Washington Camping Shorts
Description: Native Americans were the first inhabitants of Winthrop, living along the banks of the Methow, Twisp, and Chewuch rivers. The first white men to visit the valley were trappers in the 19th century. In the spring of 1868, placer gold was discovered and the lure of gold brought the first permanent white settlers, three of whom were James Ramsey, Ben Pearrygin, and Guy Waring. Waring stopped at the forks of the Chewuch and Methow rivers in 1891. His family settled into the "Castle" (now the Shafer Museum). Although Waring is the acclaimed founding father, the town is named after Theodore Winthrop, an adventure traveler, and gifted 19th-century author. The town was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1893 and was officially incorporated in 1924.
Description: The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie 100 to 150 miles east of the U.S. Pacific coast. The trail's southern terminus is next to the Mexico–United States border, just south of Campo, California, and its northern terminus is on the Canada–US border, upon which it continues unofficially to the Windy Joe Trail within Manning Park in British Columbia; it passes through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. The PCT was conceived in 1932, and received official status under the National Trails System Act of 1968.
