PCT Day 9: First Fall, First Blister

Miles hiked today: 16.7 I miss my alarm again. My watch alarm is so quiet that sometimes I hear it and sometimes I don’t. It depends how deeply I am sleeping. Drew/Indy and Future are awake long before the rest of us, and so even though they were the only ones who put their tents […]

PCT Day 8: Trail Name: Blood Orange

Miles hiked today: 16 As soon as I wake up, I put on my glasses and stare up at the Milky Way above me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this bright. I decide that I love cowboy camping – I slept so well. The day starts with a mini French lesson with Alexis, […]

PCT Day 7: Too Many Rattlesnakes

Miles hiked today: 19.3 I sleep surprisingly well, beneath the overpass, on the soft sandy ground. I pack away by the light of the moon – no need to even turn my head torch on. We set off as a group, Drew, Alexis, Johnny, Clams and I. Noah hiked out before us, but when we […]

PCT Day 6: Never Go Night Hiking Alone

Miles hiked today: 13.6 We wake up at 4am to beat the heat of the day. I pack away my stuff under the brightest stars. I am ready around the same time as everyone else, but I stop to stretch my knees which are aching from yesterday. I tell the others to set off without […]

PCT Day 5: My Knees Feel Like They Are On Fire

Miles hiked today: 14.94 I miss my alarm again, and wake up naturally at 5:50. That was definitely my best sleep so far on trail. I wore my warm hat all night and it worked a charm. At some point I woke up to the sound of some animal calls – maybe prairie dogs? The […]

PCT Day 4: It’s a Lounge Day

Miles hiked today: 7.39 I wake from a restless sleep before my alarm goes off. I never seemed to get properly warm last night, and so I slept in sections, waking every now and then to adjust the hood on my sleeping bag. It is nice to wake up at a campground, use a proper […]

PCT Day 3: Bees, bees everywhere

Miles hiked today: 11.51 “Er, guys? All our stuff is frozen” These are the first words I hear, while I am still in my tent. We left our clothes draped in the bushes overnight, and now they have frost all over them. Some are even frozen solid. I stuff my sleeping bag away, knowing I […]

PCT Day 2: First Trail Magic

Miles hiked today: 14.45 I wake up at 5:40, somehow having missed my watch alarm. Everyone else is already up. It takes us about an hour to break camp, and I am the last one to be ready. The fact that I spend ten minutes shooing some crane flies from my tent doesn’t help matters, […]

PCT Day 1: The First Day On Trail

Miles hiked today: 15.35 The first day of my hike! We have a delicious breakfast at Scout and Frodo’s, before saying some warm farewells to Scout and Monique (one of the volunteers who helps out with this whole trail angel operation). We jump into the waiting fleet of cars that are here to take us […]

New York, San Diego, then Scout & Frodo’s

My adventure starts with an unremarkable journey to Gatwick. I double, triple, and even quadruple check over my most important items, almost to an obsessive degree. I check my bag in, worrying that my trekking poles and my stove are going to be taken off me. It will all be fiiiine. Have a vegan burger […]