When I crossed Mather Pass on the PCT, a snow-spotted wonderland opened up before me. Monstrous peaks in the distance towered over a valley where the Palisade Lakes were hidden. In that moment I dreamed about climbing those distant mountains while resigned to the thought that such an endeavor was beyond me. This past weekend, […]
PCT Epilogue
We hitched out of Rainy Pass in the morning – first to Mazama so Couscous could pick up his bounce box, and then to Winthrop where we ate breakfast at the Duck Restaurant. My parents joined us for lunch and gave us a ride into Canada. Yesterday we decided to hike to the monument from […]
Day 15
May 24, 2018 | miles 345.7 to 377 | Another 30, this time of my own volition. We woke up in the fog. Apparently the clouds had moved in through the night, leaving everything wet yet again. Such is the joy of cowboy and tarp camping, I suppose. I was worried about being […]
Day 14
May 23, 2018 | miles 313.4 to 345.7 | Feet hurt. Knees busted. Taking the toll of a 38 mile day yesterday — I woke up in the morning with my feet feeling like they normally would after 20 miles. Today’s gonna be tough. But not so tough that we can’t make miles. The […]
Day 13
May 22, 2018 | miles 275 to 313.4 | My God was today long and beautiful. Broke my previous mileage records by almost ten miles. Cruised though the morning putting in 17 by 11 am. Decided to rush for the hot springs at 33 miles in, arriving by 4:30 pm. Feet were basically ground […]
Day 11
May 20, 2018 | miles 239.4 to 266.1 | Big Bear I didn’t know it was possible to move so quickly! We left camp at 6 am and stormed forward to cover the 27 miles by 3 pm, stopping only for short food and water breaks. On the whole we likely made almost 4 […]
Day 10
May 19, 2018 | miles 213.4 to 239.4 | Mission Camp Today started off so well, but ended as one of my most challenging to date. We started out with a steady pace ascending from the wind farms into gorgeous foothills which hid several canyon-like gulches and a beautiful refreshing river where we took […]
Day 9
May 18, 2018 | miles 191 to 213.4 | As we woke, I tried to pawn off some of my food knowing that I had overpacked. There was resistance until John found out I had brought Symphony chocolate – guess I should have led with that instead of just mentioning food! It was a […]
Day 8
May 17, 2018 | miles 179.4 to 191 | San Jacinto Alternate First nero! We spent the majority of the day in town starting with a super lazy morning. Silver Pines Lodge does laundry, so we all waited in our spare gear for clean clothes to arrive while eating a delicious breakfast of eggs, […]