A thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail can easily cost more than $10,000 once you factor in gear, resupply towns, and six months away from work. That price tag is exactly what one Seattle attorney is trying to erase for a new generation of hikers.
The Pacific Crest Trail Grant, launched in 2025 by Geoff Burg alongside Washington hikers Keya Gillenwater and Madelyn Scherrer, hands $5,000 to one Washington-based backpacker each year. The idea came from a 2016 trailhead encounter near Stevens Pass, when Burg rescued two thru-hikers in their 60s who needed medical supplies, put them up at his house, and got hooked on their ultralight philosophy. He spent years section-hiking the Washington PCT before deciding the hiking world deserved its own scholarships — the kind routinely handed out for football and baseball.
The rules are refreshingly simple. Applicants must be 18 to 33, have strong ties to Washington state, and show some past backpacking experience. Selection is by lottery, not a merit contest, though recipients who want funding need to stay in touch with the committee during their hike and pay the experience forward through things like youth outreach or Leave No Trace education. Burg's stated goal is to reach people who already love the trail but simply can't afford half a year on it.
The model has already proved itself. Kayla Provost, a 32-year-old Seattleite and former naturalist guide, took the inaugural grant and finished her thru-hike in September 2026. She found the program through a Reddit post after searching for thru-hiking grants, and describes the money as a lifeline — with the monthly check-ins giving her both accountability and a cheering section. She finished the trail after losing her mother a few years earlier, and says the hike left her with a deeper confidence and a sharper desire to get other people outdoors.
The grant's second round is now open. Washingtonians who fit the criteria can apply through January 31, and Burg is fundraising to grow the pot into a self-sustaining fund covering more hikers and, eventually, more trails. If you've been pricing out a PCT permit and wincing, this is one of the few no-strings-ish ways to close the gap — and if you don't qualify, the program is a reminder that the thru-hiking community increasingly treats access, not just mileage, as the real challenge.
