Anyone planning to hike the Pacific Crest Trail — the famed 2,650-mile hiking route that stretches from Mexico to Canada and typically takes almost half a year to complete — should prepare for an especially challenging trail this year, thanks to repair delays brought on by federal funding freezes.
The PCT will be especially challenging this year due to Trump's funding cuts
Several portions of the trail throughout California are in desperate need of repair, according to Justin Kooyman, director of trail operations for the Pacific Crest Trail Association. In some sections, storm damage has washed away the trail entirely. Complicating the situation are federal funding freezes and staff reductions in several land management agencies brought on by the Donald Trump administration.
Kooyman said it’s left the PCTA’s maintenance backlog severely hampered, causing the association to cancel over 50 weeks of upcoming repair work.
“Hikers should be prepared for sections of the PCT that require them to navigate around downed trees, push through thick brush that has grown into the trail and navigate sections where it is difficult to find the trail tread,” Kooyman told SFGATE via email. “It’s going to be a rougher and more challenging trail experience than many people have come to expect.”
Among the most impacted legs of the PCT in California is a section within the Riverside County desert where Tropical Storm Hilary severely damaged the trail in 2023. Kooyman said hikers need to be “adept with route finding” near Mission Creek.
According to the association’s State of the Trail webpage for Southern California, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management were granted emergency funding to repair trails near Mission Creek, but the work will be delayed until 2026 due to federal funding freezes.
Elsewhere, portions of the trail in Washington’s Glacier Peak Wilderness have been heavily impacted by downed trees. Maintenance projects planned for last year were canceled due to wildfires, according to Kooyman. “Now, in 2025, many of the planned projects to clear the downed trees likely won’t happen due to agency staff layoffs and recent funding freezes,” he said.
Federal funding for trail maintenance projects was historically secured through partnerships with federal land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service. In February, PCTA wrote in a blog post that the Forest Service had informed it of a delay in federal grant funding due to the Trump administration’s plans to reduce federal spending.
As federal land management units across the country continue to be gutted, the future of the PCT and other thru-hikes are hanging in the balance. “It will be a much more difficult hiking experience that will challenge many hikers,” Kooyman said.
CLICK HERE to see the original article and more photos in SF GATE.
The PCT will be especially challenging this year due to Trump's funding cuts
Several portions of the trail throughout California are in desperate need of repair, according to Justin Kooyman, director of trail operations for the Pacific Crest Trail Association. In some sections, storm damage has washed away the trail entirely. Complicating the situation are federal funding freezes and staff reductions in several land management agencies brought on by the Donald Trump administration.
Kooyman said it’s left the PCTA’s maintenance backlog severely hampered, causing the association to cancel over 50 weeks of upcoming repair work.
“Hikers should be prepared for sections of the PCT that require them to navigate around downed trees, push through thick brush that has grown into the trail and navigate sections where it is difficult to find the trail tread,” Kooyman told SFGATE via email. “It’s going to be a rougher and more challenging trail experience than many people have come to expect.”
Among the most impacted legs of the PCT in California is a section within the Riverside County desert where Tropical Storm Hilary severely damaged the trail in 2023. Kooyman said hikers need to be “adept with route finding” near Mission Creek.
According to the association’s State of the Trail webpage for Southern California, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management were granted emergency funding to repair trails near Mission Creek, but the work will be delayed until 2026 due to federal funding freezes.
Elsewhere, portions of the trail in Washington’s Glacier Peak Wilderness have been heavily impacted by downed trees. Maintenance projects planned for last year were canceled due to wildfires, according to Kooyman. “Now, in 2025, many of the planned projects to clear the downed trees likely won’t happen due to agency staff layoffs and recent funding freezes,” he said.
Federal funding for trail maintenance projects was historically secured through partnerships with federal land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service. In February, PCTA wrote in a blog post that the Forest Service had informed it of a delay in federal grant funding due to the Trump administration’s plans to reduce federal spending.
As federal land management units across the country continue to be gutted, the future of the PCT and other thru-hikes are hanging in the balance. “It will be a much more difficult hiking experience that will challenge many hikers,” Kooyman said.
CLICK HERE to see the original article and more photos in SF GATE.
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