MM: 444.3 Trail Miles: 20 Miles Walked: 20.6 Today the trail continued the transition from Alpine forest to desert scrub. The views were mostly of the valleys that line Hwy 14, the Antelope Valley Freeway. View of Hwy 14 I hadn’t slept well and was hankering for a nap by 1000. At 1030, I stopped …
Because I needed some motivation…. Enjoy! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0PleoqR7VjY
Beyond my normal journal entry, I wanted to make note of two people we met on the trail today. Just as I was starting to struggle physically and mentally, desperately in need of my first day off, I would meet two extraordinary fellow hikers. The first was Signe. It was about 10am and she was …
MM: 277.7 Trail Miles: 21.5 Miles Walked: 23.9 It was 32 deg at 0530 when I awoke to hear Montreal Marc and Mommento packing up. I was warm, comfortable and just as importantly, hadn’t slid anywhere during the night – my thermarest, sleeping bag and body were on top of each other. I’d finally found …
All the recipes in my backpacking cookbook* have special names. Many are named after the hikers who created them — like Ben’s Chicken and Cheese. While the rest have names relating to famous trails and notable locations along them. For example, Appalachian Trail Jerky and Cascade Stew. But there’s one particular recipe whose name makes …
I’m one of those people for whom the axiom “anything worth doing is worth over doing” was written. If something is important to me, this ethos will, nine times out of ten, guide my actions. In no place is this more apparent than my cooking. Nearly all of the food I’ve prepared for the PCT …
It took a while for me to announce publicly that I was going to thru-hike the PCT. Effectively hitting ‘pause’ on your career, your life and, in some ways, your relationships, is not a decision made lightly. So even though I’ve been planning to hike it for over 20 years, it wasn’t until recently that …
One of the first things I bought when I decided to hike the PCT was a paperback book titled “Ultralight Backpackin’ Tips” by Mike Clelland. Two weeks later I bought a second book, “Long-Distance Hiking” by Dan Feldman, as well as a recipe book, “ Lipsmackin’ Backpackin’ “ by Christine and Tom Connors. I was embarrassed standing in the …
From all the research I’ve done – blogs, websites, podcasts, YouTube – you shouldn’t buy ahead or even plan out what you’ll eat over the course of a long-distance thru hike. Experienced thru hikers are nearly unanimous in cautioning against doing this. Reasons being: your food tastes will change over time; hiker hunger will kick …
It goes without saying I will miss my family, home and friends while I’m on the trail. I’m going to miss my coworkers and job as well. That is all a given. The trail removes you from everyday life and relationships. It also removes most modern conveniences. That’s one mental aspect I’ve been thinking about …