Category: Pacific Crest Trail 2016

Day 103 – Uphill Battle

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All night, the lights outside the store stay on and cars continue to pass by and the “domesticated” cats go a-hunting; there’s little annoyance and less anxiety about all of it, though – something about civilization lulls me into a false sense of security, and I sleep well enough despite the distractions. I’m up early anyway, for a last bit of charging, three liters of water gathering, and to toss my talenti jar “stove” once and for all – Spesh has sent my Pocket Rocket to Ashland, and I’m going to make do with the snacks I have until I reach Ashland. One of the joys of packing too much food for this section. At 6am, Pineapple and I are walking out of Seiad on the last bit of road – towards the climb that’s likely to take up most of our day. Continue reading →

Interlude: Hard Copy

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I helped with Backpacker Magazine’s “Long Trails” print issue! I’m quoted about a lot of the gear I saw/used on trail, I wrote a piece about going stoveless, and I was interviewed for a piece about what I learned on the PCT! While it’s way more badass in print, in my opinion – it’s the January 2017 issue, and it’s available on newsstands until January 17th – you can also read the lengthier pieces online here and here, if you’re in a rad place like, say, Ghana.

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Thank you for allowing me to squee over this with you! Another post coming in a couple of hours.

Day 100 – Hut Hut Hike

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I have strange dreams for the third night in a row – that’s what I get for bragging about not dreaming. Oh well. I don’t feel not-rested when I finally wake up, which is good enough, I guess. I rustle about not-loudly, because it seems like no one else is moving, but when I make a noise that should be particularly loud it seems… muted. And then I notice that my earplugs are still in. Oops.  Continue reading →

Day 98 – Holding Out for a Zero

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The first thing brought viscerally to my attention in the morning is how goddamn cold it is outside the safety of my sleeping bag1. Inside, it’s warmer, but not as warm as I would like it to be – my body wants to retreat into the safety of sleep, but ’tis time, ’tis time to get moving. Pineapple starting to shuffle around makes it easier to get motivated, so it’s reluctantly emerging from my cocoon to get ready for the day. Continue reading →

Day 97 – Harshing the Vibe

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I’m pretty sure my sleep is the inverse of my sleep in Mount Shasta. I have to pee in the middle of the night, but I don’t want to get up, and then I realize that I, in fact, have to get up if I don’t want to pee in my bag. It’s the first time I’ve had to get up to pee in the night in 97 days, and I feel like it’s the end of an era. I’m a little worried that whatever it was that roared earlier is going to come for the tender flesh of my ass, but I make it back into my tent with ass intact. I do have nightmares for the rest of the evening, though, and by the time I wake up, I’m pretty sure I’ve had fewer than four hours of restful sleep. Nrrf. Still, I’m moving by 6. Continue reading →

Day 96 – Rush, Roar

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I’m up late – my body loves this whole “real bed” thing, and it doesn’t think consciousness is appropriate until 8. Yes. I delay being vertical for a bit longer by talking with Spesh about meeting up at the end of the month; I hear Pineapple in the other room doing the same with her boyfriend. Eventually, we can delay no longer – we wanna leave our stuff here while we go and do laundry down the street, so it’s up and at ’em in our puffy jackets and rain gear skirts, getting smirks from the locals as we pass. Continue reading →

Day 95 – Magical Mystery Mountain

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Every town morning is always the same – barely-contained excitement, poorly tempered by the knowledge that I actually have to do miles before I get there. That’s why, I tell myself, I slow it down – we’re aiming for 7am out of camp this morning. My alarm went off half an hour before I needed it to; I’m ever the optimist, thinking I’ll get up and work on something early. Work on getting more rest, more like. Still, we make it back to the trail from the Squaw Valley trailhead by 7:15, so I call that a success. Continue reading →