Will the PCT's Lionshead wildfire scars affect spring traffic?
It's been a little over one week since the start of the official Pacific Crest Trail hiking season on March 1, and according to Scott Wilkinson of the PCT Alliance, only approximately 75% of the normal number of long-distance permits have gone out.
Jordan Summers
A tranquil day on the Pacific Crest Trail, through the lens of the author of the PCT thru-hiker's "bible, Jordan Summers."
Fire on the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon
Perhaps one of the causes of lower permit numbers: the wildfires that ripped through Oregon last year.
In August 2020, lightning sparked a fire in Lionshead Canyon on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, about 14 miles west of the Warm Springs community. Soon after, while the blaze still raged, a historic windstorm rapidly spread fires west onto the Willamette, Deschutes and Mt. Hood national forests.