Pacific Crest Trail Days

PCT DAYS celebrates and promotes hiking, camping, backpacking and outdoor stewardship and offers a bit of something for everyone, whether you are an outdoor enthusiast or new to outdoor recreation.  Over 100 exhibiting sponsors will be offering the latest outdoor products at the Gear Expo and Marketplace.  Attendees can participate in activities, games, presentations, gear raffles, and meet with old and new friends in an amazing setting.  

Vendors will be offering great food, coffee, beer and non-alcoholic beverages.  No drone cameras, dogs, glass or alcohol may be brought to the festival and no smoking of any kind is allowed in the fenced in area.  Daily attendance is free, with a suggested donation of a non-perishable food item or monetary contribution to the Columbia Gorge Food Bank.  Camping is available on Thunder Island for a fee.

Schedule Of Events

8:30 am:  PCT DAYS Day 2 Opens!  Please wait until 8:30 am to start visiting sponsor booths so they have time to have breakfast, and get ready for an awesome day.  Hundreds of products will be on display and sponsors will be offering great deals at the Gear Demo and Marketplace!  Don’t miss the great lineup of booth activities, presentations the raffle and live music!

9 am - 5 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by the Cascade Locks Tourism Committee: Spin to Win.  Visit the Cascade Locks Tourism Committee booth and Spin-to-Win on our Schwinn Bike wheel-of-fortune. Everyone is a winner! Come chat with committee members and learn more about all the great things to see and do in Cascade Locks, the heart of the gorge.

9 - 10 am:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Friends of the Owyhee - Exploring the Owyhee Canyonlands: Conservation and Recreation Unveiled"Description:   Dive into the captivating world of the Owyhee Canyonlands with Tim Davis, the esteemed Founder and Executive Director of Friends of the Owyhee, nestled in the heart of Malheur County, Oregon. In this engaging presentation, Tim will illuminate the ongoing conservation endeavors shaping the Owyhee Canyonlands while unraveling the vast recreational possibilities this breathtaking landscape offers. Discover how conservation and outdoor recreation seamlessly intertwine, providing a harmonious balance between preserving natural wonders and facilitating immersive outdoor experiences. Whether you’re a seasoned conservationist, an avid outdoor enthusiast, or simply curious about the remarkable synergy between conservation and recreation, this presentation promises to inspire, educate, and leave you with a newfound appreciation for the Owyhee Canyonlands and its enduring legacy. Join us on this enlightening journey as we unlock the secrets of one of Oregon’s most treasured landscapes.

10:30 - 11 am:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Altra:  Build-Your-Own GORP and Legends of Lone Peak.  Trail snacks have come a long way, but it’s still hard to beat Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts.  Come by the Altra booth to assemble a sampling of your own GORP from an array of tasty trail mix treats.  We also want to hear about all the adventures you’ve gotten into in your trusty pair of Altras!  Stop by with an appetite and your best trail stories for a chance to be featured in an upcoming content series from Altra.

10:30 - 11:30 am:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Renee "She-ra" Patrick:  Life Beyond the PCT - Strategies for a Successful Transition.  Join Intentional Hiking and past PCT thru-hikers to discuss navigating from trail life to the day-to-day realities of life off-trail. Come with your questions and concerns, hopes and fears, and discuss how the hiking community can help support you during this time. Come for the conversation, stay for the snacks and gear giveaways.

11:30 am - 12 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Six Moon Designs:  Nita Larronde Memorial Pie Eating Contest.  Let’s put that legendary hiker hunger to the test and see who comes out on top at the SMD booth.  2 contests will be held, one for 2024 thru-hikers and one for the kids who came to PCT Days.  Like getting a permit to hike the PCT, 12 participants per challenge will be drawn via a lottery and then face off for a winner-take-all pie-eating contest.  1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes per challenge.

12 - 1 pm:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Liz "Snorkel" Thomas:  Take your PCT hike from Dream to Reality.  Dreaming of hiking the PCT, JMT, or another distance trail and aren’t sure where to start?  In this approachable take on distance hiking, celebrated thru-hiker Liz Thomas will share stories from her book, the National Outdoor Book Award winning Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike.  With real-life stories from dozens of trails including the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails, Liz showcases expert tips by experienced hikers from a variety of ages, abilities, and backgrounds.  Part-story-telling, part how-to, this talk includes topics such as: gear, fitness, safety, nutrition, staying in good graces with family and friends on-and-off trail, and finding the time and money to hike for weeks or months.  Attendees are invited for a QandA afterward as well as a book signing with the author.

12:30 - 1pm: Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Sawyer - Sawyer Spin on Rock, Paper Scissors.  Gather at the Sawyer booth as we bring back this classic game, with a twist: your weapons of choice are a filter, a human, or giardia.  In our game, filter beats giardia, human beats filter, and (as you can guess) giardia beats human.  If you make it past the 2nd round you’ll earn some sweet Sawyer Swag, and ice cream sandwiches will be provided once the ruckus concludes.

1:30 - 2 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Gossamer Gear:  FKT - Race to Pitch a Tent. How fast can you set up The One Ultralight Shelter?  We’ll throw in some extra obstacles to make sure this is challenging enough for all of you ultralight nerds.  The winner will walk away with a brand new The One and a pair of LT5 Trekking Poles.  Swing by our booth to cheer on your fellow hikers and chat with the GG crew.

1:30 - 2:30 pm:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Headline Sponsor Pacific Crest Trail Association:  PCT Stewardship with PCTA.  Come learn about the PCTA - our work, partnerships, how we’re adapting to a changing future, and how you can help.  Hear about local stewardship and how the volunteers in your community are maintaining the Pacific Crest Trail for all to enjoy.  Presented by PCTA’s Central Cascades Regional Representative Jeanine Russell.

2 - 2:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Outdoor Research:  Blaze your trail to the prize wheel.  Sink a putt at the OR Disc Golf Course and win a chance to win some sweet Outdoor Research gear from the wheel of destiny.  We have a portable disc golf hole setup somewhere near our booth, participants get a few throws to sink it. If they do, they spin the wheel at our booth to win OR gear.

2:30 - 3:30 pm: Title Sponsor Activity by Next Adventure at the Stage:  The Next Adventure Watermelon Challenge.  Here’s how it works:  10 hikers and 10 vendors will face off against each other!  The first person to finish their watermelon will win the grand prize.  The second person to finish (from the other team) will win the runner-up prize.  But there’s a twist… Hikers and vendors will not just have to eat the watermelon; they will have to open it themselves with an object of Next Adventure’s choice.

3 - 4 pm:  Presentation in the Pavilion by Trail Keepers of Oregon:  The Power of Community on Trails.  Did you know that almost all of our hiking trails were built more than 80 years ago, and that they are almost all cared for by volunteers? Join TKO to learn about the power of communities to grow and improve trail systems and how you can get involved.

3 - 3:30 pm:  Headline Sponsor Featured Activity by Big Agnes:  Spin to Win.  Stop by the Big Agnes booth to try your luck at spinning our wheel of infinity who knows maybe you can win one of our big prizes. In the end everyone is a winner so maybe you just walk away with a koozie to keep your drink cold.  You’ll need to sign up for a chance at the wheel so be one of the first 50 and you’re in!  Good Luck!

3:30 - 4:30 pm:  Title Sponsor Activity by Ford Bronco:  Built Wild Presentation at the Stage.  Join the Bronco Ambassadors and dive deep into the Bronco Ecosystem, explore gear essentials, off-roading tips, get the scoop on upcoming Bronco events and experience a live Overlanding installation.  Plus, a chance to win exclusive Bronco swag.  This isn’t just a presentation—it’s an adventure waiting to happen!

5:30 - 6:30 pm:  PCT DAYS Raffle #2 at the Stage.  There will be a LOT of great products to win and lot’s of laughs as Scott "Squatch" Herriott and the PCT DAYS staff will MC the activity. Raffle tickets are $2.00 each and will be available for sale on Friday and Saturday at the Info Booth area.  You must be present to win or have someone present with your tickets.  Raffle proceeds are donated to the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West, the Pacific Crest Trail Association and Trail Keepers of Oregon.  If you didn’t win on Friday, your ticket is still good for the raffle on Saturday!

8 - 9:30 pm:  Live Music on the Stage - Scott Pemberton:  Scott Pemberton’s sound is much like the vibe of his native Portland:  freaky, fun and just the right amount of weird. The best way to categorize his music is with the moniker "Timber Rock".  The deep jazz, NW rock/grunge, blues roots and the west coast funk. The mastery of his guitar playing combined with the fun recklessness of his songwriting show that the rules of songwriting and playing the guitar no longer exist for him. Scott plays with the uninhibited joy and intensity of someone who recognizes that every time we make music is an honor and a gift:

10 pm:  Everyone except for sponsors, vendors, and staff must vacate the fenced in / main festival area.