Published 5:13 pm Tuesday, July 2, 2024 By Submitted Kelly Wessling carried a 40 pound backpack through mountains, forests and deserts on the Pacific Crest Trail. Provided Most of the trails were well-maintained on the Pacific Crest Trail. Provided Kelly Wessling celebrates atop the monument at the end of the Pacific Crest Trail in Canada Provided By Kim Gooden, for the Tribune It takes a special person to apply for a permit to hike a 2,650-mile trail through deserts, forests and mountains with a 40-pound pack on their back.
Kelly Wessling is one of those special people. Wessling, who grew up in Alden and Albert Lea, took on the challenge of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) which begins at Campo, California, on the U.S.
/Mexico border and ends at the U.S./Canada border.
She noted that the Pacific Crest Trail is not to be mixed up with the Pacific Coast Trail. “It’s the crest because you are not hiking along the coast, you’re zigzagging up and down the mountain ranges throughout California, Oregon and Washington. It’s a lot of elevation to go through and it’s not one straight line.
You’re going up and down through all these valleys and mountain passes as it takes you to Canada,” Wessing said. Wessling’s journey began on April 15, 2022, considered the “golden date” to begin the hike, and ended five months later in September. Prior to beginning the hike, however, there were several things that needed to be done.
First, she had to apply for, and be granted,.
