Pacific Crest Trail History
Clinton C. Clarke, often credited as the "father" of the PCT, founded the Pacific Crest Trail System Conference in the early 1930s to promote linking and extending the John Muir, Oregon Skyline, and Cascade Crest trails into one continuous trail from Mexico to Canada. In 1968, the PCT and the Appalachian Trail were officially designated as our country's first National Scenic Trails.Agency trail crews, contractors and volunteers worked on completing the trail for many years. In 1993, the PCTA joined the USDA Forest Service and other land management agencies in celebrating the completion of the trail with a "Golden Spike" ceremony near Soledad Canyon in the Angeles National Forest.
