Dried out, recharged, I headed back out to the Pacific Crest Trail. I didn’t start until about 3:30 Thursday afternoon. I wish I’d gotten on the trail earlier, but I managed to get a fair number of chores done before I left. Also, if I’d been on the trail earlier, I wouldn’t have camped where I did Thursday night, and that means I wouldn’t have seen the bear Friday morning.  Continue reading →

Things I learned from this weekend’s hike: Continue reading →

As always, you are invited to find humor in my failure.  Continue reading →

Trail Magic is REAL.

Trail magic is what trail angels do. Thru hikers talk a lot about trail angels, because they make the hard work of thru hiking easier. I talked about Barista in an earlier post – that was my first introduction to trail magic on the Pacific Crest Trail. There was trail magic throughout last weekend’s hike.  Continue reading →

I only managed a little over eight miles today, but that included 2800′ of elevation gain. The day started early, as I woke about a half-hour before dawn. I needed to pee, but it was so cold outside my nest. Continue reading →

Another roller coaster!

The best thing about spending the night at Trap Pass was not having to climb Trap Pass first thing in the morning. The worst? At 5700′, it was chillier than a lower camp would have been. Continue reading →

I’m writing this in my hammock nest at Lake Susan Jane. It’s about an hour after sunset. Continue reading →

I’m writing this with a grossly over-full belly and being surprisingly groggy for having drunk only one pint. I have a few hours of classroom training in the morning, and then I head off on my adventure. Continue reading →

If you know me, you probably know that I’m a neurotic over-planner. My solo hike along Section J of Washington’s PCT starts in three days, but I’ve put a lot of thought and planning into this. My pack is almost packed (still need to re-do my first aid kit, still need to buy the last few bits of food for my lunches); now, I just wait.

The waiting is more acute because I’m going to be in Leavenworth Wednesday-Friday for job-related training. I want my bag packed & ready to go tonight, so I can just load it into the truck tomorrow morning and not worry about anything. Continue reading →