Pat Harrison Bio

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.