One of the more interesting things to observe along the PCT is the variety [and variation] of trail signs as one moves through the many diverse sections of the trail. These signs provide all types of information to hikers and the style of the signs seem to reflect the area and part of the country they reside in.

PCT Emblems

The ubiquitous trail sign from the hike was the PCT national scenic trail emblem – A white shield with three snow-capped mountains on a blue background. There is an evergreen tree in the middle of the mountains and the words – Pacific Crest Trail and National Scenic Trail rim the outside on the white border. It’s a beautiful trail emblem and I usually took photos of the emblem when I encountered it on the trail.

Below is a collage of various PCT trail emblems seen along the journey.

PCT Emblems in California

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PCT emblems in Oregon

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PCT emblems in Washington

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Mileage Markers

People have created markers along the PCT to denote some of the significant mileage points. It was always fun to happen upon one of these signs because it meant I was making significant progress on the trail. These markers, made from whatever hikers could find along the trail, were shaped into the numerals of major milestones such as every 100 miles (as measured from the southern terminus of the trail).

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Trail Blazes

Have you ever heard of a trail blazer? Probably so. The term initially referred to people who set out into a new area or wilderness and created a path through that wilderness which others then followed. So a trail blaze is quite literally the markers that such trail blazers left along the trail so others could later follow. Early on, these blazes were carvings in trees, and then they later became signs either along the trail or affixed to trees on the trail. I saw a multitude of different PCT trail blazes on the trek including [old] carvings in trees as well as symbols and emblems nailed into trees.

The original PCT trail blazes were carvings on trees referred to as candlesticks. They got this name because their upside-down exclamation mark shape resembled that of a candlestick. The U.S. Forest service used this as a standard blaze symbol beginning in the 1930s and according to the USFS trail manual from the time, the symbol was supposed to be an 8″ rectangle topped with a 2″ rectangle. I only saw these carvings in certain areas where the trail went through forests. While there weren’t many remaining, they seemed to have been marked every couple of hundred yards to give a hiker confidence that he or she was still on the trail.

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At a certain point, trail management agencies transitioned to using PCT trail emblems affixed to trees to mark the trail. I saw some of the older trail emblems in some remote parts of Oregon and Washington. This original emblem was a white diamond with green border, green evergreen tree in the middle and Pacific Crest Trail System written along the sides.

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Most of the trail blazes were the current PCT shield emblem.

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There were some sections where the blazes were either white or blue diamond shapes affixed to trees.

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National Wilderness Signs

I also took a bunch of photos of National Wilderness and National Forest signs along the way. There seems to be a standard shape to the Wilderness signs and I enjoyed seeing the varying settings that these signs were located in.

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Random, Interesting or Funny Signs

I did see some interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes weird signs along the way and I thought this was the perfect place to put some of those photos.

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