Pat Harrison, President, Hike Canada en Marche
Pat has served as President of Hike Canada en Marche since 2006. Pat is
dedicated to long distance trails. He has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Canada
to Oregon.
Pat grew up in Montana hiking many of the trails in Western Montana. He
attended the University of Montana twice. He graduated from the UofM in 1967
with a degree in Zoology. While attending Graduate School in the 1970s, he
proposed a wilderness area north of Missoula (1972). He formed the not-for-
profit Friends of the Rattlesnake Valley (FOR) to promote this concept. The
Rattlesnake National Wilderness Area was signed into legislation by President
Carter in 1980.
After serving in the U.S. Army (1967 – 1970), he was hired as a U.S. Park Ranger in
Mount Rainier and North Cascade National Parks. Pat has climbed every Cascade
peak in Washington State.
After graduating from the UofM in 1975 with a graduate degree in Botany
(mycology), he was hired at UBC as an instructor. He remained at UBC from 1975
till 1996. In 1996, he became the President and Executive Director of the
Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC. It was during that period, that Hike Canada
en Marche approached the FMCBC to tackle the task of finding and developing
the National Hiking Trail in BC. As an avid long-distance hiker, he jumped at the
chance to be involved in this project. It was decided that a dedicated club would
be best, so in 2000 Hike BC was founded. Hike BC continues to promote the
National Hiking Trail in BC. Hike BC continues to be a member club of the FMCBC
(40+ hiking clubs in BC).

Pat is currently an instructor in the Biology Department at the University of the
Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C.