PCT Day 85: In Which I Morph Into A Swamp Person

Miles hiked today: 19.5 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 307.9 In the morning, I am possessed by a kind of mosquito-driven mania. They are still there, swarming around my tent at 5 in the morning, which doesn’t seem fair somehow. Once my tent is down and I am feeling vulnerable in […]

PCT Day 84: Welcome To The Kingdom Of Mosquitoes

Miles hiked today: 15.4 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 288.4 I thought the spot where I pitched my tent was flat, but evidently I was incorrect, as I sleep on a tilt all night. In the morning, we start hiking almost immediately on snow, but it’s strange that we can’t find […]

PCT Day 83: Slushy Postholing Suncup Nightmare

Miles hiked today: 13.7 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 273 In the morning we launch straight into an uphill, which is tough before you’ve really woken up. I am hiking on my own for a while, and I have just reached the first few snowy patches when I pass an older […]

PCT Day 82: Everything I Own Is Covered In Tree Sap

Miles hiked today: 17.5 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 259.3 I feel like I don’t need to mention at this point that we find waking up difficult every morning. But today to make the process better we talk through the best and worst parts of our day. For me, I always […]

PCT Day 81: Conspiracy Theories And Bad Detours

Miles hiked today: 17.1 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 241.8 Odin wakes us up with his usual, “Rise and shine, campers!”. He is much better at waking up than MVP or I. Our early morning hike takes us through forests that are mostly clear of snow, but very marshy. There are […]

PCT Day 80: Trail Magic Aplenty!

Miles hiked today: 16.5 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 224.7 In the morning, it is tough to wake up. I feel like this has been a trend for the past few days. We have been waking up at 5am most days, it is always cold, and we do not take weekends […]

PCT Day 79: Beautiful Tentsite At Showers Lake

Miles hiked today: 10.4 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 208.2 We agree to wake up at 7. A few days ago, somebody commented on one of my instagram posts, saying that I should let her know when we need a ride back to the trail, as she lives in South Lake […]

PCT Days 76, 77 and 78: 4th of July, Kayaks, and Kitties

Miles hiked: 0 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 197.8 I end up staying several days in South Lake Tahoe. I spend two nights with Sam and Gabe and their adorable dog, Milo. I get my laundry done, and I also get to see the madness of the 4th of July parade […]

PCT Day 75: Making The Difficult Decision To Bail Out

Miles hiked today: 7.5 (+ unknown amount on a snowy trail/road!) Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 197.8 We set off hiking at 6 in the morning. I have finally slept well on my inflatable mattress, finding a set up that works well for me. Perhaps I’ll be using the mattress more […]

PCT Day 74: Sketchy Slopes, And A New Pain

Miles hiked today: 11.4 Miles hiked total NOBO: 745.3 Miles hiked total SOBO: 190.3 This morning, we do not wake up when we said we would. It is difficult waking up at 4am when it’s still cold and dark outside. So we all collude in an accidental lie in, and wake up at 6am instead. […]