The last two weeks have been magical. I’m finally into the Sierra, after 7 long weeks in the desert. The terrain has changed markedly, going from dry hills filled with sage to big, imposing granite peaks with pines and abundant water. I also hit some major high points of the […]
Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows South
The desert is over! It took its revenge at the end though with a series of 15-22 mile water carries between caches – not even streams. I carried 7 days of food out of Tehachapi for the 133 miles to Kennedy Meadows S – coupled with 10 pounds of water, […]
Acton to Tehachapi
This was a rough stretch. The desert is slowly starting to lose its charm and gain its heat, a lot of churn in who I’m hiking with, and the wind is here with a vengeance. There were a lot of positives though, like lots of trail magic, getting to fly, […]
Big Bear to Acton
I (hopefully temporarily) lost a member of my trail family, Andrew, leaving Big Bear to an infection on his hip. He took a week off in Big Bear to heal and is back at it now. That brought us to 3. We then lost Alicia in Wrightwood, she was moving […]
Idyllwild to BIG Bear
We took an unplanned zero in Idyllwild to wait out a snowstorm. The mountain got a few inches of snow up high, but it didn’t cause too many problems. A small patch of snow around mile 170, and a bit of snow just before dropping down into Cabazon and I-10. […]
Week Two-ish – Julian to Paradise Valley Cafe
The second week saw a slight bump in miles per day, and I’m starting to feel stronger. I left town with 3 other hikers – Andrew, Alicia, and Britt – and have been hiking with them for most of the last week. I’ve done a few 15-16 mile days, with […]
The First Week
I’m writing to you now as I take a 0 day (no hiking, a day off) in Julian, CA, which is 77 miles from the Mexican border. Overall, it’s been a pretty intense first week, make exceptional by the people Ive met along the way. My first few days were […]
Getting to the Trailhead
I took the train from Seattle to San Diego taking 3 days. I spent the first night on the train, sleeping in the seat. Actually slept pretty well, all things considered. My second night was in Santa Barbara at a hotel near the train station. As I was getting out […]
CAPE ALAVA!
NOTE: This text was originally uploaded in 2017 on my PNT hike. Lightly edited for typos. First off, I’m sorry this post is so long in coming. Typing the posts on my phone takes quite a bit of time, and I was a bit too lazy to type it up […]
Pasayten Wilderness and the North Cascades
NOTE: This text was originally uploaded in 2017 on my PNT hike. Lightly edited for typos. Fate smiles on us in the Pasayten. After weeks of smoke, obscuring every peak and view, the night I climbed into the Pasayten (5000′ in 8.9 miles!) a thunderstorm came through. We got perhaps […]