A spectacular 2.5-mile leg of the Pacific Crest Trail in California’s mountainous north state will now be conserved in perpetuity after environmentalists this week closed a deal on a key tract of forestland — part of a larger effort to buy up and protect every piece of land touching the 2,650-mile hiking route. The 1,172-acre property, dubbed Girard Ridge, sits outside of Dunsmuir where the PCT crosses Interstate 5 and is easily accessible to day hikers and backpackers looking for a quick escape into the wooded wilderness. Dense stands of pines and firs on the tract break at a high ridgeline that faces across the Sacramento Valley toward the dramatic granite cliffs known as Castle Crags. The Trinity Alps loom farther west, and Mount Shasta dominates the landscape about 20 miles north.