Pacific Crest Trail stories, April 9

An Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation (OPRD) Ranger will give two presentations in April about her 2012 journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, on April 9 in Cascade Locks and April 21 in Hillsboro. Dorothy Brown-Kwaiser, 36, of Estacada, is an interpretive park ranger for more than 20 state parks along the Columbia River Gorge. She took leave from work to complete the five month, 2,669-mile trek from Mexico to Canada. The talk, titled “The Good, the Bad and the Unforgettable: Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail,” will recount the glamour, the guts and the tears–from Brown-Kwaiser’s first steps at the Mexican border to her final hobbles just past the Canadian border. OPRD partnered with Friends of the Columbia Gorge, the Pacific Crest Trail Association and REI for the series, scheduled as follows: * April 9, 6:30 p.m. — Port of Cascade Locks, 515 NW Portage Rd.; * April 21, 6:30 p.m. – Hillsboro REI, 2235 NW Allie Ave. Registration required; go to www.rei.com/event/63820/session/106595.