How to hike and backpack the 400-mile Oregon Coast Trail

Explore Oregon Podcast: The state's most beautiful places and biggest issues

In this edition, Zach interviews Bonnie Henderson, an expert on backpacking and thru-hiking the Oregon Coast Trail. Henderson, author of the book "Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail: 400 Miles from the Columbia River to California," talks about what makes the trail unique and the best ways to pull off a trip. September can be a great month to explore the OCT, with smaller crowds but still nice weather. Henderson talks about the differences in each segment of the trail while detailing critical factors such as the best season to backpack, why reading tide tables is important and where you'll need to arrange for ferry rides to cross large bays.