• Anna Budke
  • Anna Budke

Big Long Walk

PCT class of 2024 En savoir plus
  • Day 79

    28 juin 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Shorted day today with a lux late start.

    Short day is to accommodate Kennedy meadows north in 2 days. The goal is to Hero, which is to in and out a town in one day and not stay over night.

    I’ve done this before but didn’t know it was a term.

    The mosquitos are very bad.

    Camped at 991.2
    En savoir plus

  • Day 80

    29 juin 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Up early today. The goal is to get within range of Sonora pass, and get some of the limited camping before it’s all taken.

    10x10 on the dot passing through the last meadows/marshes for a while. Hopefully the last of the mosquitoes for a while too.

    Oh and mile 1,000!!!!

    The terrain largely dried out by lunch, so I didn’t have to wear all my bug gear for the first time in a few days. My skin is glad to air out.

    Did 20 miles by 3:30, a good sign for the upcoming sections.

    Camped at 1011.4
    En savoir plus

  • Day 81

    30 juin 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Town day! Hero-ed Kennedy Meadows North. Had a beautiful 7 ish miles to get to 108 Sonora Pass.

    We got a ride down to KMN Resort, which isn’t really a town but is a dude ranch/outdoors resort. It is a very common stop for PCT hikers as it splits Mammoth and Tahoe.

    I was quite happy with the offerings and prices, a surprise for me since things have been a bit bare and expensive lately.

    Got a shower, laundry, and shuttle arranged before having a hearty breakfast of steak and eggs with Spicy, Hatchet and Kidnapper.

    The resupply was missing some of my staples like ruffles chips and hostess treats, but they had spam packets and tuna in sunflower oil, two essentials that smaller resupplies often do not have.

    By the time I was repacking my resupply, the morning shuttle had dropped off a load of hikers. It was very hectic and overwhelming.

    At stop’s pass, I’ve felt like I’ve known most of the people around but since the Sierra, people have naturally shuffled with different paces, so I know fewer faces.

    Camped at 1019.1
    En savoir plus

  • Day 99

    18 juillet 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    It’s bitter sweet to announce I’ve done my first flip of the trail.

    I got a ride with Evon and a few other hikers from Quincy, CA to Medford, OR.

    A quick stop in Chester to grab coffee and pick up a new sleeping pad, then a long drive through the mountains, to I-5, around mt. Shasta, across the boarder to Oregon and then to the Medford Airport.

    (Oh and used my long carries Costco card to gas up Evon’s car)

    Taking a day or two to put together my Oregon resupplies then will get back to it!
    En savoir plus

  • Day 101

    20 juillet 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Resupply day! After doing all my shopping yesterday, I repackaged all my food, packed up 3 boxes and have food handled for the rest of the state.

    I pack my daily food into separate bags, then supplement with food that I eat throughout the resupply.

    Each day of food contains:
    One breakfast bar,
    One snack bar (not protein, not candy)
    Two protein bars
    Two packets of meat (tuna or spam usually)
    Three packets of fruit snacks
    One ramen
    Two candy bars

    Approx calories: 2100

    I supplement this with:
    Two bags of chips (crushed up and eaten with a spoon)
    A bag of pepperoni sticks
    A bag of m&ms
    A bag of hi chews

    I’ve learned from other hikers that it’s important to be able to scratch any itch you have while on trail. Something sweet, something salty, something fruity, something fatty. Especially in this heat, it’s super important to eat the calories I carry so making things as tasty as possible is a must!
    En savoir plus

  • Day 107 (Skip number 2)

    26 juillet 2024, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    I’m not sure if it can be called an early rise if you basically don’t sleep. After a long day yesterday and finding a safe but undeveloped place to sleep on a bed of gravel, my air pad decided it would neither hold air or provide padding.

    I tossed and turned on the hard and lumpy ground until my alarm went off.

    Ran/walked the last 9 or so miles to Crater Lake and met my parents and Robert. Got a shower, picked up my resupply package, and had some breakfast.

    Spicy and Bonco joined as we went down to the lake and looked around

    Picked up Menace before heading north. We stopped in Chemult for lunch, dropped off Menace and picked up a few more hikers then went to Shelter Cove. Robert hiked in to the Middle Rosary Lake where we camped for the night and found a hole to patch in my air pad.

    Camped at 1912.5
    En savoir plus

  • Days 120-123

    8 août 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Big planned detour!

    Robert picked me up Cascade Locks and took me to Portland where we did some shopping then stayed with Sprinkles parents.

    Got some goodies at REI including a pillow! I’ve been using my cloths bag with a buff I’ve it for a while but now it’s starting to cool off at night so I’m using more of my cloths. This new pillow will be a great treat for the last couple hundred miles.

    We flew out to Denver the day before Lindsay and Tyler were to get married, and had a nice time bouncing around down town. I got a manicure last minute to cure hang nails after I realized I left my first aid kit at Katie and Bob’s in my pack.

    The morning of the wedding we had a great spa morning and then went to the Botanical gardens that afternoon for the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception that didn’t skip a beat in the afternoon thunder storm.
    En savoir plus