Category: Trail Journal
-
Day 13: An Extremely Long Day, and Why There Is No One “True” PCT
Today, we, in order: Climbed 1,500 feet up a ridgeline; Up there, walked along our first “crest” of the Pacific Crest Trail, and it was spectacular; Descended 2,500 feet off that very same ridge; Continued walking along power lines and roads for another eight miles or so… All told, this made today
-
Day 12: Time and the Trail
Think back to what you were doing last Thursday. It doesn’t matter what it actually was, and my point isn’t that it was likely reasonably predictable. It’s more that last Thursday probably doesn’t seem all that long ago — there’s been an intervening weekend, and now the week has started again. To me, right now,…
-
Day 11: Miles, Miles, Miles…
When a survey was sent to past PCT hikers, they were asked what their favorite and least favorite sections of the trail were. Favorite was usually the High Sierra; least favorite, however, was
-
Day 10: It Isn’t Always Fun, Exactly…(And Then Trail Magic Happens)
Hiking the PCT isn’t something you should try if what you’re looking for is absolute enjoyment, every last minute of the way. There are days that are amazing, days that are fun, and then there are
-
Day 9: Technology and the Trail, Part 1
Three days ago, my backpack tore itself apart. Or, at least, tried to: the long metal “stay” running up and down the spine broke free of its enclosure, and punched a hole through the bottom of the bag. It wasn’t trip-ending, but it was concerning: not only did I not have the support I needed…
-
Day 8: Water, Water, (Almost) Nowhere
In the eight days and 100 miles we’ve been hiking, we’ve come across naturally-occurring water out here twice. All anyone thinks about when planning the next segment of their hike is water: where it is, how sure they can be of it, and
-
Day 7: Parting’s Sweet Sorrow
As I lie down beneath the stars tonight, I’m filled with a kind of sadness — because I’ve already felt such friendship with so many fellow hikers out here, and because it’s obvious that some of those connections will be lost soon enough. It started this morning in Julian, when, after showering (again, just because…
-
Day 6: Sweet, Sweet Zeroes
Clean! After 77 miles out hiking through the desert, it really is just about impossible to describe how good it feels to be clean again. Layers and layers of desert dust mixed with sunscreen are now gone from our bodies, and (mostly) from our clothes. This is due to the glory of
-
Day 5: It Gets Hot in the Desert!
It’s true, believe it or not — it really does get hot in the desert. OK, so that surprises nobody…and, in fact, it hasn’t even been that hot: today was the first day it got to be over 80° out there. But
-
Day 4: What’s for Breakfast? French Toast!
The trail isn’t all deprivation, because at 8:45 this morning, I was eating French toast, bacon, poached eggs, and fresh orange juice. As you might have guessed, today was
-
Day 3: This Desert Sure Ain’t Flat
When you hear the word desert, you probably imagine the places Snoopy’s cousin Spike trundled through: almost completely barren, except for the odd Saguaro cactus and a vulture flying overhead. Today we climbed
-
Day 2: The Social Trail
So many people we’ve met already! This is a social trail, far more so than anything we’ve hiked before. 25–30 people start each day at the southern terminus, and the relative dearth of camping spots means you end up meeting practically all of them. There were well over
-
Day 1: A Very First Day on the Trail
A 5:15 AM alarm at Girlscout’s house began our first day on the trail. After months and months of preparation (and literally years of thinking about it), it’s kind of crazy to suddenly have it be here like that. We dressed (in hiking clothes, of course), put our all-too-heavy packs into the back of his…
-
And We’re Off!
Mile 0.0. Next stop, in a couple of days: Lake Morena!
-
A Day at the Mall, and Truly Wonderful People
Where do you spend your last full day in civilization before starting a 2,650-mile hike? The obvious place: at the mall, of course! Better yet, a big, fancy suburban Southern California mall. And then go see Fast [and the Furious] Seven, to see lots of incredibly expensive cars get blown up.
-
A Last Hurrah
The Louisiana countryside is pretty much a perfect place to relax do some final preparations for a couple of days before leaving. We’ve brought all the resupply boxes inside, laid them all out in neat rows, gone through our packs one last time, prepped them for the plane trip, done a last load of laundry…pretty…
-
As We Set Out
We’re currently in Austin, TX, visiting some close friends (who are about to have their first child!) on our way to Clare’s parents’ place in Louisiana. Our car is loaded with our packs and 23 resupply boxes, which we’ll leave with her parents to be shipped to us as the summer progresses. We fly from…