2,650 Miles, from Mexico to Canada, On Foot.

No, we aren’t literally hiking through fire, or even close. But the signs of it are all around us — of wildfires past and present, and of how incredibly common they are in this part of California. The trail today wound back and forth between parts of the forest that were intact, and parts that…

Tonight we got to see people we weren’t expecting to see for a really long time, and I was incredibly happy. Treeman and Hedgehog, our German friends who we met on Day 0 (i.e., the night before we started hiking at the border), were four or five days ahead of us just a couple of…

Of all the factors that determine how tough a day out here feels, there are some that are obvious, like how long we hike for and how much ascent and descent there is. And then there are others that are probably even more important, but which aren’t as obvious at first blush. Two big ones…

As you’ve heard me mention many times already, Northern California on the PCT seems to go on forever. (This also means it’s hard to come up with things to write…in case you’ve seen these entries get shorter and worse. 😉 ) So…what’s it actually like? First off, it’s

It’s probably really easy to have an overly-romantic view of what days out here must be like. Obviously, if you’ve been following this blog, you know that there’s an awful lot of difficult hiking involved (duh), but that’s not what I’m talking about. What do I see when I look out of the tent this…

One of the hardest parts of hiking the PCT is this: you can quit any time. And I do mean any time. All it would take is a single decision, likely a maximum of two days’ hiking (and usually much less) to reach the nearest road, a good hitchhiking thumb, and…I could be back in…

“Town” might be too strong a word, this time. Castella, California is more like a hamlet: 240 people as of the latest census, and the only store in town is the convenience store at the Chevron. But Castella is only two miles off the trail, the Chevron will hold packages for pickup, and Castle Crags…

As you may have guessed if you’re following my posts, Northern California isn’t an easy stretch of the trail. In many ways it feels like the doldrums of the PCT: it goes on forever, it’s not all that interesting, and you really just want to get it over with as soon as you can. One…

Flash! I woke up to lightning shining through the tent, bright even with my eyes closed. I counted: one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thous–crack. The thunder came, and so the lightning was only a half-mile away. It was 11:30 at night, and we’d been asleep for a couple of hours when the storm came. Before bed we’d heard…

Do you remember how yesterday, we were descending from the Hat Creek Rim in 100° heat? Well, today we got to be outside the same heat, only going up this time — and with really heavy packs, full of food from our resupply. It only ever gets better along the PCT! OK, OK, so we…

Before you begin, preheat the outdoors to 100° F. Next, add: Two hikers, Plenty of direct sunlight, Almost no breeze Under no circumstances add water. It is important to make distances between water stops as long as possible, as this requires hikers to carry large amounts of water with them, weighing them down and adding…

Today was a day full of distractions, if (mostly) welcome ones. And, in a single day, we both managed to walk through an actual cave that was maybe 40° inside (and pitch black)…and walk through some of the hottest trail of our entire trip, hiking when it was 90° and blazing sun outside. Kind of…

We’re now in the section of the PCT called “Northern California”, and it seems basically endless. It’s not entirely clear where it begins, although just north of Tahoe seems as good a place as any — making Northern California last for five hundred miles on the PCT. This puts it as long as any major…

Today we entered our fourth national park of this trip, but it’s probably one you’ve barely heard of: Lassen Volcanic National Park. Compared to Yosemite, Kings Canyon, or Sequoia, it has to have a tiny fraction of the visitors. But I’m here to tell you: this place is seriously kind of crazy cool. First off,…

One thousand, three hundred twenty-five and five-hundredths miles walked from Mexico. One thousand, three hundred twenty-five and five-hundredths miles to Canada. I’m trying to wrap my head around those numbers even now. What’s crazier — how far we’ve come, or that we still have just as far to go? The midpoint of the PCT, of…

Finding a truly great campsite out here can feel wonderful. The trick is that it often comes at, say, 10:00 AM, when you’ve only been hiking for a few hours…or, almost worse, at 3:00 PM, when you’re tired enough that you want to stop — but know you can’t. But that moment when you stumble…

This is getting a little bit ridiculous. This morning, we climbed down 4,800 feet from the mountains to the town of Belden, California…and this evening, we’re camped midway up the climb of 4,800 feet on the other side. This is more up-and-down than even the most difficult pass in the High Sierra. PCT, what gives?…

Every single mile of the PCT is full of amazing wonder and beauty. Well…OK, so, it’s not quite like that. (Cue the look of shock on your face, I’m sure.) It really is beautiful out here, and some moments are absolutely stunning, but, as you’d imagine, at 2 MPH (3 MPH on a really good…