, it's more of a history of the trail. It contains much information on wildflowers, the actual building of the trail, wildlife along the way and other bits of information in this vein. It doesn't contain a detailed description of various sections of the PCT, so it's not especially useful to someone about to start this adventure. If you're simply into the "thinking about it someday" stage, or planning a thru-hike in the next few years, then the book is relevant and interesting. Section hikers, like myself, can derive much useful info from several chapters.

The photos are all in black and white, but are stunning, especially the ones near Mammoth and Yosemite. I would have liked it had Berger given more personal experiences and thoughts about her own thru hike, but she sprinkles bits of wisdom and experience throughout the narrative. If you're about the embark on this classic adventure, this book probably won't assist you on your way. But if you just like to read about the Pacific Crest Trail and delight in thinking you'll undertake this journey someday, then this is right up your alley.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Dated Now, July 28, 2009

By 

Fritz R. Ward "dayhiker" (Crestline, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Pacific Crest Trail: A Hiker's Companion (Paperback)

Since the publication of the PCT Atlas in 2009, there has been a fair amount of discussion in the hiking community about how much guidebook is "too much." The official PCT guidebook published in numerous editions by Wilderness Press has maps, elevations and mileage between trail landmarks, along with campsite and resupply suggestions. But it also includes information on geography, flora and fauna, and some feel this adds too much to the book. They prefer the aforementioned Atlas or the Databook. This book by Karen Berger goes off in the other direction. It provides only a rough sketch of the trail over 100-200 miles, lists a few resupply points, and notes significant trail hazards (the 30 plus miles without water on Hat Creek Rim, for example) or significant climbs. The bulk of the book, however, covers the natural history of where the trail is routed, and, in some cases like the Volcan Mountains, where the trail should have been routed. As such, this book is meant to supplement, not supplant the guidebook.

On the other hand, the book does have features similar to a trail guide, and many of these are now out of date. For example, there is no longer a store near Boulder Oaks campground, and the store between Deep Creek and Silverwood Reservoir, where hikers used to weigh their packs, is also closed. There have also been a few trail realignments since this book came out. Finally, I was disappointed with some of the editing. But, on the whole, this is a good book to supplement, not supplant, your reading/preparation for a PCT hike. Even arm chair hikers will appreciate it for what it is, a guide to the natural world surrounding one of the best trails in the country.