The most I did this summer was a 60-mile walk alongside a canal in Brittany. It took only 4 days on wonderfully flat terrain, and the challenges were minimal (blisters too, somehow). I am in awe of anyone who attempts mountainous terrain for any length of time; your trip is an inspiration!
9
Congratulations Nick. Mission Accomplished.
5
A great wonderful article. BTW, is it just the way a photo distorts it or does your daughter carry the larger pack? Just saying.
I did similar long years of hikes but on the Appalachian trail on the east coast never doing more then a short vacation or long weekend could allow me. Just great.
4
I just re-read a couple of your older columns on previous PCT hikes and was struck by this comment (I always read some comments and often comment myself) by The Real Mr. Magoo:
"Much as I enjoyed the column and the sentiment it contains, don't hold your breath on no billionaire being unable to buy public lands. It is only a matter of time (and of continued neglect of public lands, of attacks on EPA, of venerating freeloader criminals like C. Bundy, and of chipping away the protections of wilderness and nature) before some coal baron or oil company or someone wanting to build a trump plaza over a scenic lake buys it. Only a matter of time our gutless Congress guts the wilderness trails and the national parks.
If you want to protect them, it takes more than just appreciating them. It takes being actively involved in lobbying politicians every day to fend off those who want to parcel out the national lands to the highest bidder."
Who woulda thunk this just a few years ago? Not me. Now we all fear what could happen in this new era of environmental horror. #NotMyPresident #ImpeachPenceFirst
12
I love when you do these columns. Please keep the tradition of sharing some of your experiences in the wilderness each year.
8
Congratulations! What an accomplishment, especially without proper hiking boots! Did you seriously hike all the trail in sneakers?
5
I had a wonderful time on my first long-haul hike in Scotland with my daughter this year: leaving news behind and spending time to talk and sing and photograph.
But I thought myself heroic + and doing too much 'penance' on this 1000-year old pilgrim trail. I found out today that it was nothing compared to your endurance.
Thank you for a nice Sunday read!
3
Congrats on finishing the PCT. As a fellow backpacker, I eagerly await your annual column and hope you will find another trail to tackle next year. This July I summitted Mt. Katahdin in Maine, completing a 12-year hike of the Appalachian Trail at the age of 73, and I was far from the oldest person out there. I'm not hanging up my trail runners just yet, either.
When I'm on the trail, there is plenty of time to think. Daily problems and yes, even politics, recede, as I realize I am just another creature on this planet, seeking food and shelter from the elements. The experience is a welcome retreat from the noise of our acquisitive, competitive culture.
13
Thank you for this article about a backpack trail. Much more people should do this. It is not only a health thing but much more a personality experience. To know what you can master while enjoying nature is a unique combination. Do it, at least once in your life!
2
Preparing for our annual family hike as I read this! Conquering lovely Harry’s Ridge upon Mount Saint Helen’s, here in Gifford Pinchot’s national forest. Thank you for highlighting this treasured land!
4
Congrats, Nick and to your daughter, for giving us all a ride through the beautiful scenery of the Pacific Crest Trail.
It’s this time that I eagerly awaited a post by you on the progress of this journey and so glad you both enjoyed time together as family even when news of the day is dismal.
Good for you!
6
Thank you for your article, give me a better perspective of hiking with my daughter in the future. I am thinking to do the same for my 50th but taking a small chunk at the time like what you did seems to be more of a better approach, and something to look forward to each year depending on how much more mileage to tackle.
Thanks again for sharing your experience.
4
Thanks, Nick, your (outdoor) columns are always enjoyable. There's no question in my mind that establishing our marvelous public lands is the best thing our country has accomplished. It's shameful that we don't value and protect them more.
My partner and I have been truly blessed to spend 150? 200? days/year out of the past 30 years (and counting) hiking, packpacking, camping, skiing, mountain bike riding in these incomparable treasures. A day in The Glorious is always good - cleans out the pipes, resets the attitude, soothes the soul. Praise Jah!
58
Check my location which is the result of my first three- day backpacking trip with my new husband in Yellowstone National Park in 1982. We never tackled anything as ambitious as the PCT but pretty much every summer we set out on a trail somewhere in the U.S. or Canadian Rockies and when we had kids, they came along. Now adults and living in Colorado, they, too, hike and camp whenever they can. Over the years I have come to see hiking a trail as a metaphor for life itself. Loved the article, Mr Kristol, and remember -- "You don't stop hiking because you get old; you get old because you stop hiking."
4
@Jennene Colky Sorry I got your name wrong Mr KRISTOF!
Awesome.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing. Unplugged and with family is more important than anything!!!
2
Pardon me, but what is your daughter's name? What an adventure to have with one of your kchildren. Who can teach better than Experience?
Thank you for sharing.
mbrown
1
None of our business.
4
Ms Kristoff has some serious legs. I don't know how old her dad is, but she sure makes me feel like Old Mr. Wimpy.
1
Earth can not maintain the wilderness with a continually increasing human population.
8
"I come more and more to the conclusion that wilderness, in America or anywhere else, is the only thing left that is worth saving." - St. Edward
"Little boys love machines; girls adore horses; grown-up men and women like to walk." - St. Edward
What a lovely piece, Mr. Kristof. What a fine relationship you have with your daughter.
"I must walk toward Oregon, and not toward Europe." - Thoreau
"When I would recreate myself, I seek the darkest wood, the thickest and most interminable, and, to the citizen, the most dismal swamp." - Thoreau
“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” - Thoreau
You've obviously made the best of both worlds, urban and wilderness.
"One world at a time." - Thoreau
"Appreciation of the wilderness began in the cities." - Roderick Nash
Hike the Continental Trail in New Mexico, Mr. Kristoff. You'll likely see no more than one or two mosquitoes. But pack water.
3
Inspiring! Time away with just you and your daughter.....lucky lucky man.
1
Congratulations for completing that epic hike...
you are admired for your journalism, your advocacy of our rich heritage of National Parks and Wilderness Areas
and your obvious loving commitment to fatherhood.
When are you gonna run for public office?
Let me know, and you will have another volunteer.
2
I think former Senator McCain, now enjoying his eternal reward, would agree that the eastern intellectual and progressive cabal could all use a week in rarefied air.
There's a world out there devoid of Trump. Take a deep breath, let him go. Take in what truly matters....an earned panorama of beauty, and no smack the monkey game.
7
Why did you tell them about G Rocks? It's one of my favorite places on this planet! Ugh... now they know!
2
I am very glad that Nick and his daughter were able to finish the PCT this summer - albeit piece meal. The Oregon and Washington Cascades have been (and will continue to be) an integral part of my life for 49 of the last 57 years (not even including 4 amazing years in a place called Alaska). I have a new home at the 4,268 ft level on the East side of the Central Oregon Cascades.
August 2018 has been a weird time as smoke from wildfires has dulled the sky and almost all of the snow on 10,000 ft mountains is simply gone. If we don't start decreasing the CO2 and other carbon gasses out of the atmosphere homo sapiens are in for a tough go in the next 50 years. This could be an ELE. But I remain guardedly optimistic. I mean, look at what Nick Kristof has achieved over the last 43 years. After slogging through his first foreign language education at a tiny high school called Y-C, in a tiny classroom, guided by a Mormon bishop called TB3, with only 4 other students (including me), he was able to pick peaches in France, learn some Arabic and make friends in Egypt, poke the Commy bear in China, understand Nihonjeen, create a family of his own, shine an important light on atrocities in Africa, ... where was I? Oh, yeah, show how much that getting out in nature via the PCT - with a loved one - means so much to him. And I am so sorry for you if you do not understand what this experience means. After all, there could be a limited amount of time to actually do it.
8
Nicholas, What were your trail names? Maybe I fed you!
1
I am inspired!
BEAUTIFUL
1
Congratulations on finishing the Trail! I live near one of the "usual stops" on the trail. It is not unusual to drive over Etna Summit on Sawyer's Bar Road with a load of hikers to be dropped off in town or back to the trail. We have met people from all over the world, and still keep in touch with a lot of them. All of them have great stories to tell about their time on the Trail.
1
Happy to see yet another American family built of wholesome principles and shared experiences.
However … Nick's point that he and his daughter meet practically no others on their treks kinda begs the question of who our immense wilderness spaces actually were reserved FOR.
2
@Richard Luettgen
Yours is the wrong question. The question is why so few people take advantage of what is theirs by birthright.
I've hiked the mountains of Southern California often, and the trails of the Grand Canyon as well. I've also backpacked a number of times in the Sierra Nevada, and been chased by a massive storm down the mountains from the Continental Divide. That was the trip I saw, and photographed, a bear.
I suspect that comparatively few of us do this because, as Mr. Kristof points out, we no longer have absolute control over much of anything. It's humbling and exhilarating at the same time.
Cheers, Mr. Luettgen.
12
@Vesuviano
And now you propose a framework by which people should conduct their American lives. Not so surprising -- our politics are little BUT liberals doing that hubristically while conservatives resist such hubris. Yet we conduct our American lives largely as we see fit.
Given THAT chaotic but emblematically American framework, the reality that remains is that almost all DON'T use these vast wildernesses. Given that, my question IS the right one.
@Richard Luettgen
I try to be civil with you, and am accused of proposing something that I never proposed. If millions of Americans choose not to make use of a wonderful resource that is theirs, then that is their choice.
Not everything is political, Mr. Luettgen.
12
Try Canada’s West Coast Trail - beautiful scenery and a completely different/refreshing political landscape.
4
I confess I am mystified by how you extract such pleasure from something I could only be made to do at the business end of a shotgun. I have such faith in Nature I've never felt I needed to get in her face to be convinced she'd kill me, and maybe give a quiet chuckle afterward, if she even noticed. An acquaintance told me about their family vacation rafting on the Colorado river, where you can't shower or even wash your hands for days, including after hanging your butt off the edge of a moving raft to pee. These "vacations" sound like a chance to emulate some of what refugees endure. But I suppose we all have our own versions of the Pacific trail, enjoying nature in tamer arenas. Thanks for sharing your experience (now I don't have to do it).
46
@wynterstail I have lived in two of the world's largest cities, but for decades now I'm in rural Alaska. Here I know what a bear, moose, or wolf looks like and I encounter them seldom. The wildness of nature is less apt to kill me than a person in a city is. I never did figure out what a mugger looks like.
5
Your daughter’s pack appears to be heavier/more full than yours - you have her well trained! Thank you for an excellent and inspiring article. Last weekend our six year old completed his first significant day hike - 5 mile climb in beautiful Park City. While no PCT, what joy to see his smile and confidence at the completion of the hike!
2
How awesome to share the grandeur of nature with your daughter whom you love and are so proud of. It makes it all worthwhile.
I bet, if you were honest, that it crossed your mind to not go back to work and to have to pull yourself back into the day-to-day task of listening to Trump's petty meanness.
Go ahead, Nick, I give you permission to entertain the thought.
1
Great article ! Thanks for sharing.
3
Years ago I knew a couple who married young - and broke. Their honeymoon was a camping trip on a local section of the Appalachian Trail, with the goal of hiking a new section on each anniversary. I always thought that was romantic and far-sighted.
6
What were your trail names?
17
Mr. Kristof, it is NOT “traumatic to leave the news behind, get off the grid and become untethered from email and cellphones.” Good gracious! You are from Oregon!? Also, you are not done. May I suggest some trails in Alaska? Whatever you do, do NOT stop trekking with your daughter. There is nothing better for a dad.
1
There is no more beautiful place on earth than the Sierra Nevada above 10,000 ft.
2
Come hike Vermont's Long Trail!
1
Spectacular achievement for you and your daughter. I have taken our children on decent outdoor adventures, but nothing as ambitious as this or even some of the single day treks you describe. Bully for you and your daughter!!!
3
Dear Nicholas, you are different kind of journalist. Congratulations to you and your daughter. That is quite an accomplishment. Best wishes.
To all NY Times readers, best wishes to all. It has been a fun summer. Enjoy now, life runs out.
9
Beautiful!
I live in a pristine mountain community and you never see any adults out sharing nature with their children.
You DO see lot's of men with guns trying to kill something out there -What a shame they can't just enjoy nature with a camera.
Are they easily bored by life OR just basically dead spiritually
- already?
5
I would love to do this with my daughter! She and I go backpacking in the southeast on the occasional weekend but nothing quite like your trek! Please write a book about your adventure.
2
@[email protected] A good book to get is by Ray Jardine and his guide to lightweight backpacking. Ray Jardine has his own website on his adventures and he has written some updated books, but you can get some used copies of old books for practically free and start there.
2
Most inspiring article in the NYT in months! Well done to the two of you.
8
Congratulations. It's an impressive accomplishment. Anyone who's backpacked or hiked any distance understands how impressive completing the PCT is, good work!
Did you two adopt any "trail names" as is common with PCT through hikers?
Looks like you had a fairly small pack, how much weight were you both carrying?
2
Thanks for the respite. It was needed.
4
Planning for imminent full time retirement, I am looking at the amazing hiking trails in Europe. Setting these up has been an organized EU effort. Beyond the Camino (too crowded), I am contemplating the Julian Alps in Slovenia (300 miles) and the Caucasian trail (500 miles) in Georgia (country). Both have sections and the Georgian one has guest houses which reduce how much you have to pack. As you get older and your back get older the guest houses hold real appeal. Airbnb to pay for it btw. Check out mountainiq on the Internet for info.
2
You also built memories with your daughter which you and she will never forget! Priceless!
5
Let's hope that citizens of the 4th Congressional District, which encompasses the John Muir trail, vote for Jessica Morse, the Democratic candidate for Congress who has actually hiked the length of the District, instead of the current incumbent, a carpetbagger from New York by way of Southern California who doesn't even live here!
2
I used to think that our national parks were one of the best things our government ever did and reason to be proud of America... until I read about how many of these parks came to be... by stealing the first people’s land. Read the history of Yosemite. It’s horrible.
4
I think the most impressive part of all this are those handstands.
The strength and balance required for those are extraordinary.
Has she been recruited by USA gymnastics yet?
20
What a great story, with memories for both you and your daughter to last a lifetime!
1
What an experience to have shared with your daughter!
1
America, as you and your daughter probably have probably learned, has places of phenomenal beauty, but it does not come to you, you have to go to it. I am In my a early 80’s and am I’m a mission to see as many of our National Parks as possible before Trump turns them over to the timber and oil companies. I doubt that Trump as ever left the garishness of his golf course to ever take in some of America’s natural beauty. If he had he would do more to preserve it.
3
So sad that Mr. Kristof couldn't get through a beautiful story without mentioning President Trump. Ruined it for me.
You did it again Nicholas. Your most political piece to date.
All the values of a thinking citizen compressed in a few words of a painstaking father-daughter hike. A Citizen and a Father!
Thank you.
3
Our president should be forced to take this hike while living off the land. It might instill some appreciation of the natural world that he is helping to destroy. And if not, he would at least learn that a bear would know what to do with him.
If public lands are our backyard, then America is our family. Thank you for sharing with us, Mr. Kristof.
3
Good column, good memories. Thanks, Nick.
2
Although my work is in NYC, I never go there. I live in the central CT woods and could never move into a cacophonous city. Just yesterday a baby (still spotted) Bambi was in the back yard eating acorns. And nightly on this upper ridge, the (wild) turkeys use my short yard as a runway for their evening sleeping arrangements in the trees. My front 'yard' is a thick tuffet of brush where 2 years in a row turkeys had their broods. I cannot comprehend how people would rather live in suburbs or noisy cities if they have a choice. When we had rains late July, there were more and varied varieties of mushrooms, slimes and fungi than I had ever seen (and I have lived in Oregon briefly where we picked wild chanterelles). There was a small patch of morels (I think, I just left them but they smelled very nice). I don't have a yard, but more a patchwork of moss with a few sprigs of grass where it can take our acidic soil. Down in suburbs, you have this endless flow of green that people have chemicals sprayed on and that grown men ride little tractors like children. I don't get American life. I don't live like an American - I am an immigrant son so that may be why except my siblings are total Americans and I am not.
1
Your story of hiking amplifies the respect I feel for you. Your inspired writing has offered new insights over the decades, but your devotion to your daughter, your family, and nature serves a reminder that our multifaceted lives need to be nurtured and attended to with the same diligence we give to our work. Thanks for the splendid writing and, in this case, the fabulous images from the trail.
5
Thank you Mr. Kristoff, for this inspiring piece. It is a shame that we are treated to this, and these observations only once every year. I would like you to offer more of the same, more often.
As an aside, I will share the fact that with hiking friends, I was introduced to the glories of extended stays in nature at an altogether too late stage in my life. Some of my most memorable moments were spent in those experiences, backpacking the various trails of the Grand Canyon.
2
Well done! My 21 year old daughter has likewise joined me on backpacking and sailing adventures, nothing as big as the full PCT, but enough to make us feel awe, wonderful misery, fear and the joy of simple living in the present tense. This past summer on a morning hike we "broke into" Point Lobos at dawn by skirting around a fence on a bluff with a posted sign telling us to enter via the official road. I turned to her and said, "This is our property, it's fine for us to do this." And we sang...
This land is your land, and this land is my land
From the California to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.
7
Wow! I'm envious. Some tips for your next trip: Vitamin B6 to knock down the irritation of mosquito bites (and may prevent them altogether). B5 and B2 (non-niacin) will reduce soreness from lactic acid build-up. Bring two pairs of shoes helps reduce blisters plus adds comfort. Long sleeves, long pants for navigating brush and avoiding sunburn. Thanks for the inspiration!
3
So happy for you two! I hope you inspire many more to get out on “our” trails. My 8 year old daughter and I did our first backpack trip together this summer in the Sierra Nevada, and after doing just a few miles on the PCT, she proposed we someday do the whole thing together. I’m a conservation scientist and botanist, but raising my kids in a city, so it made my heart soar to see my daughter connecting with the natural world with such joy.
7
Absolutely one of your best, Nicholas. Thank you, it is quite uplifting just when we need it most. Happy trails.
3
Mr. Kristoff,
I am so jealous!
I too have a daughter who is 14 but about all I can get from her is one night a year. If there is a secret, pls share.
Thank you for the touching reminder.
Ps surprised you saw so few bears. Not surprised you saw few people.
Keep hiking!
3
Congratulations! Wonderful accomplishment. What memories for both you and your daughter. We are so lucky to have land like what is traversed on the PCT that belongs to ALL of us. Thank you for sharing the spectacular photographs.
If you ever do the CDT , let me know. :-). I'd love to do some trail magic for you. You have given us so much with your writing, I'd be honored to return the favor with some home cooking. :-)
2
Thank you so much for your writing and your humanity, Mr. Kristoff! your family is lucky to have you in their midst, as our we, your readers.
7
Good for you, Mr. Kristoff. I've grown to look forward to your summer backpacking piece. Fine nature writing. Thank you.
6
Love this column! Words we so need to
hear in the era of Trumph: In Wildness is the preservation of the world [thank you too Mr. Thoreau]. It may be the preservation of our sanity too, until our orange mandrill president gets bounced.
4
The Pacific Crest Trail is an extraordinary, life changing experience for those who hike it. Mr. Kristof understandably has devoted columns to the challenges and joys of the trail. I recommend to those who are interested the short film, Only the Essential, that captures the experiences of several young people who set out from Mexico and trekked all the way to Canada. The film is a good hearted rendition of the PCT experience and has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube.
2
@AUSA Ret. Thanks for sharing this film. Have not heard of it before. Will definitely check it out!
Thank you for sharing your hiking adventures. Such an inspiration in many many ways. Recently retired and proud owner of two bionic knees = more time in the mountains. Yahoo!!!
4
It’s an incredible and remarkable thing you’ve gotten to do. Wonderful.
But...quality time with your children is what matters most, no matter what that activity is.
I had about 10 years where the only vacation time off from work was child activity related: scouting and coaching. It’s not as epic as hiking the PCT, but it’s a measure of commitment to being a parent of influence and prioritizing my family.
Being there. There is no substitute.
19
I am very happy for both of you. My dad and I spent a week in wilderness when I graduated from college in 1982. That week remains among the most treasured experiences of my life. This is how your daughter will remember you some day.
13
The PCT is one of the joys of my life. I've done Oregon and parts of Washington and know how lucky I am to be able to jump into the car and be on the trail for the day.....peace, silence, beauty. A friend and I have been Trail Angels and met so many wonderful people of all ages and from many countries. As they sit and enjoy cold drinks and homemade food we exchange stories and lots of laughs. The trail can be difficult and challenging and there are those days of intense heat or freezing cold, but there is such a feeling of freedom as you hike....nothing like it. Well done!
5
The reason you saw so few people while hiking, is that most people in this country live paycheck to paycheck. Whether working 2 jobs to pay off massive student loans, or supporting older parents with ruinous medical bills. They have little free time, nor money to enjoy hiking excursions. This must be how the well off live. How nice. Capitalism at its finest.
10
The PCT demographic skews two ways: young folks – some without student loans, since they dropped out of college – who are looking for direction in life; and retirees, who earned the right to be out there.
7
@Fred
Your post strikes me as pretty sour. Hiking is one of the most egalitarian activities one can participate in. It doesn't take that much to put on a pair of sneakers and find a local park/trail.
The reason Mr. Kristof didn't encounter many humans was because it is remote and difficult. Also he was section hiking, not thru-hiking where more people would be in the same vicinity because they start and end at the same place and time.
Go get some fresh air.
33
@Observer
I've bicycled across the US from the Pacific to the Atlantic twice; the last time starting on my 70th birthday. The same demographic prevails on a bicycle.
4
Ahhh, the PCT, what a wonder to wander in. Yes, I too worry about the kids these days not experiencing that majesty and challenge of the mountains. Thanks for showing the world what they might be missing.
7
@RT I am convinced that much of the violence in America, and especially in schools. would not happen if kids regularly spent time outdoors in a natural setting. Or even in a garden. Their souls are starving.
97
Lovely read! Thank you for sharing a little piece of yourself with us. Sounds like you and daughter are very lucky to share such a wonderful relationship.
14
Great, beautiful article. Thanks for sharing. You are fortunate to have a daughter that will do this with you. What a great time to be together before she moves on.
Time is so short and we need to keep in mind what is important, and I mean that in regards to spending time with your daughter on something significant.
I backpacked in Alaska another life ago.
I walked the Camino de Santiago (coastal route) for one week / 100 miles with my friend who did the entire route. Highly recommend. I have his entire itinerary and logistics by day if interested.
My co-worker from Chile goes every year to hike Patagonia but he stays in hotels..
3
In the summer of 1989, after getting divorced and 49 years old, I was looking for a challenging adventure. I enrolled in a 3-week Outward Bound Alaska trip. I was definitely the oldest - all of the participants were late teens, early 20's. A spiritual, blister-worthy experience of a lifetime - rafting, glacier camping, and bushwhacking. I loved it. Your story brings back memories to all the senses. Thank you.
15
Proud for you. A great accomplishment. Keep telling us about the value of nature in our lives.
10
Nick, I couldn’t help but notice that you refer to your daughter as stoic which reminds me of the one and only hiking experience I ever had when my experienced mountain-climber husband introduced me to his favorite sport by taking me up Mt. Katahdin in Maine when I was three months pregnant. I was so proud of myself for getting to the top after eight hours until I discovered that we were going to continue on a thin trail called “knife edge.” As a Midwest girl who’d never seen a mountain before, I thought going down a mountain would resemble Julie Andrews’ delightful romp thru the Alps with the Von Trapp children. No amount of stoicism could have seen me through that day.
17
Been enjoying these columns every summer. Now you need to hike along the continental divide trail in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. Head south from Green Lakes and finish up at Big Sandy. An outdoor shop in Pinedale can arrange transport. Its about 70 miles of jaw-dropping mountain scenery--don't rush. Thru hikers have told me that it is the best part of the CDT. Thanks for highlighting the importance of wilderness for those who might not get out into it. Kudos to the two of you for completing this grueling task.
7
@J. Brewer Yes! Wind River! Best hike of my life including hiding under a massive rock as lightening from a colossal storm bounced off the mountain side followed by a fast retreat as snow began to fall in mid August. Never saw another person.
1
Bears are impressive, and serious. In seven years of working outdoors in northwest Wyoming, I never saw one, but after I left a naturalist I'd known (and arranged to have a new alpine flower named in his honor--he somehow missed it), was killed by a grizzly at age 74, in a truly odd accident.
1
@David Martin Black bears on the PCH, not Grizzlies.
Thank you for sharing. This is a dazzling experience, good for you and your daughter for being there.
9
Amazing article! I only dream of doing what you have done!
6
Nature has a way of putting us in our place and showing us how little we are in the whole scheme of the universe. It teaches us humility, resilience, wonder and respect. Whether the high mountains, deserts or the high seas, the feeling is the same. Only when we face the elements of nature in their true form do we understand our true value and our true grit. Only when we face the unrelenting and unbelievable force of nature do we realize what we're made of. And those who face it and manage to learn the lessons it provides are much better humans for it.
15
i'd like to share my son's story with you, nick...mary and i took him backpacking in the Sierra from the time he was 3...first time, we were snowed out by an early Sept. storm. The last time he and I went, when he was 31, it snowed the night before, and got down to 14 the 2 nights we were out. He loved it, and up until 2 wks before he died of cancer, a couple years after that last trip, he hoped to recover to become a National Park ranger. That was the very best thing I gave him in his life, but little did I know it at the time.
212
@brian lindberg
From very young ages, we took both our children hiking and camping. Our daughter, nine years older than her brother, left for university, and I began to have issues that made these activities more difficult. My husband assumed the mantle, he and our son taking several backpacking trips together in the U.S. and Canada. Tales from these trips make up a huge segment of our family lore.
I cannot imagine your loss but you did indeed give your son gifts, not only the gift of nature but gifts of your time and love, the most important gifts of all.
4
@Linda C gracias....
4
I don't often agree with you, but I read your articles because you seem honest. This article is great. I'm an attorney engaged on a daily basis in the most venemous sorts of conflict. I camp and get out into nature every single day I can. It's restorative. I love the fact that you've hiked so often with your little girl. What a treasure for you. What a blessing.
77
Thanks for sharing your journey. We just finished a 5-day hike on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota. It was so nice to be completely unconnected from the current turmoil—all that mattered were the primitive acts of hiking, setting up camp, cooking, and finding water.
11
Congrats on completing the trail.
I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail this year at 53. While not everyone can take 4-6 months off to do this, I hope this article gives people a push to get outside and enjoy life and nature.
As a news junky it was difficult to tune out at first, but I tried to not obsess with what was going on in the world and just read enough to get the headlines. There was too much going on around me to enjoy and the 'news' could wait until I got home.
There was a family of 8 on the trail that I met, I'm sure the lessons they learned will far outweigh anything they would have gotten in a classroom.
Maybe next year start the AT? Not quite as visual as the PCT, but more of a physical challenge.
9
I wish I was impressed Mr Kristof with this article. Its so dry. Not to sound harsh in any way. I just think after six years there would be something more substantial to say.
2
Wow! I'm so impressed you've finished the whole thing. But what's next? I'll miss your annual updates. I've always hoped we'd accidentally meet up on the trail.
9
Congrats to you and your daughter.
A feat few on the globe have accomplished.
If more Americans experienced nature is such a manner we would all be better off, as would our country.
What's next?
7
I say "Bravo Zulu". My daughter said, "You can see 20 miles in any direction and not 1 Ulta store in sight."
3
Congratulations! I'll be sharing this with friends.
3
what a lovely and inspiring love letter to your daughter, and to us!
14
Mr.Kristof, thank you for remembering your readers and sending us postcards from your vacation.The thrill of seeing the magnificent sights and the warm feelings knowing that you could share this with your daughter was a surprise gift at a time when the news is heavy and puzzling.
14
I took my daughter across Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks from West to East, it took 10 days. Elizabeth Pass, Deadman Canyon, Cloud Canyon, Cloud Pass, Kaweah Canyon, Kern Canyon, then up along the John Muir Trail to Mt Whitney, and out the Whitney Portal. And then? Vegas baby! (cuz why not?) Your photos really brought up some pleasant memories.
As for your next trip, might I recommend the Great Barrier Reef? There's a new trend called 'last chance tourism', sparked by the fact that the reef, which is as big as Japan, won't be there in a decade or so.
49
Thus hastening the demise of the Great Barrier Reef? What a strange holiday recommendation.
1
I completed the northern 150 miles of the Portugese Camino a few weeks ago. I had done the 220 miles Lisbon to Porto two year earlier and El Norte’ 500 miles the year before in Spain.
Now one of my sons and I have started the French Camino, heading west out of Geneva to LePuy. Getaway is insufficient in describing the experience.
Like Gaffigan, if the outdoors is so great why do bugs want to get into my house. Gites.com or Bookings.com will find you a roof. You can listen to your home radio station or to Sirius radio on your smart phone if you get homesick. It will reconfirm your confidence in your fellow man.
2
"The upshot is that today every American inherits a stunning patrimony, a piece of some of the most beautiful terrain in the world." Well stated, but ... tRump and his troops are well into selling off a great deal of public lands to his coal and oil cronies.
7
My friend likes to do handstands on top of mountains too. He also does selfies. I have a good one with him on top of Aconcagua. I always thought it was a good way to get injured but I can't throw too many stones. I got more seriously injured walking a bike a few blocks from home.
I think the point missing here is backpacking takes skills and preparation. Not everyone knows what to do if their hiking partner twists an ankle halfway through a 30 mile hike. I'm not saying don't try. I just want fellow travelers to recognize their limitations. You can't learn without doing but don't do without learning if you know what I mean.
That said, one of the first dates I had with my future wife was a three-day backpacking trip in the Adirondacks. She had never camped before. This was the first time I had planned an expedition alone. I didn't sleep a wink the entire weekend but obviously things worked out. She actually turned around and taught a bunch of other people how to backpack.
Fortunately for me, the mosquitoes like her better too.
3
Congratulations and well done!
4
I am so jealous.
3
Thank you and your daughter, Mr. Kristof, for this beautiful, reflective piece on America’s precious natural majesty and what many gifts it provides us. Perhaps you can send a copy to the present Secretary of the Interior for his consideration, if only for a brief moment. For the rest of us, it is a strong reminder why these remote areas of grandeur must be well-protected, in perpetuity.
14
Thirty years ago I went on an extended camping trip in Glacier National Park. It was the best vacation I ever had. I was a city girl and learned a lot about the wilderness and myself. We must protect these national treasures for future generations.
4
@John Grillo
No! We don't want to remind him of what we have - he'll want to exploit it even more.
Having a sense of adventure and to be absorbed by the challenges of the wilderness is wonderful! During my long distance hikes I learned that optimism is the fuel that keeps us going along the trail or with anything we choose to do with our lives. Well done, Mr. Kristof! And you will not regret hiking the CDT!
- Greg In Wild
4
SWEET!!!! :):):)
3
Great sentiments.
Congratulations!
4
A wonderful story! Politicians come and go and the natural world evolves - no matter what we throw at it. I am no longer glued - I am informed, horrified, cynical, and saddened that elected officials see that everything from justice to liberty has a price. Loyalty is despised and abuse is rampant in the halls of power. I hope that your daughter’s generation will be better.
4
Congratulations on your accomplishment! And what better year to complete your journey than this—the 50th anniversary of our National Trails System Act, which officially designated the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails as our first two National Scenic Trails. The PCT is an extraordinary wilderness experience—and you don't need to hike 2,650 miles to appreciate it. Over 25 million people live within an hour's drive of the PCT, and many of those enjoy dayhikes and weekend trips on the trail. Little-known fact: roughly 10% of the PCT is still located on privately-owned property (sometimes with only a narrow easement allowing passage of hikers), and still at risk of being impacted by development. The Pacific Crest Trail Association is working to close that gap—and continues to manage an army of volunteers who protect, preserve, and promote the trail. Give them your support!
66
Great Photos! If you live near Seattle, the alpine lakes area is a great place to hike. You start at the campground at the RR tunnel on highway 2, up to Surprise Lake and then loop back around stopping at Josephine Lake, and then back to Stevens Pass on the PCT. Hitchhike or bus service back down to where you started. 2 days with camping.
6
Fathers and daughters have all kinds of relationships. I have backpacked 100 miles. She has backpacked 200. My marathon PR is 3:20. Hers is 3:27. She owns the wide open spaces. I own 26.2.
2
Once again, Kristoff has visited the sin of envy on us all.
136
Headed to Yosemite this weekend for a backpack trip. Thank you for the inspiring words and pictures!
1
What a beautiful homage to our public lands and the experiences we have on them. I fear that slowly our connection to the importance of these lands and their retreat/return dichotomy will disappear. Let us hope that public lands, their beauty, and the mental clarify we receive from them will always be valued above and beyond any utilitarian use. For now, I will run/hike/climb as far and as deep as I can into these wilderness areas before they disappear.
3
All horrible and ugly places - dangerous too. Nothing redeeming, no minerals, no resources worth paying money for.
I do recall a hunger-shortened hiking trip through over the middle sister almost 40 years ago - apparently no fish in the lake. Truly worthless place. Stay home - please.
15
Fantastic, I'm in awe of both of you, well done.
Why is your daughter's backpack much larger than yours?
7
@PaulDirac Nick is an ultralight backpacker, so I'm guessing its because his daughter wanted more accoutrement's :)
2
30 years of mostly solo backpacking from 1960 to 1991.
Thanks or the article. It really brought back memories. The smell of cedars and pines, The crisp mountain air, drinking the cold cristal water from streams, the untried for meditational state of one foot after another, braving a stream or a mountain, the feeling of the grandure(sp?)looking at the scene from a high place, the feeling of accomplishment when the walk is done, finding the Colin Fletcher type bed site on the edge of a shelf of rock facing southeast, staying in the smoke of a small fire to ward off the mosquitos, having the best meal of your life of rye bread dipped in tea on a mountain top after a monumental day of hiking, Bear foot prints in the snow that show you have been followed, enjoying top ramen for dinner ...... OK OK this is getting boring so Im done.
8
Great to hear about these dad and daughter adventures. If you have time, check out the Small Town Pops podcast broadcast by two young dads in New Mexico. In episodes three and four they talk about backpacking adventures. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/small-town-pops/id1391800027?mt=2&am...
Missed you by a few hours in the Castle Crags Wilderness this summer! Amazing place. Congrats!
1
Congratulations to you and your daughter on your accomplishment; achieving that goal took years of resolve!
And thank you for your lessons from the trail - for those of us who aren't likely to ever hike 2650 miles.
8
What a very uplifting column! I am hoping to begin a similar challenge on the PCT with my grandson in 2019. I appreciate so much you sharing this with us all these years.....especially those mountaintop handstands. What an extraordinary young lady. And the Dad, well, he's ok too. Thanks again!
55
How much money did this cost?
3
You can claim that your hikes got you out beyond Trump but his environmental policies will make it far less likely that your grandchildren (and you if you live long enough) will
Be able to enjoy and experience such a hike in the future. The beast in the White House is on the trail nearby whether you realize it or not.
20
you da man, nick....hats off and three cheers...(and I admit to being green with envy...so glad someone is doing this)....your daughter's life has been enriched...thoroughly enriched...with so many memories. What more could a parent give?
18
The whole Pacific Crest Trail. Wow! That's an amazing accomplishment.
My wife and I took three summers (three trips) to walk 500 miles across Northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago. We are both in our sixties and were pretty uncertain about our ability to do it. But we did it, one step at a time.
It was one of the great experiences of my life. There were some hardships, but mostly it was just wonderful.
I should add that the Camino takes you in and out of towns and cities, so it is fundamentally different from the Pacific Crest. But you do cross mountain ranges, and most of the time you are walking through the country.
17
You must be a wonderful father. Congratulations to both of you.
33
Thank you. You are one of my heroes both for your insights and your love of nature and backpacking.
7
Awesome column.
Sometimes we need to unplug from all the drama and focus on what we can control: how we spend the precious minutes we have on this planet.
I can't believe there are many better ways than sharing an adventure outdoors with family.
25
I back packed and canoed with both my daughters--what a wonderful experience. Just go back from 6 days and 5 nights canoeing with my sister in Quetico--I like your column regularly and love these ones!
3
Great article. Thank you for sharing.
I plan to do the Oregon part of the trail with my son in 2019 when he will turn 13.
3
I'm much too attached to indoor plumbing to do what you've done, but am truly impressed by what you have accomplished. And what an awesome Dad you are! I've done pieces of the Appalachian Trail. Please consider it for your next hike. We have bears here in the east too! Many are jaded suburbanites.
6
Great article Nick, fantastic adventure and well-written reminder on what is out there to be enjoyed.
3
Utterly inspiring piece. My daughter and I did long distance canoe trips in similar vein - now that I am 70 and she approaches 45 we have very special memories as you will have.
8
---Congrat's Nick, on the completion of...this phase of your trip! What an incredible way to share natures wonders with family. Backpacking, particularly on an extended trip such as this one, often involves many highs, and sometimes more than a few lows- all of which are part of the experience and combine to add to the overall enrichment- sometimes best appreciated upon completion. For some of us, there is little in life that provides as much satisfaction, peace, fulfillment, as being self-contained and self-propelled, surviving and thriving in nature, covering significant ground daily with everything you need to survive on your back. It certainly can provide a re-charge, of sorts, and, at its best, euphoria. Along with degrees of pain, discomfort and fatigue that are not usually experienced out there in the other world of daily life. Serious character building stuff.
5
...Nick...Regarding your choice of destination for next Summer's adventure? I've only done segments of the trail in northern and central Ca., but having done numerous trips to the many high mountain valleys and peaks and lakes that are off-the-trail in the High Sierra of central Ca. ...You simply can't beat the Muir Wilderness and adjoining National Parks and Forest lands...Some of the most amazingly beautiful, rugged, yet hospitable back-country anywhere...once one gets there. My preferred way to experience the high country is to hike with full pack for 2-3 days, then make a base camp, and spend several days being a high country tourist, hiking with a day pack, climbing peaks, fly-fishing, being awed at the majesty of our natural world.
Thank you for sharing, hope to read more about your hiking adventures!
6
Thank you for the wonderful pictures of your daughter. Her exuberance shines through! I wish every child had an engaged and loving father like you.
45
Mr. Kristof you are a fortunate man to have shared such precious time with your daughter in such a rich fashion. Kudos to you and to your daughter who now has memories that will last her a lifetime and beyond. Thank you for sharing the Wonder.
35
Congratulations! Backpacking in the U.S. is an amazing experience. I'll never forget setting out on the Haute route, from Chamonix to Zermatt, fully equipped, food, tent, water filter, stove etc., only to find people whizzing by me with almost nothing. I was pitying them thinking they are going to be really in trouble only to find them lounging in an Alpine hotel at the end of each stage. While the route was beautiful it lacked that true escape you can achieve in so many National forests, parks, monuments in the U.S.
13
Congratulations. Yes, when you get outdoors like you did, and can do it with your children, then indeed all is well with the world.
5
EXCELLENT!!
4
"The lessons we learn from the wild become the etiquette of freedom." Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild, "The Etiquette of Freedom"
16
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
- Albert Einstein
“The mountains are calling and I must go.”
- John Muir
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of autumn.”
- John Muir
“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”
- Gary Snyder
“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.”
- E. B. White
“I am pessimistic about the human race because it is too ingenious for its own good. Our approach to nature is to beat it into submission. We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated ourselves to this planet and viewed it appreciatively, instead of skeptically and dictatorially.”
- E.B. White
Cherish Mother Earth and all of her many life forms.
184
Talk of mysteries! — Think of our life in nature, — daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! The solid earth! the actual world! the common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? where are we?
Thoreau, Maine Woods
4
Bravo! And congratulations for passing the gift on. Last Fall my daughter stood on the same spot of Half Dome where I had been 50 years before. I had tears of gratitude and pride.
45
In the past seven years my wife and I have hiked 3400 miles. 90% of that hiking has been off-trail in public lands.
Our belief is that many Americans don't really understand that they collectively own vast regions of our country, and that they can go and use these areas for recreational purposes.
They are a treasure, just as Mr. Kristof, and his daughter, have found.
We must protect them.
p.s. we write a blog about our travels. For 5 months of the year we live in the bed of our pickup, camped in these areas. Our blog also has a bunch of other stuff about our lives, but if you sift through it you can see what we mean about what we all own. What citizens of other countries own what we do?
We MUST protect our jointly owned lands. If you live in, say, New Jersey, come out and see what you own!
http://livinginthebedofapickup.blogspot.com/2017/11/hiking-to-ancient-ru...
55
wonderful,,, Me, my children and grandchildren experience the mountains and coasts with exactly the same perspective and sense of awe and relief.
3
Truly inspiring. Congratulations to you both. Wonderful to receive this news on the start of a long weekend, which offers every opportunity to get out and explore.
1
Do it while you can Nicholas.At 82 I can no longer do it but you give me much joy in following your adventures.Your beautiful family reminds me of the one that occupied the White House prior to what we have now.
54
The Tetons that's what you need to do next. I would also recommend Glacier but I have to say there seem to be a lot of grizzlies but that does not seem to bother you. Bear bells seem to be helpful.
1
@Susan Roberts there is a joke in grizzly country...... Black bear poop is smaller and contains a lot of berry seeds and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear poop has little bells in it and smells like pepper spray!
Thank you for sharing this journey with your readers.
What amazing memories you & your daughter made while blazing trails.
5
I have enjoyed following your reports on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I think you need to do the Appalachian Trail next. Get to know the North East. Thank you for taking us along on a journey where most of us will never be able to go.
4
Bravo! Congratulations to you both, not only for hiking the PCT but doing it with your daughter. That is something to treasure for the rest of your lives.
A welcome bit of sanity in a seemingly insane world...until you stop reading and listening to the news and then you realize that ordinary people can and do live extraordinary lives. Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail is one of those achievements that make life meaningful and a celebration.
4
Wonderful column and photos. Reminds me that my wife and I have not gone out in too many years. We are more car campers, now, wandering the western landscape without special aim, than true off-the-grid backpackers. But one can still get that glorious feeling of being out, disconnected from the buzzing noise of the man-made and the hive-mind of mass communication. Of course, talking about it works against our narrow self-interest. That stunning patrimony is all the better the fewer people with the good sense to enjoy it. But I come down on the side of sharing, anyway.
3
You stories from the trail have always been entertaining and I have looked forward to them. I love your reference to 'our,' wilderness. Thanks for sharing.
3
Thanks for this, inspires me to try this with my son. He's only 4 so we have some time to prepare.
8
You both look so happy, and appreciative of the absolute GLORY of the scenery and experience. Your daughter will remember this her entire life, as one of her greatest, BEST times.
Congratulations.
20
Congratulations! I took my daughters backpacking. The memories are fabulous; our determination and bodies grew stronger. Please continue the publishing your annual hikes.
9
We just returned from our first trip to Oregon which, in fact, was inspired by your backpacking columns. We visited Multnomah Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Crown Point, Portland, Proposal Rock, Neskowin, Astoria, Cannon Beach, Ecola State Park, Hug Point and we even crossed the bridge into Washington. Thanks for your wonderful columns every year about the PCT. Maybe someday we'll be brave enough to hike a portion of it ourselves.
5
What a wonderful adventure you shared with your daughter, and thank you for sharing your thoughts about it with the rest of us. Wilderness is full of amazing experiences and you mentioned a few of them. One which always astonishes me is the night sky. Striped of everyday light pollution, the stars seem to pop out of the darkness, the constellations are easy to spot, and the moon can resemble a spot light. I hope you continue to share these adventures in your column.
16
Great read and marvelous experience for your daughter and you. It doesn’t have to end there! The Appalachian Trail awaits you! It’s about 500 miles shorter but it’s also breathtaking!! Have at it!
29
When my son was very young, I would take him on weekend car camping trips with tent and camp stove. I think it was some of the best time we spent together. He never lost the enthusiasm. I think it important to spend time in nature with your kids.
I realize that my own enthusiasm as a kid was going camping with friends in VT in state parks. We didn't need the internet or TV; we entertained ourselves.
We have lost that.
5
Family is a beautiful thing. Much respect to Mr. Kristof for being one of those parents that shows their kid how majestic nature truly is.
57
I spent 10 years living in the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada, then in central Oregon and later in the small Bavarian town of Leavenworth in Washington state which sits are the toenails of the magnificent Cascade mountain range. Over the 18+ years I was so fortunate to live in these beautiful areas I regularly hiked portions of the PCH, in all times of the year and all kinds of weather, including deep snow! Hiking is what I did every weekend and in all my free time. Lovely, rugged, challenging. The best!
26
A lovely refreshing story.
I find it so interesting that Teddy Roosevelt, an amazingly accomplished man in any light, is referenced in today's paper in two so different ways: As a great outdoorsman and conservationist, and in another article, as a clear racist. Both are true, and yet could so complex a man exist in today's world?
121
@Sera they do. they just aren't running for office.
2
You gotta love Nick Kristoff (and his incredibly athletic daughter) even in some cases, like this one, you can’t understand him.
1
We're very blessed here in Oregon to be surrounded by such undeveloped wilderness. We tend to take it for granted. Thanks for the reminder that family and nature will always keep us grounded regardless of what is happening around us. Your daughter will look back on these memories of quality dad time for the rest of her life.
37
What a lucky daughter, what a lucky dad. Brings memories of my own backpack trips and reminds me that I (and my family) need to get back out there!
68
But more likely, next year we’ll take our entire family back to some of our favorite segments of the Pacific Crest Trail, like Goat Rocks in Washington, Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon or the John Muir Trail in the California Sierras.
That's if Trump and Zinke haven't sold them off for strip mining, oil exploration or to pay down the debt. I wish I was joking.
174
@Gazbo Fernandez definitely one of the next steps as they bankrupt the commons and dispose of democracy.
1
How wonderful for you and your daughter. My son is coming to the end of a two year journey across a South America. He made some wonderful friends hiking from one town to the next. I told him that I’d love to do some extended hikes with him once he’s back in the States.
12
Wonderful! What a treasury of memories between you two!
Nature does offer perspective - and it doesn't have to be such a monumental undertaking - but a monumental setting helps reframe life a bit.
11
Wonderfully inspiring, awesome. What a great dad; you have your priorities straight ! This kind of adventure should weave itself into our culture as parents, building bonds and experiences that enrich our souls. Natural wonder does cloak our lives in splendor and helps us forget the petty stuff that tends to engross us. You are awesome!
91