“Wild” Debates On The PCT (Part One): Furniture

The Pacific Crest Trail is a National Scenic Trail that stretches approximately 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada through California, the State of Jefferson, Oregon, and Washington.  In the recent past, every year saw a couple of hundred “thru-hikers” attempt to hike the entire trail in one hiking season.  But due to the recent success of the book and movie “Wild,” many hikers have expressed fears that the trail will become overcrowded with Oprah Winfrey fans wearing enormous backpacks and ill-fitting boots with red shoelaces.

And while the sheer number of potential hikers is itself a concern for a group that prizes solitude in nature (when not blogging in nature or watching Breaking Bad on a smartphone in nature), it is the impact of so many people that has so many other completely different people concerned.

Sugarpine and Lingo trade the certainty of hard ground
for the possibility of bedbugs.

This three part series will examine a number of concerns being debated in the hiking community.  And while it may not alleviate any concerns or resolve any issues, it will at least provide something to do until hiking season starts.  Because none of us is as nuts as Justin “Trauma” Lichter and Shawn “Pepper” Forry. 


The Comforts Of Home: Too Much Furniture

The 2014 hiking season saw a dramatic rise not only in the number of hikers on the PCT, but also in the number of hikers apparently carrying large pieces of furniture.

“There was a couch at Scissors Crossing, and another one outside of Big Bear,” said Renee “SheRa” Patrick, “I can only imagine that they were carried there by hikers and abandoned when they realized that couches are too heavy for a thru-hike.  I mean, a section hike, sure.  Maybe somewhere in Oregon.  But in the desert?  It’s crazy.”


But not crazy to some people.  “People have been carrying ottomans on the PCT for years,” notes Lint Bunting, “and everyone celebrated Anish carrying a Summit II Barcalounger on her record-setting speed hike just a few years ago.  Granted, hikers shouldn’t have left the couches out there, but I think that’s an LNT issue that can be overcome with a little bit of education.  And possibly lighter couches.  Maybe a day bed.  Something like that.”

In 2008 these hikers famously carried a picnic table
the length of California and Oregon, finally abandoning
it near the Eagle Creek Trail.

Others aren’t so sure.  “Maybe this is the sort of thing that’s okay for the Appalachian Trail, with their nightstands with whisper-close drawer slides and sleigh beds with smoked oak finishes and classic revival style hardware features, but the PCT is supposed to be more of a wilderness experience,” says Kolby “Condor” Kirk, “I mean, sure.  A gooseneck accent chair is nice in camp at the end of the day.  But where does that lead?  Large groups have been carrying entire living room sets up the AT for years.  Is that what we want?”

Some who have hiked the AT don’t understand the controversy.  “Yeah, furniture, absolutely,” says Chris “AT Bozo” Kounkel, “carrying furniture is part of the social experience.  At the end of a long day you pull up your Adirondack, Papasan, Chaise a bureau, what have you.  Everyone sits around the fire and relaxes.  I carry a Savonarola, which is a folding armchair dating from the Italian renaissance.  Are there hikers who DON’T carry furniture?”

A typical Appalachian Trail Campsite in Vermont

In recent years, AT hikers have switched to lighter furniture.

But while it’s true that almost everyone carries furniture on the AT, it seems the days of the 9-piece Counter Height Storage Dining Table With Lazy Susan And Matching Sideboard With Built-in Wine Rack are a thing of the past.  It’s a trend that not everyone applauds.  According to Karine “Blister Sister” Kelleher, “most hikers today?  They wouldn’t even be willing to carry the Lazy Susan.  Which is more than a little ironic.”



“Living in Pennsylvania, we see a lot of furniture come through,” explains Matt “matthewski” Weinstone, “but it’s not like anyone is carrying Chesterfields or Canopy Beds anymore.  Lots of butterfly chairs.  Director’s chairs.  The occasional Chiavari.  Lightweight furniture is what’s in with today’s thru-hiker.”


Perhaps, then, ridiculously heavy furniture is just a phase that PCT hikers will outgrow, and they will transition, like their AT cousins, to slightly less heavy but equally ridiculous furniture.  Only time will tell, most likely in the form of a Howard Miller Mechanical Chiming Grandfather Clock abandoned somewhere in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. 

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Note: Thank you to the hikers who allowed me to fake quote them for this article.

Photo credits: Chelsea White, Anna Ball, Lint Bunting