Climate change is impacting hiking on the infamous Pacific Crest Trail

The Pacific Crest Trail, or PCT, runs all the way from the U.S. border with Mexico to the border with Canada, crossing more than 2,600 miles of desert, mountains, and forest. And for many people, hiking the trail end to end is a lifelong goal.

But this year, wildfires interrupted hikers’ journeys.

“This year, in July, it just hit everywhere along the trail, north to south. It seemed like there was just no region that was exempt from fire this year,” said Chris Rylee, who is with the Pacific Crest Trail Association.

He says wildfires closed more than 600 miles of the trail, forcing hikers off the path.

Some fires burned parts of the trail directly. Other fires burned nearby or covered the landscape in thick smoke, which is unhealthy to breathe.

And the risks to hikers can remain long after a fire has passed. Dead trees can fall on hikers, and burned areas are at an increased risk of landslides and floods.

Climate change is making extreme wildfires more common in the Western U.S.

And Rylee says these dangers can upend the PCT dream for hikers.

“It destroys many an adventure, and this perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media