Category: Pacific Crest Trail

I have great respect for any author who can really nail an ending. In the week and a half since finishing hiking, absolutely no inspiration…

By the end of our first day under his instruction, I had almost stopped calling Captain David, ‘Steve’. And that’s a pretty good summation of…

Day 1 as a former PCT hiker. I am writing this from the town of Klamath Falls, best described as a ‘gateway town’. Not really…

Tickets for boat tours of Crater Lake are somewhat more difficult to obtain than hen’s teeth. But this particular chicken is beaming a pearly white…

Start – Highway 138 (1805 m)Finish – Mazama Village (1835 m)Daily Distance – 23 kmAscent – ~620 mDescent – ~470 m The major downside of sleeping on a picnic…

Start – Thielsen Creek Meadows (2115 m)Finish – Highway 138 (1805 m)Daily Distance – 14 km + Mt Thielsen summitAscent – 785 mDescent – 500 m Mt Thielsen can…

Start – Diamond Lake (1580 m)Finish – Thielsen Creek Meadows (2115 m)Daily Distance – ~9 kmAscent – ~550 mDescent – ? m It has rather crept up on me,…

Start – Maiden Peak Shelter (1840 m)Finish – Diamond Lake (1580 m)Daily Distance – 13 km + hitch from Shelter CoveAscent – 170 mDescent – 460 m That was…

Start – Stormy Lake (1850 m)Finish – Maiden Peak Shelter (1840 m)Daily Distance – 34 kmAscent – 760 mDescent – 770 m I half expected to crest a rise…

Start – Koosah Mountain (1960 m)Finish – Stormy Lake (1850 m)Daily Distance – 35 kmAscent – 620 mDescent – 740 m 18:35, and the sun is already slipping behind…

Start – nr Yapoah Crater (1890 m)Finish – Koosah Mountain (1960 m)Daily Distance – 34 kmAscent – 1050 mDescent – 980 m I am finding my stint as soft-drink…

Start – Bend (off trail)Finish – nr Yapoah Crater (1890 m)Daily Distance – 9 km + hitching back to trailAscent – 375 mDescent – 70 m Fortune, both good…

Start – Bend (off trail)Finish – Bend (off trail)Daily Distance – 0 kmAscent – 0 mDescent – 0 m I am beginning to think that when Americans say that…

From the highest depths to the lowest heights the implacable forces of ICE have hunted our entirely unreasonably incarcerated hero. An epic chase of over…

Start – Rockpile Lake (1905 m)Finish – Bend (off trail)Daily Distance – 23 kmAscent – 455 mDescent – 900 m Today, while taking a long overdue shower, I found…

Start – nr Jefferson Park (2025 m)Finish – Rockpile Lake (1905 m)Daily Distance – 36 kmAscent – 1160 mDescent – 1275 m At camp this evening, everyone seems just…

Start – Trooper Spring (1340 m)Finish – nr Jefferson Park (2025 m)Daily Distance – 31 kmAscent – 1175 mDescent – 490 m One of the peculiar side effects…

Start – Timothy Lake (990 m)Finish – Trooper Spring (1340 m)Daily Distance – 37 kmAscent – 1050 mDescent – 700 m Of all the lunch spots, on all the…

Start – Timberline Lodge (1830 m)Finish – Timothy Lake  (990 m)Daily Distance – 31 kmAscent – 375 mDescent – 1220 m The late evening sun glistens on the…

Start – Sandy River (1000 m)Finish – Timberline Lodge (1830 m)Daily Distance – 16 kmAscent – 1160 mDescent – 315 m Cause of Death: Buffet Naismith’s formula posits…

Start – Wahtum Lake (1200 m)Finish – Sandy River (1000 m)Daily Distance – 38 kmAscent – 1250 mDescent – 1400 m In recognition of Art’s penultimate trail day…

Start – Cascade Locks (50 m)Finish – Wahtum Lake (1200 m)Daily Distance – ?Ascent – ?Descent – ? A shortish day today, in order to warm the legs up…

The PCT trail days have certainly been a very different experience than the trail so far. It is really more a festival atmosphere, with hiking…

Start – Panther Creek (275 m)Finish – Cascade Locks (50 m)Daily Distance – unknownAscent – unknownDescent – unknown Today, I went off-script and undertook a shortcut. Instead of following…

Start – Bear Lake (1465 m)Finish – Panther Creek (275 m)Daily Distance – 42 kmAscent – 740 mDescent – 1925 m When planning a new town-town section, I typically…

Start – Trout Lake (off trail)Finish – Bear Lake (1465 m)Daily Distance – 33 kmAscent – 1055 mDescent – 775 m This week marked one month since starting this…

Start – Trout Lake (off trail)Finish – Trout Lake (off trail)Daily Distance – 0 kmAscent – 0 mDescent – 0 m Sir, sir, cows drank my lake! It sounds…

Start – High Camp Trail Junction (1850 m)Finish – Trout Lake (off trail)Daily Distance – 23 kmAscent – 290 mDescent – 970 m I made it! Leaving camp with…

Start – Walupt Lake Junction (1515 m)Finish – High Camp Trail Junction (1850 m)Daily Distance – 34 kmAscent – 980 mDescent – 640 m The view from my tent…

Start – Lutz Lake (1540 m)Finish – Walupt Lake Junction (1515 m)Daily Distance – 28 kmAscent – 1220 mDescent – 1250 m The Richmond mountain range in the northern…

Start – White Pass (1365 m)Finish – Lutz Lake (1540 m)Daily Distance – 20 kmAscent – 850 mDescent – 650 m I met a cute dog on a walk,And…

Start – Snow Lake (1510 m)Finish – White Pass (1365 m)Daily Distance – 16 kmAscent – 275 mDescent – 440 m As I sat there on the rock I…

Start – Sheep Lake (1800 m)Finish – Snow Lake (1510 m)Daily Distance – 34 kmAscent – 1005 mDescent – 1250 m Well, wouldn’t you just know it. No sooner…

Start – Mike Urich Cabin (1450 m)Finish – Sheep Lake (1800 m)Daily Distance – 35 kmAscent – 1215 mDescent – 915 m I walked through a land of dust…

Start – Dirt road at Tacoma Pass (1055 m)Finish – Mike Urich Cabin (1450 m)Daily Distance – 28 kmAscent – 1250 mDescent – 850 m Today was not without…

Start – nr Meadow Creek (1130 m)Finish – Dirt road at Tacoma Pass (1055 m)Daily Distance – 28 kmAscent – 1150 mDescent – 1230 m When a tap is…

Start – Snoqualmie Pass (920 m)Finish – nr Meadow Creek (1130 m)Daily Distance – 19 kmAscent – 970 mDescent – 750 m Perhaps inspired by having breakfast with 3…

Start – Ridge Lake (1620 m)Finish – Snoqualmie Pass (920 m)Daily Distance – 12 kmAscent – 200 mDescent – 900 m Like all self-respecting apex predators, it would…

Start – Spectacle Lake (1300 m)Finish – Ridge Lake (1620 m)Daily Distance – 16 km (+several for off-trail water collection and return to trail from Spactacle…

Start – Waptus Lake (950 m)Finish – Spectacle Lake (1300 m)Daily Distance – ? km (took an alternate route, so not sure)Ascent – ? mDescent – ? m…

Start – Deception Lakes (1545 m)Finish – Waptus Lake (950 m)Daily Distance – 30 kmAscent – 810 mDescent – 1430 m Another day, another shoe concern. About…

Start – Lake Susan JaneFinish – Deception Lakes (1545 m)Daily Distance – 21.5 kmAscent – 1200 mDescent – 1050 m One aspect of my daily routine that could…

Start – Steven’s Pass (bus from Leavenworth)Finish – Lake Susan Jane (1395 m)Daily Distance – 7 kmAscent – 380 mDescent – 220 m It felt like an age…

WANTED : BEN, L.G.O Last seen : ICE facility (for naughty foreigners), Skykomish, WA Crime : Communist Agitation (professing that free public healthcare is not…

Start – LeavenworthFinish – Leavenworth Daily Distance – 0 km (officially, although US town planning is not considerate of pedestrians)Ascent – 0 mDescent – 0 m Call me…

Start – nr Grizzly PeakFinish – Steven’s Pass (hitch to Leavenworth)Daily Distance – 26 kmAscent – 900 mDescent – 1190 m Some carry hiking poles to aid their…

Start – Little Wenatchee Trail Junction Finish – nr Grizzly PeakDaily Distance – 26 kmAscent – 1030 mDescent – 1180 m A tough day. The rain which commenced…

Start – Sitkum CreekFinish – Little Wenatchee Trail JunctionDaily Distance – 24 kmAscent – 1210 mDescent – 780 m 15:30 and my tent seems small when hiding from…

Start – Above Milk CreekFinish – Sitkum CreekDaily Distance – 29 kmAscent – 1260 mDescent – 1800 m Today was very much a Beauty and the Beast type…

Start – Suiattle BridgeFinish – Above Milk CreekDaily Distance – 18 kmAscent – 1180 mDescent – 100 m Camping spots are currently few and far between, so I…

Start – nr Cloudy Pass JunctionFinish – Suiattle BridgeDaily Distance – 26 kmAscent – 700 mDescent – 1430 m 7 am and the sun poked its unwelcome head…

Start – StehekinFinish – nr Cloudy Pass JunctionDaily Distance – 24 kmAscent – 1280 mDescent – 340 m Today I ate day-old pizza and huckleberries,…

Start – StehekinFinish – StehekinDaily Distance – 0 kmAscent – 0 mDescent – 0 m Hiker boxes are a feature of many long-distance trails, although…

Start – Bridge Creek CampgroundFinish – StehekinDaily Distance – 8 kmAscent – 250 mDescent – 400 m Having gone to sleep half-expecting to be awoken by heavy, somewhat,…

Start – nr Porcupine CreekFinish – Bridge Creek Campground Daily Distance – 29 kmAscent – 350 mDescent – 1580 m When one imagines this romantic life of socially…

Start – Brush CreekFinish – nr Porcupine CreekDaily Distance – 23 kmAscent – 1100 mDescent – 530 m Well that was a corker! Also very tiring as…

Start – Bellingham > Hart’s PassFinish – Brush CreekDaily Distance – 20 kmAscent – 430 mDescent – 1000 m It is a curious thing that when trying to…

I remain unprobed and unincarcerated! Most days more an expectation than achievement, but well, you know. In the event, my passage through American immigration could…

The pace of starting a new journey can be jarring. After all the last minute running around to cross items off the jobs list (while…