Pathfinder

Ron Strickland has spent a good deal of time walking. He hiked the 1200 miles of the Pacific Northwest Trail in 1983. In 2004, he completed the Pacific Crest Trail, with a 1500-mile hike from the Mojave Desert to the Columbia River. In 2009, he hiked the length of the New England Trail. He has also held a longtime dream of showcasing the best hiking of the Rockies, Purcells, Okanogan, Cascades, Olympics, and Wilderness Coast. He spent years raising funds, recruiting volunteers, cutting brush, digging dirt, and lobbying landowners, officials, and politicians--and in 2009, the Pacific Northwest Trail, which runs from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean, traversing three National Parks and seven National Forests, was finally declared a National Scenic Trail. In this adventurous and moving memoir, Strickland--known in the backcountry as "Pathfinder"--shares his insider view of the joys and adventures of long-distance hiking. He intersperses colorful portraits of memorable trail characters and lush descriptions of hikes he knows firsthand. He also describes the experience of conceiving and establishing the Pacific Northwest Trail, detailing the setbacks and triumphs along the way. Pathfinderoffers the rich insights and experiences of a longtime hiker, inspiring readers to the wonder of hiking and the outdoors.

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 numerous conservation honors, including the L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes Award.