Lone ‘Wolfe’ Hiking the PCT

By GABRIELLA BOCK | Reporter

On May 27, 65-year-old Palisadian Jim Wolfe waved goodbye to his son at the Southern Terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail and started walking northbound.

And with 2,650 miles of trail stretched out ahead of him, Wolfe hasn’t stopped walking since.

Designated a National Scenic Trail in 1968, the PCT stretches from Campo, California, at the border of Mexico, all the way up to the towering mountains of British Columbia.

The trail is home to dangerous critters like rattlesnakes and grizzly bears. It creeps through desert terrain and traverses over jagged cliffs blanketed by summer snowfalls.

At its best, the PCT is a child’s adventure in “The Enchanted Forest.” At its worst, the trail is a desolate place of never-ending isolation and extremities.

But such cautions were brushed aside and, three months later, Wolfe is now some 9,000 feet high up in the western slopes of the Sierra Nevadas having just celebrated the 1,000-mile mark.

For those who have indulged in Cheryl Strayed’s memoir “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” or have seen the 2014 Oscar-nominated adaptation starring former Palisadian Reese Witherspoon, Wolfe has just passed the area of the trail that played home to Strayed’s iconic boot scene.

Wolfe’s son, Kris, told the Palisadian-Post that his father’s latest adventure is his “greatest one yet,” and that while it can be, at times, nerve-wracking to go days without word, he knows that his father is well-suited for the challenge.

“People ask me all the time if I worry about him going all that way alone,” he revealed. “But I don’t—my father is a true ‘survivor man.’ He feels the most at home while on the trail.”

A graphic artist by profession, Wolfe has a long history of outdoorsmanship, stemming all the way back to 1965 when he was featured in the Post as a young boy scout who was preparing for his first 22-mile trek in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.

As an adult, Wolfe has spent decades running marathons, hiking through the Mojave Desert and volunteering to clear trails in the Angeles National Forests—and that’s how he spends his days off.

But for now, it’ll be all days “on,” as Wolfe makes his way out of the high Sierras and into the snow-clad peaks of the Cascade Mountain Range.

With 60 days still left to go, be sure to check back in with the Post as we continue to follow Wolfe’s incredible journey.