Since 2015, my hiker oasis along the Pacific Crest Trail 145.4 miles north of the Southern Terminus at the Mexican Border has included a hiker register or some other means for hikers (and, the occasional equestrian) to share their thoughts. Most visitors are thru hikers passing by each spring, but my oasis also receives visitors doing section hikes or even long day hikes.

I re-theme the oasis each year on January 1, and the register often takes on elements of the theme and includes a prompt that hikers are asked to respond to. (As a former college professor, I view the hiker register as a way to get hikers to be more reflective about why they are out here.) Most respond to the prompt, but some simply note their passing with a (trail) name and date, which is fine, too.

Most of the posts on this site are dated photos taken of the pages in the hiker register. The submenu under “Notes from PCT Hikers” allows website visitors to scroll the pages of these hiker registers by year.