Employee Wild About PCT

Jeff Johnson, HHSA, has been hiking segments of the PCT for 16 years.

When he’s at work, he’s known as Jeffrey Johnson, senior epidemiologist. But in the hiking world, where everyone gets a trail name, he goes by Compass.

“I’ve always got the map. I know exactly what direction we need to go in,” said the avid hiker whose life goal is to blaze the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, or the “PCT.”

He’s completed a portion of that goal already. Unlike “thru-hikers,” who typically start right at the U.S.-Mexican border and take four to five months to hike continuously up to Canada, Johnson is taking a different approach to the ambitious trek.

“I’ve been at it for 16 years… It’s a life-long goal,” Johnson said of the now-popular trail, thanks to the book and film Wild. “I first wanted to achieve it as fast as I could, but I knew I needed to pace myself and just enjoy the hiking.”

And so that’s what he does. Johnson takes any opportunity he can to complete new segments of the trail. He started at the southernmost end of the trail, in Campo, 16 years ago with a quick, one-mile hike to see how the terrain was. Then, a couple weeks later, he hiked 13 miles and ended at Lake Morena County Park. 

Johnson stands at the PCT entrance in Campo with his son 16 years ago.

Johnson usually drives out to his starting point and has a friend pick him up at the end of his journey and drive him back to his car. But as the segments he’s trekking get further and further away from home, it’s a little trickier finding time to hike and someone to who can go with him to drive him back to his starting point, which is sometimes 50-70 miles away.

“About 5 years into it, I was out by Warner Springs,” Johnson said. “It was harder to get out there and I needed someone to go with me and pick me up.”

The red lines indicate, roughly, the parts of the trail Johnson has trekked.

Still, Johnson said that’s just part of the fun. He’s hiked from Campo on up to Big Bear and parts throughout the Sierra Nevada near Yosemite. The San Diego native said he’s hiked about 350 miles of the PCT so far, sometimes alone, other times with his sons or other hikers on the trail.

The most challenging thing about Johnson’s stretches on the PCT hasn’t been the physical exertion or even the snow he hit in San Jacinto. It’s water – a rare commodity along the desert parts of the trail. 

“There’s a section by Tehachapi that’s really dry and hot. There’s just no water. It’s extreme,” Johnson said. “I work for public health, so it’s especially important I make sure I’m purifying water I get from a stream. So I carry a water filter that removes the bacteria.”

Because he’s not constantly on the trail, the epidemiologist keeps in shape by hiking around town – specifically County parks. 

“I’ve been able to really discover the backcountry of San Diego County,” Johnson said. “Once a year, I do the El Capitan Preserve or Volcan Mountain – they’re pretty aggressive. I love Oak Oasis Preserve – it’s quick and I can do it in about two hours and get some training in.”

Johnson plans to continue his climb up the PCT this year toward the end of April, starting where he left off in Big Bear. It will be a nine-mile journey, uphill the whole way. His other life goal is to climb the highest point in each state. He’s checked off eight of the 50 so far, California included. He plans to reach the highest points in Maryland and Virginia later this year.

“Part of my job here is ‘Live Well San Diego’ – [hiking] has helped me keep in good health, it’s helped keep me mobile and active,” Johnson said. “Keep hiking on.” Johnson keeps in shape by hiking various County trails and parks. Here, he stands on top of Stelzer Peak at Louis Stelzer County Park.

Johnson stops and takes pictures of the wild poppies on the PCT near Warner Springs - one of his favorite parts of the trail so far.

Johnson hit snow on a stretch of the trail near San Jacinto.