This morning was cool, and although we left camp in no hurry and not particularly early, we found we had gone the 10 miles to the first water by 10am. We took a nice long break before heading on, though …
Month: July 2017
Day 84: Brown Mountain Shelter
It was gloomy all night and this morning, still looking like it might rain. It never did, but it did get pretty muggy out today. The ups and downs were pretty easy, but no real summits or views so it …
Day 83: Home to the Woods
Back to the trail today! It’s my birthday, so it was hot and muggy as per usual. Despite being delayed in Ashland, we discovered we were not the only ones, and most of our hiking crew left last night or …
Days 79-82: Ashland
We woke up early on Friday morning to get to Ashland as early as possible. We had 22 miles to get to town, and we left camp a little after 6. The terrain was pretty easy and the weather was …
Day 78: Hello Oregon!
It was a marathon today, not just to get to Oregon but also to our halfway point! We have now hiked 1325 miles of the PCT. Somehow, going into a new state always means going uphill, and even Oregon was …
Day 77: Seiad Valley
Today we went up the biggest climb of the NorCal section of the PCT. First though, we had to finish dropping down into Seiad Valley. From over 7,000 feet yesterday we dropped down under 1,400 feet. The last few miles …
Day 76: A Lot of Sun, a Little Snow
The Marble Mountains are beautiful, but today was a hot and humid one. We were making slower time than we planned for most of the morning when we hit some significant patches of snow. The snow was icy and yet …
Day 75: Into the Marble Mountains
Leaving town always makes for a slower day. Our packs are loaded down with food, a later start means hiking in the heat of the day, and heading out if town almost always means going uphill. At least we got …
Day 74: Etna
Maybe it was the thought of town food, or perhaps the notion of a shower, but we got up and on the trail earlier today than all week. We were hiking by 6, and had a surprising amount of uphill …
Day 73: Trinity Alps
The scenery was beautiful today. Meadows, streams, wildflowers everywhere, interesting rocks, expansive views. There were clouds in the sky to shelter us from the sun much of the day as well. We hit trail magic in the morning and stopped …
Day 72: Lakes and Flowers
Northern California did not disappoint today. Great views to Shasta and the Trinity Alps Wilderness, dozens of lakes, tons of wildflowers. We walked 15 miles by lunchtime, and stopped for a swim in the upper Deadfall Lake. We only hit …
Day 71: Castle Crags Wilderness
The noises and lights of town made it hard to sleep well last night. We wanted to get out of town early but still needed a fuel canister for the next section. The outfitter didn’t open until 10, so we …
Day 70: I-5
We arose this morning with 23 miles on the agenda, planning to reach the Interstate at Castle Crags State Park by afternoon or evening. We had an uphill morning and a downhill afternoon, not passing or being passed by any …
Day 69: 1100 Miles
We spent most of our morning today hiking with a hiker from New Zealand we met a few days ago. After about 10 miles or so we took a break and then hiked on our own, leapfrogging with other hikers …
Day 68: The Heat Goes On
We go up early this morning and were hiking before 6 am. It was already warm outside, and combined with the lingering colds we were still moving slower than usual. Fortunately, as we gained elevation today, it cooled off a …
