Thursday, September 27, no-host cocktails/social hour—6 pm, dinner—7:00, program—8:00, Berkeley Yacht Club on the Berkeley Marina, one block north of the west end of University Avenue (ample free parking is available in the Marina parking lots).
The 2,650-mile-long Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) spans the length of the Western United States. It traverses some of the most spectacular landscapes on the planet from the high desert of the Mojave to the frigid, snow-covered North Cascades, from the lush forests of Oregon to the High Sierra. It is little wonder that the PCT has become the world’s premier walking trail. And, now there is a collection of stories to match it.
In the two-volume Pacific Crest Trailside Reader, Rees Hughes and Corey Lewis have collected nearly 100 stories exploring the people, places, and history of the trail. The two volumes bring together short excerpts from classic works of regional writing with boot-tested trail tales–stories taken from PCT hikers that recount trailside humor and traditions, “trail angels” and “trail magic”, encounters with wildlife and wild weather, as well as stories of being lost and found. The Readers include classic mountaineering tales of John Muir, Walter Starr and the Walker party alongside contemporary tales from trail crew members, ultra-light backpackers, and day hikers escaping the confines of modern civilization to the high country we all love. As you enjoy one adventure after another, again and again this wildly varied collection of tales will transport you back to your beloved wilderness.
On Sep. 27 Hughes and Lewis will present a multimedia program, sharing photo-images from the PCT and a selection of stories from the readers. They will be joined by contributing author Jeff Schaffer, who wrote the seminal PCT Wilderness Press Trail Guides. (He really did write the book on the PCT.)
Hughes, Lewis, and Schaffer have spent considerable time on the PCT. Hughes, who first walked the Washington section of the PCT in 1981, noted that, “We have had a long-term love affair with the PCT and felt that this was a perfect way to give back.” All author royalties are being returned to the support and protection of the PCT.
Cost of dinner and program is $25, including tax and tip. For a reservation, please send your check, payable to “Sierra Club”, with your name, your telephone number, and the names of your guests, to:
Evelyn Randolph
938 Galvin Drive
El Cerrito, CA 94530
(510)526-2494.
Attendance is limited to the first 115 reservations received. Reserve early, as these programs do fill up. Reservation deadline is Mon., Sep. 17. There is no admittance for program only.
