Pacific Crest Trail/Pacific Coast Trail

I’m getting a lot of questions about the “Pacific Coast Trail” and why the thing is so darned steep if it just follows the western coastline. Actually, there is no such thing as a “Pacific Coast Trail.” (someone correct me if I’m wrong about this.) I think that people are mixing up two major trails — the Pacific Crest Trail, which never comes close to a beach, and mostly stays up high on the mountainous spine of California, Oregon and Washington, and The California Coastal Trail, a network of public trails that spans the entire California coastline and is now about 50 percent finished. If you want climbs, views, bears, snakes and deserts, do the PCT. If you want beaches, shifting sands and crashing waves, walk the CCT.