Brisk weather, changing leaf colors and the start of school all mark the arrival of September in Cascade Locks.

Another sign that the time draws near for season’s official change into fall is the arrival of backpack-laden hikers milling about between store, laundromat and the port’s campground.

Is it a convention? A one-time weekend event? No, it’s the annual time that most “through” hikers come through the town on their trek from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail. Through hikers hike the entire trail.

“We’ve had some earlier than now but since Tuesday (Sept. 4) I’ve had in 30 hikers alone,” said Debra Reed-Sharp on Friday.

She serves the town as its postmaster and said probably 200 to 300 general delivery packages arrive each summer for hikers. Reed-Sharp talked while she and hiker “Gabi” figured out what size envelope would fit the rest of items he was mailing home to the United Kingdom.

“It’s my bounce box,” he said. “I don’t really need it for the rest of the trip so am sending it home.”

The term means a box that hikers mail or “bounce” from town to town ahead of them on their trip. While they also mail ahead food, the bounce box contains items they won’t need on the trail.

“Stuff you’ll only use in town, like town clothes or a cell phone and flip flops,” said “Dr. Fusion.” “If you mail it then you don’t have to carry it.”

He and hiking companions, “Pace” and “Lost and Found” stretched out Friday afternoon on the sun-warmed rock of Overlook Park. The trio was packing supplies and food to mail ahead to their next stop — some for Stabler and some for Trout Lake. All were hiking the complete distance from Mexico to Canada although some said there are others who are called “section hikers” because they only hike one or two states.

People have been hiking the trail for millennia; many agree parts of it were in place even before the trail was officially recognized by Congress in 1968 as a scenic trail under the National Trails System. Since then, work has taken place to connect all phases of the trail into a continuous 2,650 miles through California, Oregon and Idaho.

The trail was dedicated in 1993 and encompasses five distinct sections: Southern California, Central California, Northwestern California, Oregon and Washington.

Along with the evolution of the trail a culture of kindred spirits has developed, complete with quirks. Lingo such as “bounce box” and “zero day” are dotted throughout entries left in a register at the post office. Another is the culture of the trail name.

“Lost and Found? It’s my trail name,” he said. “You have to earn it.”

The hiker, who said he preferred to be known by his trail name for this article, said he got his name because he had lost items all along the trail. Other hikers found his items and brought them along to catch up at a certain point and return them. Hiker “Pace” said while a lot of the hikers began their trips alone, they ended up forming groups as they met each other along the trail.

For most who were grouped there Friday, the trip was their first along the Pacific Crest Trail. Hiker “Gabi” decided to come from the United Kingdom for the trip after reading a book about it. Canadian Rachel Baljeu said she had been contemplating taking the trip for eight years.

“I couldn’t not do it; I finally decided if I kept waiting that I never would go,” Baljeu said.

Cascade Locks marks a unique place on the trail. Not only is it the largest town that the trail encounters, crossing the river is done over the Bridge of the Gods. When hikers enter the town from the south, they make the only major elevation change in Oregon by climbing down from 3,160 feet into the Columbia Gorge to where Cascade Locks is located at 180 feet.

The trail enters town before the visible trailhead park at Bridge of the Gods. But its beginnings can’t be seen from the road; only from the trail. Walking a short distance up the trail, signs mark the trail’s entrance via Harvey Road but visitors can track the direction through spray-painted arrows beneath the highway bridge overpass.

The trail continues on to Washington a short distance away over the Bridge of the Gods but most hikers stop to take a break in town, also known as “zeroing out.”

“I don’t know; the pub looks pretty good,” said “Lost and Found.” “Some of us are hitching into Portland for a few days before we get back on the trail.”

The register has entries that detail plans for the luxury of an overnight stay, a detour to Hood River or as one hiker wrote, “First shower since Ashland!”

Hikers aren’t the only users on the trail as horseback or other pack animal users also traverse its length. Last month, 73-year-old horseman Gene Glasscock came through as part of his quest to raise money for Paraguayan children to attend a Christian university in Florida. This was his second such trip as a through rider.

While the trek of hikers has been an annual passage for Cascade Locks, 2007 has brought two new changes to town.

The port’s special projects director, Nick Kraemer, brainstormed the idea of beginning a “Pacific Crest Trail Day” to mark the first arrival of through hikers in August. He hoped the event would not only draw attention to the town but encourage townspeople to realize what was right in their community.

“Many people don’t even know it crosses the bridge,” Kraemer said.

He was helped by Dana Berthold, who is the second major change. The Pacific Crest Trail Association, which is a nonprofit organization, works with the government as the major partner for the operation and management of the trail. Berthold began work earlier this year in Cascade Locks as the coordinator for Central and Northern Oregon and Southern Washington portions.

An avid hiker herself, Berthold tackled the event with enthusiasm. She said the day was one way to promote the trail and educate people about needs for volunteers to protect and maintain the trail.