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PCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
  • Juliadoherty
Apr – Jun 2023

PCT 2023 - Prep & Trail

This is a journal which will take me on a journey. From preparation to the trail itself. Read more
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  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail

    22 DAYS TO GO!

    March 24, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Is it wise to visit the “Outdoor Expo” just before heading out on the PCT? You think you have your gear dialled in but can I stop myself from buying more stuff?

    This weekend was the National Outdoor Expo at the NEC. It was a packed show, but with the volume of people it really should have been a bigger event. There were some good stands such as Valley & Peak, Salomon, TentBox (I was tempted!) and lots of little stands. Rachel (my daughter) and I spent a good few hours there and spotted some Outdoor YouTubers along the way. I bought some new waterproof gloves from Dex Shell (their waterproof socks are excellent, so I hope that the gloves prove just as reliable). But that was it! Yep, I didn't spend money on anything else apart from coffee and food.

    🦶️ A VISIT TO THE PODIATRIST 🦶️

    Last week I had chronic pain in my right foot during a 13-mile hike. On Monday I visited my trusted podiatrist who spent quite a bit of time with me and gave my feet an MOT.

    In my opinion, all hikers who are going on a long-distance hike should visit a foot specialist before their adventure. I felt so much better afterwards.

    🧑‍⚕️ WHAT WAS THE DIAGNOSIS? 🧑‍⚕️

    1. Shiela took one look at my feet and said “do you have circulation problems?
    "Yes, I have Raynauds". Bad circulation is one of the main sources of the pain in my feet so it’s essential to keep my feet warm. She gave me some tips that I hadn’t considered before. Deep Heat (instead of foot balm) and hot drinks throughout the day. I usually just put up with my cold feet but now I know that it can cause additional issues I will take more care.

    2. Hypermobility. I thought I only had hypermobility in my hips. Shiela explained that if you are hypermobile then it will affect you everywhere (hips, knees, thumbs, wrists). She bent my toes right back (no pain) and said “only 10% of people can do that! Being extra flexible can also give me foot issues, so support is essential. Noted, and now I know to strap my feet the minute I get foot pain.

    3. I had a foot tidy-up. Sheila trimmed my nails and took a scalpel to my calluses (sounds painful, but it didn't hurt). She even helped with a verruca that I didn’t know I had. I thought it was just hard skin.

    4. I was intrigued to listen to my pulse in my feet to check blood flow which was a bit like having a baby scan…. Cool! Blood flow was good. Apparently, this is a common test for people with diabetes.

    5. My insoles were 2 years old but they have been given the all-clear and are still good to go. No need for new ones, although Sheila has added a bit of extra cushioning to the arch (which I can remove if I find it too uncomfortable).

    Her parting words of wisdom were to try and reduce my pack weight as much as possible and ensure my feet are dry once I’ve forded rivers. As I waved goodbye she said "Remember to keep your feet as warm as possible" - I purchased some Deep Heat on my way home.

    OTHER STUFF THAT I HAVE DONE THIS WEEK

    * A massage ball arrived as did my new tiny pump for my airbed.
    * I am organised with work stuff and we had a zoom call on Tuesday night to go through a few things. I'm ahead of schedule with planning everything for while I am away - I just need to trust the process. It's difficult to leave your business in the hands of others for two months (even though they are all amazing!). I'm finding it really hard to let go.
    * I spent way too much time watching the videos from those that started their hike in the last two weeks. The weather situation is frigging scary. They are already crossing rivers and some are only a few days in. Saying that it's that cold that there are no snakes on the trail at the moment (that I've seen) so that's a bonus!
    * I am spending my evenings packing and re-packing kit and questioning "do I really need this?". My bounce box is also getting HUGE so I need to be quite ruthless with this as well otherwise it will cost me a fortune to bounce it up the tail!
    * This weekend will be my last big hike and camp before I head off to the US. We are heading off to the Malvern Hills, so it should be a good camp.
    * Training has slowed down this week but my daily stretching challenge is going really well. I now know the routine off by heart which is great and I can feel the benefits already.

    I still have a long list of things to do but I am working my way through them.

    Thanks, as always, for listening to my rambles.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    This picture is from a current PCT hiker. She writes "When you have so much frozen condensation

    15 DAYS TO GO!

    March 31, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    It's been a busy week!

    Good news! My PCTA permit has been received, printed and laminated for safekeeping. A permit is essential for all PCT hikers (either local permits or one sent by the PCTA). Any hiker can be stopped by a park ranger at any time and if you cannot produce your permit then the fines can be quite steep. The technology on the PCTA website only allows you to print one copy of your permit, so it’s important not to lose it! Allowing only one copy is the PCTA's way of protecting public lands and national parks. It’s a bit of a lottery as not everyone was awarded a permit. I was one of the lucky ones.

    Also printed out my insurance documents, campfire permit and ESTA.

    MY LAST TRAINING WEEKEND

    My last shakedown hike was completed at the weekend. It involved two nights of camping and two long/challenging day hikes where I could test some new gear.

    Learnings - Camping

    1. The tiny pump is 100% coming with me. I love it! Not just for pumping up my airbed in record time, but the light is super handy and I used the deflation feature which made packing up the airbed easy.
    2. OMM Tent socks. I’m gutted as I have torn one sock down the seam so I am going to go back to my Sundick booties for reliability. These tent socks are light, but not durable. (glad I learned that one now and not when on the trail!).
    3. I need to add pepper to my salt and pepper shaker! (It’s all these little things!).
    4. My tent doesn’t leak (as previously thought). I’ve learned that it’s all about site selection! I pitched facing the wind, and no dips (for puddles!). The NotchLi held up brilliantly in awful winds and horizontal rain on Saturday. It rained again on Sunday night I was bone dry both nights and slept very well.
    5. I’m now confident in packing up inside a one-person tent whilst it’s raining and keeping myself as dry as possible.

    Learnings - Walking

    1. I tested the new Montane Women's Tucana Lite Stretch Capri 3/4 Pants (that's a mouthful!). They are new to the market and not cheap (£70). But, after wearing them for two days, in the cold, wet rain, I will be taking them on the trail. I washed them in the shower at the campsite on Saturday as they were very muddy, and they were fully dry within a few hours of hanging up in a cold car.
    2. I need zip lock bags for “rubbish” in my front mesh.
    3. I will swap my Anker Powerpack for my Solar powerpack.
    4. I feel bad, but my “SHOUT Banner” on the back of my pack will have to go. It’s cumbersome and heavy, plus it limits the mesh on the front of my pack. I need to think of something else. Any ideas are welcome.
    5. Gloves! I’ve learned that I will not buy expensive gloves ever again. I’ve lost the right-handed glove that I bought at the expo last week! #NotHappy

    Other stuff:

    * Thanks to the lovely Sarah B who gave me a little gift to say "good luck". Very touching, thank you.
    * I have trimmed down my bounce box content (will do a video of what I am taking).
    * My Skinner Socks are now going with me as looking at the current videos, the river crossings are crazy!
    * Alfie ate my microphone windshield and also my cork massage ball (Alfie is a dog, just in case you didn't know that!). I've now ordered replacements.
    * Two brand new pairs of Salomon Senseride 4's have arrived. I will wear one pair and the other will go in my bounce box.
    * I have removed over 3000 videos and photos from my phone, but still have a few thousand to go!
    * I have downloaded a few books into my Kindle and also a few games that I can use offline. (I have an 11hr flight which is going to be challenging for me!).
    * I still need to download some audiobooks and also a selection of Netflix / Amazon Prime films (any suggestions are welcomed).
    * I have decided to take my rucksack on the plane with just my expensive stuff such as my tent, sleeping bag, sleep mat etc. All other stuff will go in the hold with an Apple Airtag so I can track everything. I'm sure it will all be fine, but if my pack or tent goes missing then they would be hard to replace, so i'd rather have that with me.

    Two weeks to go! Eeeek!

    Thanks, as always, for listening to my rambles.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail

    PCT - 8 DAYS TO GO!

    April 7, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    This time next week I will be preparing for my last supper with my family as I won’t be seeing them for nearly nine weeks. I have tried to imagine how I am going to feel or cope with being away for so long, but the reality is that I have no idea how I am going to feel. I need to just play it by ear and try not to think about it too much.

    Main photo: Mount Laguna, which is about 40 miles into my hike and is where I will send my bounce box to for it's first journey.
    It’s been a strange week as I am now caught up on everything to do with my business. I have worked like a trojan over the last 3 months uploading walks, writing articles, scheduling posts, creating newsletters and everything else that the business needs to survive without me. I am trying not to worry about things, but you can’t help playing our scenarios in your mind as to what would happen if this or that happened.

    I am so very thankful to my walk leaders for covering the walks while I’m away, plus my lovely hubby who is keeping things ticking over at HQ. So with everything done and scheduled, I find myself at a bit of a loose end watching Race Across the World and all sort of films on Netflix. I am now only following a couple of PCT hikers as I felt that I didn't want to spoil the experience for myself by knowing every turn in the trail. I want to see things through my own eyes, so I no longer watch new starters on the trail (not sure if that makes any sense?).
    The one channel that I am loving is Hiking with the Codgers. These two older guys have such a fabulous attitude toward the trail. They have had a hard time of it with all the snow, but they have not lost their sense of humour. If you want to check them out then here is their channel:

    https://www.youtube.com/@hikingwiththecodgers4086

    PCT Stuff completed this week:-

    * Hiker to trail sign done on my 1/8th pad. I had already created a “Hiker to Town” sign for hitchhiking, but then realised that I also need to get back out onto the trail!
    * Salt n pepper pot filled! - it’s all these little things that I don’t want to forget.
    * Bounce box sorted out. OMG! The original box was HUGE! I googled “What is the size of a large priority mail box in the US” and it’s not that big. Max weight up to 70 lbs / dim 12.25” x 12.25” x 6”, so I have had to trim some of my stuff. I have taken all food out, and also my Exped sleeping mat and extra clothes. My Salamon shoes took up a good chunk of space, plus medication, one set of town clothes, extra vacuum bags, and hygiene stuff (like a razor and shampoo that I won’t take in my backpack, but will be useful in a town).
    * Hair cut booked with my lovely daughter for next week.
    * Visited the docs for a final check - all good and now have an extra 3 months' worth of meds.
    * Labels written for my bounce box
    * UK cash converted to dollars, along with some extra dollars that friends have donated. They are now safely tucked up in my Room Pack (aka: bum bag/fanny pack, along with my credit cards and passport).
    * Transferred money onto my Wise card.
    * Continued deleting photos and videos from my phone (this is a real pain!) and I am still not finished!
    * Good news is that the warm weather seems to be arriving in California and the snow is melting. I know we will have some snow and there will be very high water crossings (I have now packed water shoes!) but at least it will be warm in the daytime. According to the BBC, it will be around 21/22 degrees in the day, then dropping to 11/12 degrees at night. I can easily cope with that, but I know it could change at the flick of a switch.

    My kit is all packed and "airport" ready. I have now taken my foot off the pedal with regard to training. I am still going to the gym three times a week with Rachel, but if I'm honest, I am just enjoying spending time with my daughter rather than pushing myself to increase weights etc. I feel that now is the time to avoid any injury, so playing it down on walks and the gym.

    I have five Adventure Geek walks that I will be attending next week which will keep me busy. Some friends are meeting me in the pub on Wednesday evening as a farewell send-off and I have a family “last supper” on Friday night. Eeek! It all seems so real now.

    My next update will be from the trail. Hasta Luego! See you later.

    Thanks, as always, for listening to my rambles.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    2
    21

    TRAVEL DAY - AN EMOTIONAL ONE!

    April 15, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Just to let you all know that I’ve arrived safely after an emotional goodbye and a long flight!

    👍 Ash has been reunited with her pack and is delaying her start for a few days until she is Covid clear.
    🚕 I’m keeping a track of expenditure, so these will be in my blogs. I think it will be an interesting exercise and helpful for future hikers. Today $40 on a taxi ride to the hotel.
    🤴 Check out my room with its king sized bed! 😂

    Learnings:-

    🧦 Don’t wear toe socks on a plane and also take long trousers as my feet and legs were freezing.
    🚦 American crossings talk to you! 😂
    ✈️ Always put an AirTag in your luggage. It eliminated so much stress knowing my pack and kit was on the plane.
    🥘 I love plane food. I had Thai Red Chicken Curry and hunters chicken with little roast potatoes. Piping hot and tasty.

    The proper blogs will start tomorrow.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    3The start of the trail. On the leftbisbtge Mexican border
    My homemade wafflesCampo stores1Gross!Our shuttleForst PCT way markerFound a baseballFirst pitch1Weird chilli pime chewy thingHans from NevarraDi from OzThis was quite yummyMiles (his actual name, not a trail name!)!Sierra is on the right and did the drawing for me.1Camp fire talk with Just Paul and Papa Bear

    PCT - GETTING TO THE TRAIL HEAD

    April 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    🌙 I was wide awake at 1.30am but I did get about 5hrs sleep, so it’s gonna be a long day. My taxi will be here at 8.30am to take me to the Old Transit Centre where I will pick up the PCT Terminal Shuttle Bus. I’m gutted that Ash won’t be there to meet me at the bus stop but I’m still super excited to meet other hikers and listen to tales of the trail from the owners of the bus.

    🏨 6am - I’m so bored! I’ve been sitting in this hotel room for hours. So I decide to go and explore. The sun is coming up and there is a geocache just 0.2 miles from the hotel. So off I go. I reach the destination but the geocache is located in a locked car park so I give up and head back. Oh well, that killed 20 mins!!

    ⚾️ 6.25am - I continue past the hotel in the opposite direction. What’s that? Wow! It’s a real American little leagues baseball court. I take a wander into the middle of the court and see a bright yellow baseball ⚾️ on the floor. I pick it up and am surprised how light it is. I start a running commentary to myself and bowl the ball into the batting area! Strike!

    🧇 7am - I’m back at the hotel and sitting in the breakfast room waiting for them to open up and reading a book on my kindle. I’m feeling chilled out but I’m also starving. I plate up with sausages (which taste like MacDonalds sausages but in regular sausage shape), delicious scrambled eggs, a muffin and yoghurt! They also have a waffle making machine which im excited to use! There is a container next to it full of batter. I was obviously looking a bit lost when this young lad says “do you need a lesson mam”? Yes please! He showed me how to spray the little plates with oil and then showed me the different batter mixes). There were flavoured ones) and then how to flip the machine which starts the count down. If you are reading this from the US then you will probably laugh at this, but when my perfect little waffles 🧇 came out, I did a little “I did that!” The young lad smiled and then went on to explain about the different syrups! I’ve got a lot to learn!

    🚕 8.45am Nick the Taxi driver collects me and takes me five mins down the road to the Old Transit Centre $20. I find bus bay 10 and a homeless guy comes up to me and tells me that I’m in the right place and wishes me “Happy Trails”. He didn’t ask for money, he was just being kind.

    🇧🇷 9.30am. Thomas from Brazil arrives and so does another guy who appears quite shy and is not saying a word. I later find out that he is American and his name is Hans from Nevarra.

    🚌 10am - the PCT Shuttle drives to a local trail Angela house called Scout & Frodos and we pick up two ladies (one from Brisbane and the second from Collarado)

    🤩 10.49 - The scenery on our journey to Campo is just amazing. Mountains, massive boulders everywhere and the wild flowers are so colourful. “Just Paul” (bus drivers trail name) showed us a glimpse of the trail from the shuttle and my heart raced. Then we see our first PCT hiker on trail. Just Paul winds down the window and shouts at her “Canada!” And she waves and smiles. puts my mind at rest about snakes. I’m so

    🏬 11.10am - We stop at Campo Green Stores and I’m so confused with the food here. I buy a slim Jim (meat stick thing), biscuits and gravy (just had to try), Gatorade and some snacks.

    🇲🇽 11.30am, There it is!! The PCT Southern Terminal. A flutter in my stomach as we walk towards it. It’s smaller than I imagined but the border wall that separates Mexico and the USA is huge! It’s 30ft high and apparently the concrete below goes down 20ft deep. I’m here with Sarah (Collarado) and Di (Oz) and we take photos of each other at the terminal and collect our badges from the PCTA desk. I take a few minutes on my own to walk down to the border wall where I can put my hand and foot through and say hi to Mexico! Blimey, this is surreal. I’ve been dreaming about this moment for years and now it’s actually here!

    🥾 1.30pm - I set off down the trail with my pack on my back following the PCT markers. Sara and Di stay at the monument as they are not yet sure if they want to camp at CLEEF or just start walking.

    🏕️ 2.40 pm - I’m all pitched up at a campsite called CLEEF, which is 1/4 mile from the terminal. Hans, Di & Sara are here as well and they kindly let me take their photo and print it in my little book. The site has a big wall where the class of 2023 sign their name. I added my name and a little sticker that says “have the time of your life”.

    Sara took her hat off and has had HYOH shaved into her head!!(Hike Your Own Hike). Brilliant!!

    🏀 18.49 - Hans and I beat Di & Sara at Corn Hole (I’m a bit competitive and so happy that we won!). A game in which small bags filled with dried corn are tossed at a target consisting of an inclined wooden platform with a hole at one end. It’s a bit like boules but without the balls. It was good fun!

    🔥 19.15 - Fairy lights are twinkling and the campfire is going (as are the propane gas heaters!). The temperature as dropped considerably. People have been arriving all afternoon and as I got chatting to them I’ve taken their photo and printed it into my little book. A youngster called Sienna drew and awesome front cover for me on the book of a PCT scene saying “class of 2023”. .“Just Paul” stands up to address the group and the chatter subsides. You could hear a pin drop as he and “Pappa Bear” gave talks on some very serious topics to help prepare us for the trail. They talk about hydration and the process / formula for calculating how much water to carry. They go into detail about the dangers of hitchhiking and how best to get a ride. Just Paul shared tactics on how to refuse a ride if you have the slightest doubt. Apparently a young girl died last year of altitude sickness so we now have a good idea of the signs and what to look out for and more importantly, how to deal with it. They covered the dangers of snow and river crossings (I will now always wear my shoes!). Yep, it was utterly brilliant and I’m so glad I stayed here and would recommend it to anyone who wants to do this trail.

    💤 9pm - I’m tucked up in my tent and it’s getting very chilly!! My puffy pants are on as are my Sundick booties. I was worried about getting sunburnt just three hours ago! This trail is gonna be such an experience .

    Tomorrow I walk…… for now wish you night night.

    As always, thanks for reading my rambles.

    PS - I may not have service for a while so I’m not sure when the next update will be.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    221

    PCT 2023 - Day 1: And we are off!

    April 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    📍 Location: Campo to Just short of Hauser Creek.

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 11.4 / elevation 3396ft

    ☀️ Weather: Weird! Woke up this morning everything was frozen. The first 4 miles it was overcast and perfect but then the sun broke out and it got hot! We were walking in 35 degrees and carrying heavy loads. Quite tough and hard going but the scenery and company made up for it!

    ⛑️ Health / Physical / Mental: very positive today. Feel good but I’m filthy and smelly which is a mental struggle for me.

    🍲 Food: CLEEF campsite delivered an amazing breakfast of pastries, bagels, and coffee. Lunch was a packet of nuts and a nature valley bar, then spicy pork noodles for dinner which was yummy.

    💤 Sleep: slept ok last night but it was very cold. My feet were freezing even though I had my down booties on. I just couldn’t get warm.

    💰Money: $22 on my Wise card for shipping a bounce box to Mount Laguna (around mile 40).

    🐍 Snake count: zero! I was paranoid all day especially as the weather got hot! Every stick was a snake!

    👨 People update: We have such a lovely group of people as we are in the bubble. There are four Brits (me, Sam, Harry & Amber). I’ve walked with DinkyDi from Oz all day today which has been great. Brian (aka Captain Cook) from the US has the same tent as me so we geeked out. At our tent site tonight we have 12 of us which is great. We all ate together and chatted around an unlit camp fire.

    LEARNINGS:-

    I learned that being filthy is a real issue for me and I need to get over it! They all laughed as I heated up water and gave myself a wash. You should have seen the grime coming off my body, especially my legs! I’m going to purchase wet wipes as soon as I can. My clothes are disgusting and it’s only day one!

    Show your support: please donate to SHOUT 85258. The free, 24/7, confidential, mental health text support service. https://mhi.enthuse.com/pf/julia-doherty-10e0d

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    🍳 6.30am - An awesome breakfast at CLEEF campsite and a great atmosphere as we waved people off on their PCT journey. I used a bagel slicer for the first time (small things eh?). Coffee was the best!

    🇺🇸 7.44am - Gave John (US) my spare hiking pole as his had broken and he needed one for his tent.

    🏋️‍♀️ 8.05am - and we are off! Boy this pack feels heavy. Trevor weighed my pack at CLEEF and it was 22lbs with food but without water but it still felt heavy. And no, I’m not giving up my chair. Well, not yet anyway.

    🕺 8.15am - Mile marker one! We stop to take the iconic photo of the 1 mile sign and bump into Harry & Amber, two Brits from Reading. Amber does a “Chandler Dance” with me at the sign (from Friends programme).

    ✉️ 8.30 - Im walking with DinkyDi from Oz and we have a really good chat. She’s great company. We walk about a mile and arrive at the post office. From here I can post my bounce box which I’d also been carrying since the campsite. It took a while, and I had to throw some bits into a hiker box as it wouldn’t all fit into a large Priority Mail Box. I cover it with bright pink duct tape and wave goodbye to my comfort items. See you at Mount Laguna!

    9.20am - DinkyDi had sent her spare phone home to Oz at the post office and then we continued to hike together. One of my goals for this hike is to slow down and find a geocache. Dinky Di helped me find one at mile 2 which was hidden in the bushes.

    9.30am - We hit the famous train track at mile three. DinkyDi and I celebrate by doing a chandler dance!

    10.20am What’s that? Two random weird statue things are looking at us from a rock. They are about 6 inches high, have a big head and one toe. It’s strange the things you spot on the trail! We hear a noise behind us and we are introduced to yet another Brit, Sam from Maidenhead. He’s a real character, around 30 years old and very chatty. Our little group of three hike together for a few miles.

    🦶 10.40 - Sam, Di and I reach our first water crossing. I fell in the creek but in all honesty, it was lovely to have cold wet feet as they were so hot!

    10.42 - Not long after the creek we bumped into two locals. They warmed us about the river crossings in the next few days. Apparently one goes up to your waste! Eeek!

    ☀️ 1.20pm - It’s now very hot and I’m drinking water like it’s going out of fashion. This desert hiking is beautiful and the views are amazing but the heat zaps your energy. We decide to stop for lunch at the next creek. We are in “the bubble” which means there is a big group of us that constantly leap frog each other. Id say the bubble is around 30 people. We spot out friend Sara (HYOH hair cut lady) who is sitting on a rock. She has had a fall and grazed her legs and cut her knee open.we patched her up and decided to stop here for lunch and keep her company. Sam continued on.

    The switchbacks here are great and nothing like climbing mountains in the UK. They sort of weave back and forth at a gradual incline and before you know it we are at the top of another peak. There is water everywhere so I’m carrying about 2.5 litres at the moment rather than the six that I had originally planned for.

    🏕️ 4pm - DinkyDi and I stumbled upon a group of hikers at Mike marker 11.4 and we decided to stop and camp with them. We have 10 tents in an area for for three so it’s a bit cozy!

    🙏 Grateful: To DinkyDi for walking with me and keeping me company.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    24142

    PCT 2023 - Day 2 - Shower time!

    April 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    The one where we had a squiggle, the best cheeseburger ever and an orgasmic shower!

    📍 Location: Mile 11.4 to Lake Morena

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 20 : 3496 ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 14.7 miles

    ☀️ Weather: Perfect! The umbrella did come out when we started to climb Hauser Creek but it was manageable.

    ⛑️ Health / Physical / Mental:- I struggled with not being clean today. In hindsight my light aqua coloured hoody was not the best choice. Physically I’m good.. tired but no aches or pains (the training is paying off!).

    🍲 Food: expedition breakfast (from the UK, I love these!), the best cheeseburger ever (thanks Kelly & Kevin). Then just snacked again for dinner as the cheeseburger was so filling!

    💤 Sleep: I slept much better as it was warmer, although I have a slow puncture in my sleep pad which is annoying. I’ll need to try and fix it when I’m in a hotel.

    💰Money: $16 on burger and chips. $12 for resupply for snacks and lunch tomorrow. $5 on a campsite.

    🐍 Snake count: still zero!

    👨 People update: Peter from Switzerland now has a trail name “Disco Daddy”.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-,

    7am - I was awake at 5am but didn’t leave camp until gone 7am. I was the first up and the last to leave! Im walking with Di and Disco Daddy and the pace is just right.

    7.18 We talk about poo a lot on this hike! Horse poo, human poo and we also see a lot of coyote poo! Di knows her poop. She also told me that she could hear something sniffing around her tent last night which scared me to death! I was camping next to her and never heard a thing.

    7.26 - We stop at a small creek which was just 1 mile from our camp site and fill up on water. For some reason we got talking about cows (I can’t remember why?). Amber suddenly declares her love for cows and drops her shorts / leggings to reveal a very beautiful tattoo on her thigh of a Highland Cow.

    8.10 - Amber & Harry are speedy hikers so we soon lost them. Me & Di are happily hiking and outing the world to right when a booking voice comes from just below us and shouts “boo”. It scared the bejesus out of me and in early fell of the mountain… thanks Harry.

    9.08am - Three of us (me, Disco and DinkyDi) are walking side by side on a road track singing “D.I.S.C.O” the 70’s song. We were so distracted that we didn’t see the turn off for the PCT! One mile later we thought if best to check the FarOut Guide and I declared “in my club this is known as a squiggle”. We traipse back up the hill (no singing now!).

    9.42 - We head down to Hauser Creek which is flowing really well but is easy to cross using stepping stones. From here wee need to camel up as we have our first big mountain to climb (3496ft!). Others are here doing the same. Joel exclaimed that he had seen a snake! My heart stopped. It wasn’t a rattler, bPut just a small grey coloured one with a tiny head. He had to poke it with his pole to move it off the trail. We also bumped into a young man who was still packing up his tent. He shouted out to us “watch out for poison oak!”. I had no idea what it looks like so I went over to his little tent spot and he showed me the evil plant! Noted.

    The climb starts now. Let’s get this done!

    10.10am - 6.48 miles. This is a hard climb and full of switchbacks. I’m with DinkyDi and Disco Daddy. We stop for a quick breather numerous times on the way up and we are drinking so much. The views are just spectacular and it’s difficult to out it into words. We are walking through boulder fields then gorgeous green areas. The flowers are wonderful as well. Note to self: take photos of the flowers and Cacti 🌵 tomorrow!

    12 noon - All three of us turn a corner and there it is in the distance. Lake Morena in its full glory. It feels so good to see civilisation. 1 mile to go until we can order that cheeseburger that I’ve been thinking about for a while!

    12.30pm - We made to the famous Malt Shop where we all order burgers and coke. It tasted so good! Probably the best burger I’ve ever tasted! It’s gross though as I’m filthy and there is dirt under my nails! Captain Cook is here and has decided to continue on to the next campsite as he wants a PCT tag, and he can get one from the PCTA at Boulder Oaks Campground. That’s another 6 miles! Many people didn’t get their PCT tag at the start of the trail as the lady giving out the tags was on holiday for Monday & Tuesday.

    We finish our food, gather our stuff and lift those heavy rucksacks onto our backs. Heading back to the campground Dinky Di and I decide to camp here. It’s $5 for the night and more importantly they have hot showers! I have no soap or shower gel but find some in a hiker box. That will do! The shower is so good. It was $0.25 for 4 mins. I had 16 mins and washed my clothes at the same time. I feel like a human being once again.

    3.15pm. There are lots of familiar faces at this campsite and also quite a few new ones. We said goodbye to Disco Daddy, Supervisor Sam and a few others. Sierra (young lady from Montana) was sitting on the floor rubbing body glide on the inside of her legs. “Are you ok?” I ask. “Chub rub sucks!” She says. They all head off to Boulder Oaks to get their PCTA tags and we will catch up with them in a few days.

    4.10pm - An older gentle turns up at the campsite with a big bag of tangerines. His name is Scott and he lives in the village. He adores ThruHikers and he gives trail magic everyday to those at the campground. He points out a huge pelican that flew over the lake and also an eagle. Wow! “Does anyone need a lift to the Malt Shop?”. Six of us say yes please and hop into his people wagon. “Would you like a little tour of the lake?” He asks and we all say yes enthusiastically. Lake Morena is stunning. He drives us around pointing things out and telling us stories of the village and about his own hiking experiences. He gave tips on how to gut a fish and where the best place to go trout fishing in the area. He showed us an eagles nest that had two youngsters. It was just surreal. I’m so glad we stopped here. Scott dropped us off at the Malt Shop and I bought snacks and lunch for tomorrow. I was tempted to have another cheeseburger but thought I’d save my pennies.

    I spent the rest of the evening chatting around the fire pit and then writing my blog in my tent.

    LEARNINGS:-

    Showers are the best invention ever!

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  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    1
    1SunriseOn tge way out of Lake Morena2311

    PCT 2023 - Day 3: RIVER CROSSING!

    April 19, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    The one with the waterfall lunch stop, a gruelling climb and our first proper river crossing.

    📍 Location: Lake Morena to Cibbets Flat Campground

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 32.6 / elevation today reached 4219ft (and I felt it!).
    🥾 We actually walked: 15.11 miles.

    ☀️ Weather: Similar to yesterday, it started off quite cool but by 10am it was absolutely baking. Hiking with a heavy pack, going up and down these mountains is just exhausting. Our pace was 34 mins per mile which shows how tough it was.

    ⛑️ Health / Physical / Mental:- Tired! My body is tired and my tent now stinks of deep heat. No blisters but my left shoulder keep cramping up. I need to get some weight out of my pack and learn to manage my water better. Mentally I’m still quite strong although I did put my airpods in towards the end of todays hole and Rachel’s gym voice of encouragement with “you got this mum, just push a bit more” was with me all the way.

    🍲 Food: Expedition breakfast, cheese and crackers for lunch, pasta bolognaise for dinner and snacks throughout the day.

    💤 Sleep: I actually slept well although Joey and Di both had little visitors (gopher’s, which are a bit like moles). I didn’t hear a thing and was fast asleep by 7am and woke up at 4am. I’m nearly over the Jet Lag.

    💰Money: Zero money spent today. #HappyDays

    🐍 Snake count: I didn’t see any, but about 30ft in front of me, Di saw a baby snake. I think it’s just a matter of time.
    🦎 Lizard count: 100 million! They are everywhere and still make me jump.
    🐶 Dogs count x 2. A gorgeous golden retriever called Max and. Beagle called Luke. Di works for an animal rescue place in Australia and loves all animals. She has a rescue goat at home called billy. You should have seen Di’s face when she saw the dogs today.

    👨 People update: Harry is not well. He has a migraine, but he now thinks it may be Ecoli from the water at the campground. We were told to filter the water or boil it before drinking it. Harry & Anber didn’t see the signs. They still made it to the campsite tonight but we’re about 2 hours later than everyone else.

    LEARNINGS:-
    When things get bad then we always have more in the tank. We just keep going. One foot in front of the other.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    5am - Woke up and wrote up the last two days worth of blogs. I’m struggling to find time to edit videos as well and I don’t want to miss out on the social aspect of the trail. There is no point being here and just sitting in my tent editing videos so I’ll try and get those done in town.

    7.36 - Packed up, breakfast done and we are off. Freezing! Poor Harry has had a migraine all night so he and Amber are just going to see how they feel today. Tim, Joey and a few others have already left. It’s looking like a high of around 22 degrees today so should be a good day for hiking. (I laugh when I read this back as it got into the 30’s! - the weather apps lie!)

    7.54 - DinkyDi, Joey and I are hiking together. We see weird statues and then a random wild Turkey decides to cross our path! We do our “Chandler Dance” by a sign that reads “Campo 20
    Miles” and Joey suggests a trail name of Dancing Queen for me (but I decline it as I’m not that much into ABBA and I’m an awful dancer! 😂

    7.57 - We stop to chat to a local who is mowing his lawn. “Are you hiking the PCT?” He asked. “We sure are sir”, says Joey. “Well the PCT is that way!” As he pointed down the road where we had just come from. 😂 DinkyDi declared “another near squiggle”!

    9.13 - We are climbing up, up, up so at the summit of one hill it was time for a group of us to let the chickens out. (Which is a stretching exercise). DinkyDi has a similar exercise called “let the chickens in” which involves a lot of bending and swinging. It feels good!

    10.50 - This is where the fun starts as we approach our first real river crossing. On the other side of the river is Disco Daddy and Captain Cook. They tell us that it goes to your thigh in places and to face upstream as the current is quite high. We all change into our camp shoes and I have my Skinner socks on. DinkyDi goes first. DISCO Daddy is giving clear instructions as to which way to go. Apparently there are big holes in the middle so we needed to avoid those. Following his guidance Di made to the other side safely and now it was my turn. I took tentative steps as the ice cold water filled my shoes. It was smooth on the bottom and actually quite a pleasant experience. DISCO daddy guided me as well and before I knew it I was on the other side. Now it was Joey’s turn and he was over safely within a few mins. We joined Disco Daddy and Captain Cook for a break and a catch up whilst drying our feet. They didn’t make it to Boulder Oaks last night so were camping out here until 3pm to get their PCT tag, and then doing some night hiking. We wished them well and said we would catch up with them in town tomorrow.

    12.06 - The trail continues up, up. up, and the views are out of this world. All you can see is mountains galore in all directions. The yucca plants, cactus and wild flowers are beautiful. Bounding down the trail is a huge ginger Labrador, shortly followed by his owner. I hear a squeal of delight from DinkyDi who makes a big fuss of Max the dog. I was just thankful for the quick rest!

    1.36 - We heard through the trail grapevine that there was a side trail down to a waterfall. “Shall we explore and perhaps have lunch their?” I asked Di. “Brilliant idea”. It really hadn’t dawned on me that a waterfall would not be up high where we were. We left our backpacks in a bush just off the trail and I grabbed my chair and food bag. Heading down towards the waterfall it felt like we were off to the beach! After a rather sketchy scramble down we came out into an oasis which was just stunning. Jolly Sarah was returning from a paddle and she told us about the rattlesnake that was up on the rocks on the other side. Eeek! Im glad I’ve got my chair as I set up and put my feet is the cold water. You could near hear the sizzle as I did so. I washed down my legs and scrubbed between my toes. Blimey, I’m filthy! We spend about 40 mins Al having lunch and going for a paddle before packing up and making the steep scramble back towards the trail. The climb was worth it and was just what we needed.

    The next few hours was some of the toughest hiking I’ve ever done. The afternoon heat was just insane and my umbrella was not making much of a difference, plus it kept getting caught in the bushes. My feet are throbbing and I have pain in my hips and my left shoulder. This pack is really heavy and I tell myself that I can do it! Stop focusing on the pain and look at those views… which worked for a few mins! You know when things are bad when my AirPods make an appearance. I pop one into my right ear and get lost in a podcast. I only use one earbud as I’m keen to listen out for those rattles!

    4.15pm - We made it! Cibbetts Flat Campsite. We are here with MooseJaw (I think that’s what he said?), Jesse, Joey and Di.
    Funny story, DinkyDi in Oz means “it will be alright, everything is Dinky Di”. She’s never heard the term meaning “small”.

    6.10pm - Amber & Harry turn up. Yey and so do two more Americans. This campsite has toilet facilities which is a real bonus. No pooping in the woods!

    I’m so very tired and I’m in bed by 7.30pm. Goodnight everyone. Tomorrow is town    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    Massive pine cones
    Pitch at Cibbets FlatLove my tentThese are hugeNit long nowSnow!Fabulous pine forestHad some fries hereSuoercisor Sam from MaidenheadCaptain CookAmber & HarryThe gangJesseAlex2This was yummy!2My room for tonightThe gang!

    PCT 2023 - Day 4

    April 20, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    The one with the half naked man in the woods!

    📍 Location: Cibbets Flat to Mount Laguna.

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 42.6 / Elevation 6212ft (high!!)
    🥾 I actually walked: 12.8 miles

    ☀️ Weather: Perfect! I left camp early and it was a bit chilly but as it warmed up I was walking next to a cliff that gave me shade and then through a pine forest. A perfect day.

    ⛑️ Health / Physical / Mental:- I felt a bit down this morning as I had to leave my friend DinkyDi at the campsite. She has dizzy spells (she couldn’t walk in a straight line) and was throwing up. She’s decided to stay at the campsite and wait it out.
    Physically I’m tired but feel good. The thought of being in a proper bed with a hot shower tonight is keeping me motivated.

    🍲 Food: Giant cookie & coffee for breakfast, fries for lunch then an awesome dinner of sea salt fries with meat and vegetables in a sauce on top. (I’ve forgotten what they call it, but see photo).

    💤 Sleep: 9hrs of sleep! I must have needed it. It was a very quiet campsite.

    💰Money: Too much!
    $14 for fries and hot chocolate
    $91 - for a motel room (thanks Rebecca)
    $38 - for three drinks in a bar with friends.
    $26 - for resupply food for the next three days.
    $22 - For dinner tonight.
    TOTAL - $191

    🐍 Snake count: Zero! Although I’m hearing more and more stories about sightings so they are out there!

    👨 People update: DinkyDi has altitude sickness. Harry is feeling better and back on track. People now have trail names and my little book of hikers is coming together nicely. I’ve taken a dinky Polaroid printer with me and I’m printing photos of all the people I’m meeting. It’s good fun to hear their trail names.

    LEARNINGS:-
    I used my portable bidet for the first time today. It was cold but rather refreshing and certainly makes you feel clean!

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    5.10am - I’m wide awake and started writing yesterdays blog. Gentle snores are coming from the tent next door (DinkyDi). The stars are stunning and so clear and bright. You can also see the milky way, it’s beautiful. I hope we have a good sunrise this morning as we’ve not seen a good one yet.

    7.03 - DinkyDi is poorly so with a heavy heart I pack up and start walking on my own. I don’t have enough food to stay another day so I have no choice but to leave her there. I need to walk 0.7 miles up a hill before I get back on trail but the weather is cool and I’m well rested. I’ve got this!

    9.25 - Five miles in and I’m taking a break. The climb has not been too bad. It’s all switchbacks and very rocky ground. Only 4.5 miles to go and I’ll be in Mount Laguna. I’m sitting by a creek with two massive pine cones for company! 😂

    10am - DinkyDi’s voice comes into my head as I fall up a giant rock step “if you trip then take a sip”. Realising that I haven’t drank much at all, I stop to catch my breath and take a sip of water.

    10.49 - Wow! I’m liking this beautiful pine forest trail. It’s soft underfoot and smells divine. There are massive pine cones everywhere. I need a wild wee so put my pack by a log, and grab my portable bidet. I’d rather experiment with this new gadget with a number one rather than a number two. “Squirt” blimey, that’s cold!! But I feel clean. A quick pat down and I’m good to go! I could get used to this. 1.6 miles to go. I’ll be there before lunch and I can’t wait!

    11.27 - I look up as I hear footsteps coming towards me. I young man in his 30’s is running down the hill with no clothes in apart from some small a blue shorts. I can’t help but stare at his six pack! “Happy trails” he says as he passes me. “It is now!” I thought with a smile. 😂

    11.34 - I hear someone approaching from behind me at quite a pace so I move over to the side and let her pass. She is not just walking, she is singing and dancing with her earphones in. At the bar later, I learn that her name is Anya from Ukraine and the pine forest reminded her of home. She was singing her heart out to some Ukrainian music. She’s been living in the US for the last few years.

    11.50 - Snow!! Just a few weeks ago this whole area was deep snow and PCT hikers were trudging through the forest. Today I come across one small patch of snow which reminds me of things to come when we get into higher elevation.

    12.00 - Pine Lodge Cafe. I enjoy fries and a hot chocolate and enjoyed conversation with a new group of hikers) although I’m missing my trail family.

    1.38 - Yey! I have collected my bounce box and the key to the motel room. I strip off and have the longest shower ever! The water running from my body takes a while to go from murky brown to clean! I put my town clothes on from my bounce box and set to work washing my clothes. When I asked about laundry facilities at reception, the guy says “sure, here you go” and hands me a bucket with a little box of laundry detergent. It was quite hard work trying to get my clothes clean, but they are now drying in the warm sun outside.

    3.30pm - I grab my Polaroid printer etc and head down the lane to the Saloon Bar. As I approach I hear loud voices that I recognise instantly. Sierra (now Hot Mess), Amelia (now Crick as she can’t say Creek), Supervisor Sam and Captain Cook are all here drinking whisky. Things could get messy. We are shortly joined by Disco Daddy, Joey and a few others. I spend a lovely waving catching up with them all and taking trail life. By 8pm I’m stuffed with food and drink and head back to my room for an early night.

    8.32pm - I’m snuggled up in bed. This is heaven!

    Night night. See you tomorrow and thanks for reading my rambles.

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    If you are enjoying the content and would like to support the hike: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/juliadoherty    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail

    PCT 2023 - Day 5 - Just wow!

    April 21, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    The one with the wow moment!

    📍 Location: Mount Laguna to mile marker 47.8 tent site.

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 47.8 / elevation 5450ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 9 miles
    💰 Money: Breakfast $16 coffee $2.60. Bounce Box $22.80
    ⛑️ Health: I feel great today. The night in a hotel really helped rest my body and my mind. (Thanks Rebecca)

    ☀️ Weather: Perfect! It did get hot and the umbrella came out, but it was manageable.

    🍲 Food: Breakfast was two huge pancakes with berries and a side of sausage (they call it a sausage link). I then snacked all day on nuts, snickers, nature valley bars etc. When we got to camp I was low on water so had dry food of tortillas and lemon chicken.

    💤 Sleep: Slept like a baby last night in a real bed!

    🐍 Snake count: Zero! After seeing photos of snakes that others have seen at breakfast, it’s just a matter of time.

    👨 People update: I saw Hans at breakfast this morning. He has also been very poorly and has been throwing up. I reckon everyone is suffering from some kind of heat stroke.

    LEARNINGS:-
    Being in nature has a way of lifting your spirits. Todays wow moment was really difficult to put into words.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    💤 5am - Had a great nights sleep and woke up feeling creative. I edited three YouTube videos and the series is scheduled to start from next Monday. I wrote up yesterdays blog and I’m enjoying the process of documenting my hike and I’m loving the encouragement and comments form people that are following along. Thank you 🙏

    🍳 9am - I’m all packed and sorted but the post office doesn’t open until 12 noon so I decide to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the Pine Lodge Cafe. I’m sitting with Hans & Jack and a few others. It’s good to feel part of something special and talking “trail talk”. My breakfast is delicious. Pancakes, berries and a sausage with a good cup of tea.

    👍 Jesse turns up and he has fixed the hole in his airmat. I’ll be walking with him later today as we plan a short 5.4 miles to the campsite. I’ve not heard from DinkyDi and hope she is ok.

    🏥 At breakfast I got talking to Samuel from France and Simon from Switzerland. They are very worried about their friend Justin who is in his early 20’s and was rushed to hospital from the campsite last night. He had heart problems. The ambulance took Justin’s backpack but his tent and sleeping bag etc are still at the site. Simon said he will pack it all up and give it to the Pine Lodge Cafe. He is going to ring the local hospitals to see if he can find out how he is. I’ve got their numbers and hopefully we can find out more info.

    ✉️ 12.00 - I pack up my bounce box and walk the short distance to the post office. It gets shipped to Warner Springs $22.80. I should be at Warner Springs within a week or so.
    I’m just about to head out on trail when my phone rings. It’s DinkyDi! She’s just got into town. “Stay where you are and I’ll come and meet you a coffee”. There she is!! I give her such a big hug. She tells me of her night at the campsite and superb trail magic.

    1.20pm - Di has already walked 9 miles from Cibbets Flat but she is happy to trudge on another 5.4 miles to camp. We make a stop at the shop for re-supply food for her, the post office and also the info centre to top up with water. Can I have a selfie? A guy who was driving back home and had chatted to us on the trail a few days ago stopped his car, jumped out and asked for a selfie! It was all a bit of a whirlwind but also very flattering. We are true PCT hiker trash! 😂

    2pm - and we are off! We have a choice to walk down the road or cut through the forest. Someone told Di to take the forest for the most amazing views and she was not wrong! Wow! Omg! Wow. As we emerged out of the forest trail by a small parking lot we have views of the desert floor and mountains beyond. I need to find better words for “stunning, gorgeous, beautiful, breathtaking” they just don’t seem powerful enough for what my eyes were seeing.

    2.13pm - Di and I are happily walking together and chatting when we spot Dan coming in the opposite direction. “You e done the same as me” he announced. “You are going the wrong way!”. I check the FarOut app and he is right. We are going down the map rather than up the map. Perhaps I should start counting a squiggles rather than snakes!

    Back on track with the magnificent views to our right now (not left!) I’m singing away. Di says “I suggest the trail name of Jukebox” for you. Each time Di mentions a word then I have a song about it. It’s something I do subconsciously. For example, we are walking down the trail and come to a creek where a German lady is having a break. Di says “Hi ho” to the lady and I start singing “hi ho silver lining, everywhere you go now baby”. I do it a the time and luckily it doesn’t annoy Di, she just sings along with me. The best song today was “top of the world, looking down on creation”.

    Wow, just wow. More views at each turn.

    🏕️ 5.35pm - We never did find anyone else of our trail family but eventually found a campsite at 8 miles into the hike (or 17 miles for Di!). Just me and Di tonight. A bit of stealth camping…. Sssssh!

    By 6.30pm we are tucked up in our sleeping bags and wish each other goodnight. I had no idea that this would be a terrible nights sleep….. the story continues tomorrow.

    Thanks for reading my rambles.

    Show your support: please donate to SHOUT 85258. The free, 24/7, confidential, mental health text support service. https://mhi.enthuse.com/pf/julia-doherty-10e0d    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    4
    323

    PCT 2023 - Day 6: SNAKE! 🐍

    April 22, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    The one with the amazing sunrise, two snakes and a fantastic campsite.

    📍 Location: mile marker 47.8 to MM 63.6 wild camping on both occasions.

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 63.6 elevation 5850ft max, camping at 3874ft.
    🥾 I actually walked: 16.2 miles
    💰 Money: No money spent
    ⛑️ Health: I have developed a small blister on top of a callus on my left foot. The rocks and heat combination it’s inevitable.

    ☀️ Weather: Another scorcher of a day and the nights are now getting warmer as well. Last night I had to open both vestibules to get some air into my tent.

    🍲 Food: Giant cookie for breakfast with coffee, tortilla and tuna for lunch. Vegetable hot pot (dehydrated meal) for dinner. I tried goldfish chips today. I’m eating snacks all day as well.

    💤 Sleep: Probably the worse night on this trip so far. It was hit and sticky. I kept tossing and turning. It didn’t help that some kids were having a party about a mile away and we could hear them laughing and shouting and honking their horns until gone 1pm.

    About 2am I heard something outside. Something big! It sounded like it was right next to Di’s tent and was rummaging through her food bag! I shouted “what’s that?” Imagining a mountain lion or coyote, but Di replied saying “it’s only me, I forgot to bring my food bag into my tent”. Phew!

    🐍 Snake count: Two! Omg! See long winded version below!

    👨 People update: I’m walking with Di, but also a new crowd as our tramily have hot footed it ahead of us. We have Logan aka “handyman” as he fixed the water spigot, Jesse. Is now known as “Round Two” and every time he stands up from a break he shouts “round two”. We have a lady called “sorry” who got that name on another long trail. (I can’t remember why?). And Rose who hasn’t got a trail name yet. People are calling me Jukebox rather than Julia which is taking a while to get used too!

    LEARNINGS:-
    Snakes are bloody scary but also very beautiful creatures.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    6.06 am - I emerge from my tent and take a look to my left. Over the mountains the sun is walking up and it’s stunning. Wow!

    7.16am - I camped with Di last night so we had breakfast and packed up then headed out. I feel good this morning even though I had a terrible sleep.

    7.41 - We are both nearly out of water so we were relived to see the creek. We got chatting to an older man called Woodchuck who is retired and now just travels. He’s a character and we leapfrog him all day. We meet some trail runners and the lead guy heard my accent and said “I think what yuh guys are doing is awesome, can I give you a hug?”. So there, in the high desert, I hugged a smelly trail runner with trendy blue glasses. Lol 😂

    8.32am - We are a good few miles in and the walking is east. I plug in my audiobook and listen to David Goggins nee book which is all about resilience. I only have one AirPod in as I’m still paranoid about snakes!

    Someone on this trail has a footprint in the shape of an aliens head. I wonder who that is?

    8.49am - Once we reach three miles we start the mile drink, stretch and snack routine. This continues all the way to 16 miles, but it keeps us hydrated and is a good little system.

    10am - We come across a picnic area and decide to take a bit of a break. Two people are practicing pitching a Lanshan 2 tent as they are heading out on a backpacking trip soon. Its nice chatting to the locals. We are lucky as there is a toilet here (long drop toilet). Logan managed to fix the water spigot so he was blessed with the trail name “Handyman”. Others turn up and it’s a good opportunity to update my photo book. I’ve been carrying a little Polaroid zip printer and a ThruNote book. Each hiker poses for a photo and then I print their picture and put it in the book. Today I add Woodchuck, Rose, Sorry, Handyman to the collection.

    Replenished, we are off again!

    This trail is spotless. Unlike the Camino where you find loo roll in places, the PCT is exceptionally clean.

    💀 11.05am - After a tough climb and clambering over rocks we come across a large memorial wall (see photos). It’s very beautiful with exception to the massive skull on the top.

    11.45am - Di is in front of me and she walked right over a baby rattler and didn’t see it! I screamed! I was about 2ft long and sunning itself on the trail. I was paralysed but knew I had to get around it. Do encourage me and after the count of three I jumped over it and then ran!

    12.30 We are now walking through a very weird scene. It’s a massive boulder field that goes on for about a mile. These random white and grey boulders look like giant eggs. We feel like we are in the movie “honey I shrunk the kids” I’m loving this!

    1.30pm - I’m getting low on water and my feet ache. My callus on my left foot is sore so in need to sort it out. We come across a lovely little creek where Woodchuck and Handyman are already perched with their feet dangling in the cold water. It looks so good! We set up for lunch and I’m enjoying having a fun wash in the stream. I’m getting accustomed to the filth now and wet wipes are my best friend but there is nothing better than a fresh wash in a river. My little chair makes an appearance and my umbrella keeps the sun off my face as I chill, eating tortillas with my feet soaking in the icy cold water. Life is good!

    4.20 pm - I’m tired now and we have continued the breaks every mile. I’m now leading the pack as we start a rather gentle decline down a mountain. That’s when I hear the most terrifying sound! To my right, just tucked into the brush is a massive black rattler all coiled up and looking rather angry. I instinctively jump backwards (like Scooby Doo jumping into Shaggys arms!) and hide behind Di and Rose who is walking with us. Di (from Oz so sees snakes a lot) takes charge. “Let’s give it some space” she says. So we wait a few mins and it starts to move off further into the bushes still rattling it’s tail. My heart is going so fast that I think it’s gonna pop out of my chest! That was frigging scary!

    Di is now leading and we have a few miles left to go until camp. I think the adrenaline helped me skip all the way into tentsite!

    We have a lovely campsite and there are about 10 of us here. Honza had a beer chilling in the steam so his new trail name is “one beer” as he had carried it all the way from Lake Morena!

    7.30pm - Also known as hikers midnight. I’m ready for bed. Night night.

    Tomorrow is town day!    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    111

    PCT 2023 - DAY 7, TRAIL MAGIC!

    April 23, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    The one with the blazing heat, trail magic and a fabulous historic cabin!

    📍 Location: mile marker 47.8 tent site to Julian.

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 77.3 and elevation started at 5253ft and finished at 2251ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 15.4 miles
    💰 Money: Cheeseburger 🍔 & beer 🍺 $15 and $110 for a cabin (big thanks to Paul & Soup for their kind donation to my PCT fund) $10 for a hitch.,
    ⛑️ Health: I feel sore. My left foot is tender on top and I now have two blisters which are painful. Apart from the feet issues I’m feeling good.

    ☀️ Weather: I’m not sure if I can continue walking in this heat. It zaps your energy. Others are leaving at 3-4am and then taking a long siesta before continuing their hike into the evening. Im not sure what I’m going to do yet.

    🍲 Food: Pop tarts (cherry flavour), I’ve just realised that we never stopped for lunch. We had a big cheeseburger in Julian around 4pm. So a bad food day!

    💤 Sleep: I slept a bit better last night. I was still hot and sticky but just slept in my underwear whilst watching the stars through the open doors and listening to the bubbling stream.

    🐍 Snake count: 2. No extra snakes today, although every stick looked like a snake to me!

    👨 People update: At Scissor Crossings we caught up with our trail family. Disco Daddy and Captain Cook are staying in Julian and letting the youngsters continue with their hike. A wise decision and it will be good to hike with these two again.

    LEARNINGS:-
    If it ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it. I’ve been wearing Decathlon compression toe socks since day one and not had any issues. Today I changed to Injinji toe socks and within 30 mins I now had a bad blister on my left heal. Stick with what works Jukebox!

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    5.20am - Let the pack up begin. Just 12 miles today and then we need to do our first hitch hike into Julian. It’s very exciting!!

    🥾 6.20am - And we are off! Di and I skipped breakfast and will munch on pop tarts as we hike. This is our earliest start yet! Town is calling and we need to get miles in before the sun makes an appearance.

    🥵 8.41am - Five miles in and our first break. It’s already blazing hot but we have found a fresh water spigot and it’s nice and cold. Seven miles to go!

    🐶 8.57am - Di and Rose are ahead of me now and I’m losing energy. It’s switchback after switchback and never ending. The views are spectacular but I’m starting to feel drained. This heat is insane and I can feel a hot spot on my heal.
    Then, I receive a text from Rachel to say the dogs at home had been entered into a dog show and Ava won best eyes and Alfie got a well done badge. A pang in my heart as I’m missing my family so much right now.

    🧦 10.39 am - I finally found somewhere in the shade to sit down and check out my foot. I swapped socks this morning and these super light Injinji socks have caused a big blister on my left heal. I patch it up then dig out my stinky smelly Decathlon socks and swap them over. Rose was also in the shade section and she is suffering as well. On top of foot pain, she also fell and rolled her ankle and she has terrible chaffing on her inner thighs. She’s still very upbeat and that lifts my spirits as well. Time to trek on!

    11.00 - After the break I plug in my AirPods and listen to a podcast. My umbrella is out and I’m taking photos of the gorgeous flowers along the trail. 🌸 It really is beautiful. I’m on the look out for snakes but these last few miles are fairly easy hiking. I can see
    DinkyDi in the distance and also the main highway which is our end point today.

    🍺 1.34pm - Yey! We made it to scissors crossing which is an underpass under the main highway and a great place for shade. We are greeted by a trail Angel called Bill who has put chairs out for hikers, provided ice cold beer and other drinks. This is heaven! Another guy turns up with more cold beers and I indulge in Bud Light. OMG! It tasted divine as the golden nectar slid down my throat. I put the cold can of beer on my forehead and that also felt great. Within 30 mins we were joined by other hikers, Jesse (Round Two) and Woodchuck. Then a few others that I’ve not seen before.

    🚗 3.10pm - Another trail Angel gave four of us a hitch into Julian which was 12 miles away. Not having been in a car for a while it felt super fast! Julian is a small town and just like something out of a Western Movie. Our hitch lady drops us at the small outdoor fitter place and we all chip in with some cash for her. The word on the street is that everyone is at the American Legion bar, so we all traipse up there seeking hot food and a cold drink. Everyone is here and there are high fives all around. The chatter is loud as there must 20 hikers all talking about the trail and different stories. I catch up with Samuel from France who tells me an update on the young lad who was rushed to hospital in Mount Laguna. He is now off trail completely and his dad is with him. He was discharged yesterday so he is ok, but is taking it easy. Justin was 20 years old and super fit so you never know what is around the corner!

    🍔 I order a cheeseburger and a Heinken Zero. They have strange rules here. I’m not allowed to take the beer outside around the front as it’s against the law (?). So I’m directed through the building following little signs until I get to the back yard where all the hikers are. I sit down and enjoy my beer and then devour my huge cheeseburger when it arrives.

    💰 Everyone is saying that places are fully booked. I managed to secure a cabin which is 1 mile from Julian and has two bedrooms. It’s expensive but at this stage I really don’t care and neither does DinkyDi. After spending a small fortune at the outdoor fitters (new sun hoodie, trowel and wet wipes), we head off in another car journey to our cabin.

    🛀 A bath!! A roll top bath with Epsom salts on the side! This place is awesome. As I take a bath, Di gets to work lighting the wood burning stove. She also discovers a washing machine and dryer in the shed outside (labelled as the goldmine). After my bath, I make a hot chocolate and cosy up on the couch watching the fire. When you’ve spend so much time in a tent then you really appreciate home comforts.

    I’m privileged to have the opportunity to experience all that this trail provides. Tomorrow I’m back in a tent, but for tonight I’m going to enjoy this huge double bed to myself and star fish all night!

    Thanks for listening to rambles. Xx    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    113

    PCT 2023 - Day 8 - SNAKE!! 🐍

    April 24, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The one with the frigging scary rattle snake and moms pie!

    📍 Location: Julian to MM 80.4 tent site.

    🥾 PCT Mile Marker: 80.4 with an elevation of 3074ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 5 miles (known as a “Nero” on trail).
    💰 Money: Resupply $54
    ⛑️ Health: I feel awesome after a great nights sleep. My feet are sore but I feel rejuvenated and raring to go.

    ☀️ Weather: We decided to stay in town for most of the day and then hike out around 4pm to stay out of the heat of the day. We camped just as the sun went down.

    🍲 Food: LOTS!! Breakfast was Giant breakfast burrito from Julian’s Bakery (thanks DinkyDi, who shouted us for brekky). Then I ate a free cherry pie and ice-cream from
    moms. They give all PCT hikers free pie. I’ve also snacked all day. I wasn’t hungry tonight so had a hot chocolate before crashing in my tent.

    💤 Sleep: Last night was awesome. A super comfy big double bed all to myself. I slept like a baby.

    🐍 Snake count: 3! Omg, see full story below for todays encounter. I’ve never been so scared.

    👨 People update: We spent all day with Harry & Amber (UK). Harry is now known as Princess. He was originally “Prince” but after screaming like a baby when a bunny rabbit jumped out in front of him, he graciously accepted the trail name of Princess. 😂. Harry is actually nothing like a Princess. 12 years in the army and he took charge on the snake encounter today. We are lucky to have him in our trail family. I personally call him King Harry!

    LEARNINGS:-
    There is always room for warm cherry pie!

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    🛌 8am - Slept like a log in the cabin and enjoyed a long shower first thing. My feet are patched up and we are ready to hitch into town. A huge thanks to Paul & Soup for their kind PCT POT donation which paid for this wonderful cabin. You guys rock (thank you). Xxx

    🐍 Sad story, one lady has been bitten by a rattlesnake and helicoptered out. The bite went through her shoe and then the person she was hiking with started bashing her walking pole on the ground and it slithered away. They got her to a road where they called 911 and she was taken to hospital.

    💃 Yesterday I purchased a new sun hoodie. “Julia” would never wear anything like this but “Jukebox” loves it! Be loud and proud! (See photo).

    🚗 8.50am - Di and I leave the cabin and start walking into town. It’s just over a mile and all uphill. Eventually a car pulls over and a lady winds down the window. She has scabs all over her face and it’s rather scary. She explains that she had a fall last week and tells us to hop in and put our packs in the boot. She’s a lovely lady and does trail magic for hikers every day. She even has a trail book on the dashboard that she asks us to sign. Her name is “Fossil lady” as she is a palaeontologist. (Not sure if I spelt that correctly?)

    🍳 9.00am - First stop is Julian Bakery and the service is slow but we are not in a rush. Di & I are joined for breakfast by Amber (Bless) and Harry (Princess) and Disco Daddy. I had the giant Burrito breakfast with extra sausage and I couldn’t eat it all. Bless her, DinkyDi paid for all our breakfasts!! How kind is that? She is one in a million. Love ya Di. Xx

    🥧 1.05pm - It has to be done, we stop for free pie at Moms shop. All you have to do is show your PCT permit and they give you free pie of your choice and a drink. I had the cherry pie (warm) with vanilla ice cream. Amber had pumpkin pie. We then got together to do the Chandler dance in front of the shop (Me, Amber and Harry). I’m not sure that Harry enjoyed that part! 😂

    🇨🇭 2.05pm. Disco is teaching us Switzerland tongue twisters. I was useless at it but we did have a giggle.

    🛻 2.50pm - Well, this is an adventure! I’m sitting in the boot of an SUV with all the backpacks as I’m the smallest person. We are getting a hitch to Scissors Crossing with two random American guys. This is totally illegal in the UK but it seems acceptable in the US!

    🚙 16.00 - We arrive at Scissor Crossings and I feel sick from travelling backwards in the back of the truck. I unfold myself out of the trunk and the two guys that are transporting us give us snacks, Gatorade, coconut water and they even have weed! 😂 this is such a weird experience.

    🦯 Oh no! DinkyDi has left her poles in town. She calls Disco Pete who is still in town and he finds her poles. Phew!

    👋 We say goodbye to our two trail angels and then another car pulls up. A tiny lady with a big floppy hat and a blind tiny dog gets out of the car. She is very excited to see hikers. “Please have these bananas and also this green tea”.
    We are already carrying so much, including 5 litres of water but it feels rude to say no. She gives us her number and tells us to call her when we are near Idlewild and she will bring us pizza! The hospitality here is on another level. It’s just incredible.

    👻 4.35 - We are now all sitting in the shade in the subway under the highway. A man called Ghost turns up. He’s another trail Angel and his stories had us all mesmerised. Such a great character and gave us loads of advice. He then went over to the side of the underpass and grabbed a 4ft long snake to show us what one looked like for real. Luckily it was dead (run over by a car earlier today) but it was still rather scary (and huge!). It’s body was thick and it’s head was tiny. This was a Gardner snake, and it was not poisonous, but it was still gross!

    🥾 5pm - Ghost had suggested that we wait until 5pm ish until we hike out. It’s only 5 miles and it will be cooler. So at 5pm we set off leaving Jesse, Rose, Sorry and Handyman to enjoy the beer that they had brought. So me, Di, Amber & Harry grab our extremely heavy packs and start the climb out of Scissors Crossing. There is no water source for 14 miles, so we are all carrying around 5 litres of water. It’s heavy!!

    The pace is good and moral is high. We are laughing and singing as we hike.

    👨 We bump into a guy called “Smokey beard” who warned us of a rattler on the trail. He said it was in the sun not far from here. He had been throwing stones at it to move but it wasn’t going anywhere. Apparently the snake was a bit pissed! (Ie: angry, not drunk). A drunk snake would be funny!

    👀 Our eyes were now pealed and we bashed our poles as we hiked.

    🐍 18.51 - Once again, Di walked by the rattler without realising (it’s becoming a habit of hers, lol) Amber saw it, and then it rattled and she jumped back. Harry was behind Amber and he turned and ran right into me. It was like a comedy sketch but also one of the scariest moments of my life! So the snake was curled up with a stick and it was about 5ft in length. We tried all sorts of things to get it to move. Harry threw some rocks at it and it moved from the side of the trail to smack bang in the middle of the trail. Ghost had told us earlier how fast these things can move, especially if they are feeling threatened or angry so it was scary. We were there for around 30 mins and it was now gone 7pm. The sun was setting and we only had 20 mins of daylight left and this snake was going nowhere! Eventually we decided to climb up and over the rocks above the snake which was sketchy. I fell over and was like a dying fly with my heavy pack keeping me down. Harry led the way, whilst Di stayed below and gave us instructions on what was happening with the snake. We descended on our bums and the snake was still on the trail.

    🥾 We continued walking for another half a mile and then set up camp. My adrenaline is still pumping through my body and I doubt I’ll sleep well tonight but I’ll give it a go.

    Life is an adventure right? I’m so glad I’m not on my own doing this!

    💤 Thanks for listening to my rambles. Night night    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    3

    PCT 2023 - Day 9 - Snooze day!

    April 25, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    The one with long siesta!

    📍 Location: MM 80.4 to MM 94.4

    🏔️ Elevation: 4297 ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 14 miles
    💰 Money: None spent but I’ve had some donations (thank you)
    ⛑️ Health: My left foot is clearing up nicely. The key is to try and keep it clean which is difficult in the desert. My shoulder and back aches with the extra water we are carrying (5 litres!).

    ☀️ Weather: Frigging hot. 36 degrees so we took a siesta. It’s too hot to hike.

    🍲 Food: Had the second part of that breakfast burrito from yesterday for breakfast, with a coffee. Then tortilla for lunch. I cooked Mac & cheese for dinner which was surprisingly good!

    💤 Sleep: I’m not sleeping at all well. My slowing pad is super warm and I just sweat all night. I’m seriously considering buying a new pad and shipping this one forward to the snow section.

    🐍 Snake count: 4! We saw another one today but not a dangerous one. This was quite cute!

    👨 People update: Hiking with DinkyDi, Amber and Harry. We are calling ourselves “snake patrol” 😂

    LEARNINGS:-
    When cooking max and cheese, you have to continually sit the pasta or it burns the bottom of the pot!

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    🤕 4.30am - Ouch! I’ve got my headlamp on as I’m packing Ip but didn’t see the cactus. A spike went straight through my shoe and into the side of my foot. My swearing woke up the rest of the camp. Oh well, they needed to get up anyway as we have hiking to do! We want to avoid the heat of the day and those horrible rattle snakes.

    🥾 5.30am. All set! 12 miles to do. Let’s get this shit done! Headlamps set to red mode.

    🤫 8.10 first break. Everyone is very quiet this morning and the chatter is very low key. It’s mentally exhausting looking for snakes.

    🌱 9.20 DinkyDi points out a plant that is safe and we all run it and smell our fingers. Nice!

    👋 10.21 - Look at that! Someone has made a sign from stones saying “90 miles”. Have I really walked 90 miles already. That’s awesome.
    The walking is slow and hot today. The super bloom in this area is amazing and today it was mainly white and purple flowers. We still have the most spectacular views but most of my day is looking at my feet! I must remember to look up and take in my surroundings more. Military Helicopters are flying over and they are very low. The noise seems so loud when all you have listened to is nature.

    I’m petrified of every bush and rock as we hike. I’m not wearing headphones as I need to listen out for those rattles.

    💦 11.30 - We made it to the third gate water cache. It’s a traipse down a long hill but some kind some has put gallons and gallons of water here for the hikers. We fill up, leave a donation in the pot and hike back up the hill. Siesta time! We eat lunch under a tree and put the world to right before closing my eyes and catching a few more hours of sleep. We stayed there until 4pm!

    🥾 4.10 - Packed up, our little snake patrol sets off again. Our goal is to hike 4 miles and then set up camp.

    🏕️ 17.04 - Made it! I have a cute little spot which is protected by the wind. I don’t have the energy to socialise so just cook dinner and then get into my tent to watch some Netflix. Editing videos and blogs am a wait for another day. For now, I just need to rest. I’m rather tired.

    Thanks for listening to my rambles.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    1112

    PCT 2023 - Day 10 - 100 miles!

    April 26, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The one with the 100 mile marker, a chilled market and a decision that I may regret.

    📍 Location: MM 94.4 to MM 101

    🥾 Elevation: 3479ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 8 miles
    💰 Money: $81 on resupply (big thanks to Rachel M and Mandy for their PCT donation pot).
    ⛑️ Health: I was so tired this morning. I’m not sleeping as it’s so hot in the night and I have a warm quilt and a super warm sleeping pad.

    ☀️ Weather: We left early and walked in the cool weather this morning. We reached our final destination at the hottest part of the day when it was well into the 30’s.

    🍲 Food: Giant cookie for breakfast, tortilla and cheese for lunch. I had stew for dinner followed by chocolate mudslide. I’m such a piggy!

    💤 Sleep: Crap! I’m so tired.

    🐍 Snake count: 4 no extra snakes today. Phew! But we do have frogs in camp! Omg these things are loud and I’m cowboy camping!

    👨 People update: Disco Daddy is now with us again which is great. I’ve added another 12 hikers to my year book and am thinking of putting the book on Amazon when I’m done.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    7am - We we’re meant to pack up camp and leave by six by it was more like 7am. It’s cool and the hiking is easy (or it would have been if I wasn’t so tired!)

    9.25 - It’s been quite cruisy and we are all on snake alert but we doubt snakes will appear as it’s still a bit chilly. Yey! We see the 100 miles stones in the ground and me, Di, Amber and Harry a take photos and do the Chandler dance.

    9.54 - Wow! The trail sudden changes as the desert vanishes and I’m now walking through lush green woods. This is so weird and I love it! All of us traipse into a large tent area which has a water trough with a flowing tap.

    10.10am - A guy called “old head “ is here with us by the roadside and makes a phone call. Within 10 mins we are being collected by a guy called Mike in a SUV. This time im not in the boot!! He takes us 3 miles up the road to a place called Montazuma Valley Market and RanchIT. This place is awesome and we spend all afternoon here. We get resupply, recharge electrics and you can have a shower at $20 (I didn’t do that this time around). I feel chilled and relaxed and enjoying the company of my fellow hikers. It’s expensive here. Nothing has prices on but for four days resupply of food it cost me $84 and then another $29 for tonight’s dinner. (But dinner was yummy!).

    4pm - We are now back in camp.
    We have such a good night as loads of us sat in a circle enjoying good chatter and singing. I’m sure you could hear the laughter for miles around.

    I’ve decided to give cowboy camping a go as it may be cooler and hopefully I get some sleep. Little did I know that tonight it would be something else that kept me awake!

    See you tomorrow l!    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    2

    PCT 2023 - Day 11 - EAGLE ROCK

    April 27, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The one with the meadows, Eagle Rock and a bucket shower.

    📍 Location: MM101 to MM114.9

    🥾 I actually walked: 15.8 miles
    💰 Money: $8 on drinks in the garage
    ⛑️ Health: Blisters are healing nicely. With exception to being extremely tired I feel good. No other aches and mentally strong.

    ☀️ Weather: It was in the high 30’s today. Taking a siesta is working really well.

    🍲 Food: Snickers, tortilla with Tuna and air cheese (crunchy cheese), then a surprise for dinner as I forgot to label the dehydrated meal. It tastes like rice and chilli but no meat (not sure). I did try python jerky today. Yuck!

    💤 Sleep: Bloody awful! Cowboy camping is not for me. The frogs kept me awake for a lot of the night and a Chinese man called Super Marion decided to call his family around 11am. He woke the whole camp with his laughing and chatter and it went on for nearly an hour!

    🐍 Snake count: Still 4.

    LEARNINGS:-

    Do not confront people in the US as they have have a gun.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    😢 6.10am - Both Disco Daddy and I cowboy camped last night for the first time. This basically means that we had no tent, just our sleeping mats and sleeping bags to keep us warm. I was hoping that this would solve my overheating issue at night, but it was probably the worse night I’ve had on trail so far. The Chinese man chatting to his mates, the frog chorus, hearing others go to the loo was not helping! I couldn’t find my AirPods and the weather got chilly! At 2am I touched my sleeping quilt and it was soaking wet with condensation. Yep, it was miserable night.

    🇨🇳 7.12 - I set off on my own with Disco daddy, DinkyDi, Amber & Harry following behind me. As soon as I’m walking my bad mood lifts and I realise how beautiful this hike is. It’s very different terrain today. I’m walking through vast lush green meadows that have a sprinkling of orange poppys everywhere. Cows are in the distance and it sort of reminds me of home. I hear a noise behind me and it’s the Chinese Man called Super Mario who smiles at me, and says hello as he zooms by. A few mins later he turns around and runs back down the trail towards me and hands me his phone. “Photo” he declared in his strong Chinese accent. Then he does a pose for the camera. I snap away and he grabs his phone back and says thank you, then goes back to collecting mushrooms for extra energy (super Mario joke).
    My head is playing tricks on me today and I feel a pang of home sickness. The cows, the meadows the lovely views. I need to speak to my husband and daughter soon. I’ll try and get in touch later.

    💦 7.56 - First creek and I top up with water. 4 miles in, still on my own. I wonder where the guys are?

    🦅 9.10 - Wow! I’ve been wanting to see this iconic rock for a long time… Eagle rock is fascinating. Disco Daddy has joined me and we take photos for each other (see pictures). Disco Daddy calls his wife to say hi and I wonder if I have data to being able to FaceTime Matt & Rachel. I send them a text “are you in? Can I call?”. I quick answer back and yes!! I go into WhatsApp and video call them. They are sitting in the living room with the two dogs and we chat about all sorts of things. I introduce them to Disco Daddy and show them Eagle Rock. They tell me stuff about home and I can see Alfie & Ava (dogs). I miss home so much and feel better as I finish the call. Disco Daddy and I retrieve our wet sleeping bags and lay them in the sun whilst we wait for Di, Amber & Harry. Within 15 mins the others had arrived and our sleeping bags were bone dry. The sun is now at 28 degrees. We have four days worth of food and three litres of water in our packs. It’s hard work and slow going.

    🥾 11.17 - I’m now behind the group as we head into Warner Springs to collect our packages from the post office. Or, I was behind but then a trail Angel called “off trail” picked me up in his SUV and drove me to the small town which was just a mile away and I arrive the same time as Di & Disco Daddy. There is a petrol station selling drinks and food as well as the post office, toilets and picnic benches. There are a number of hikers here and I know all of them. It’s good to catch up. We stay here for about an hour and then “Off Trail” drives us another mile or so to the local community centre where we can take our siesta, charge our electronics and have a hot bucket shower. This shower system is such fun! You grab a big bucket, fill it with hot water and then grab a jug. They have little cubicles designed like showers. All clothes removed and then you grab the jug and start scooping and chucking water over yourself. Omg! I’m in heaven as it’s such a luxury to see all the grime poor from my body. Disco is in the cubicle next to me making oh.. ah noises as well. Lol. Meanwhile, Dinky Di is chatting up the locals. A tall guy with a long white beard and a Native American look is talking to Di. I sit down next to him and listen to his stories which are all rather spiritual. We are both mesmerised as he has a way about him. He closes his eyes as he is telling a story as if he is reliving it. When he announces that it’s time to go back to work, I ask if I can snap his photo for my PCT year book. Ed looked flattered and when I printed out his photo it was as if I was showing him something magical. What a lovely character and a real highlight of the day.

    🐶 16.12 Siesta done and now it’s time to hit the trail again. We have about 4 miles before camp. As we are exiting the parking area we spot a guy with a backpack and a dog (also wearing a backpack). I say to Di “surely he is not hiking the trail in this heat with a dog?”. Di looks really upset as we approach the man. The dog is panting hard. “You can get shoes for dogs you know”, Di said to the man. “He’s just spent ages in the creek” said the man, with a “I’m not discussing anything attitude”.

    As we continued walking I couldn’t help but voice my opinion. That poor dog. Di was visibly upset as well but recalled something that she learned just before her hike from Scout and Frodo’s. Di repeated it to me. “You will see things that upset you on trail to do with animals or dogs. Remember that some people over here carry a gun and it’s just not worth the risk”, she had a point but it didn’t make it easier to walk away.

    🌸 17.55 Wow! I’m in my element as I’m crossing rivers, hopping on stones, climbing gates and singing through a forest that is in bloom. There are bluebells and these little white flowers everywhere. It’s gorgeous here and so different from the high desert that we’ve been walking through.

    🏊‍♀️ 18.50 - We finally see Amber & Harry at camp. They have been here for around an hour or so and have had a swim in the river. It’s a perfect site and Di, Disco and so get yo work to set up our tents.

    🌹 19.10. We are all eating dinner, overlooking the river. Afterwards we have a “Roses and thorns” sharing session. Your best experience today and your worse experience today.

    Today has been amazing. Thanks for joining me on this journey. See you tomorrow.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    1213

    PCT 2023 - Day 12 - HIPPY CAMP.

    April 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    The one with the squiggle, a weird hippy camp and a rather dangerous landslide!

    📍 Location: MM114.9 to MM 131.50

    🏔️ PCT Elevation 5572 ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 17 miles
    💰 Money: No money spent.
    ⛑️ Health: I’m filthy and my body aches but it’s all good. Everyone in our little Tramily are doing well.

    ☀️ Weather: Reached 36 today. It was not fun!!

    🍲 Food: Granola which I love. I’m gonna some more of those. Tortilla with spicy tuna for lunch and a hot chocolate. I couldn’t eat my dinner as it was too spicy so I gave it to the man in the tent across the way. He has a massive pack but no food! He also had no spoon so I gave him my emergency one that I’d got from MacDonalds. I think I have a new friend 😂

    💤 Sleep: not a bad night at all! I think these hot sweats are nothing to do with the weather and are more to do with the menopause as everyone else thinks it’s cold at night. Everything is sticking to me during the night so I may try and get a cotton sleeping bag liner. (I welcome any advice from ladies over a certain age).

    🐍 Snake count: 4! I think we are out of the worse snake part now.

    👨 People update: it’s been a strange day. Harry is having issues with his water hydration thing. Some people are walking on their own to work through some problems. People are out here for all sorts of reasons. Very similar to a Camino.

    LEARNINGS:-
    Systems and procedures make life so much easier! I’ve figured out so many things to make life easier for me on trail. Things like all spare bags go into my tent bag as I unpack which is then clipped around a pole. I have so many tips now. (Future video!)

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-
    🥾 6.40 - Disco Daddy sets off first and Di and I follow later. I slept ok so feel good this morning. Di is not quite her chirpy self as she is aching a bit, but it soon wears off.

    💦 7.20 - Wow, these water crossings are a bit challenging. I dig out my tent pole so that I’ve got extra stability. There are no bridges or nicely laid stones, no, we have to cross the best way we can. The first one was the hardest out off all the river crossings today, but it was really good fun.

    👋 9.13 - We pass the Jesse/Kodak/Handyman crewe and say hi. We can’t stop here like they are, so Di and I continue up the hill. We stop at an open vista at the top for a quick drink and to take photos of the views before carrying on. Looking at the map the trail double backs on itself, so I lead the way. 10 mins later we bump into Jesse and the crew. “How did they get in front of us?”. Then it dawned on me that we just walked down the hill rather than up the hill so did 0.3 miles the wrong way! How stupid!

    🥾 10.49 - I take a break under a tree. Ive got my stride on today and feel great. The water source is shitty at this creek so I’ll keep it for emergencies only. I’m not up for drinking frothy gross water just yet. Six miles to go until Mikes place.

    🦶 12.00. I’ve been walking on my own for some time and not seen a soul in a while. I’m drinking every time my watch pings “1 mile” and doing stretches. My right foot is sore and I really need to stop but I don’t want to sit in the blazing sun in the middle of this boulder-field. Finally, I see a tree that is offering a bit of shade, so I set up my little chair (love that chair!) and take the weight off my feet. I tend to the new blister on my right foot, reapply sun screen and eat a snickers bar. I hear footsteps and it’s DinkyDi. She’s caught up with me and is in good spirits. “Did you see that huge rock?” I look around. There are huge rocks everywhere. She then shows me a photo and yes, it’s a beautiful spot. She’s very excited to be walking through the boulders again. All I can think of is snakes (although I didn’t see a single one).

    🤡 1.30pm - I’m on the count down to Mikes place. Eventually I see a hippy looking sign that takes me off trail and leads me to some huge water tanks. Taylor from the US is there. “Your friend went that way, down the steps” she pointed and I followed her directions. This place is super weird. It’s like a hippy camp / junk yard! As I’m walking through I pass old beaten up caravans, debris and rubbish everywhere and then I arrive at some buildings. It’s quiet so I walk around the building in search for DinkyDi. I see a set of rusty bench press machines (weird) and other gym equipment that is past it’s sell buy date. I hear voices and finally see my friends. Disco and Di and lying on their mats enjoying a rest. To their right is an old Cadillac classic car that has been spray painted to cover up the rust. To the left is a sword in the ground with a metal ladybird. This place is just full of strange things. I join them and then go to put my phone etc on charge. The Charing station is right next door to a huge skeleton that is wearing a hat!! Yep, weird. We eat, drink and rest in the shade for our siesta.

    👋 15.51 I’m glad I stopped at Mikes place for a rest but I’m also pleased to say goodbye as it has an uncomfortable vibe. I wonder what Mike actually looks like? We go back to the big water tanks and fill up four litres of water each. There are no water supplies for 14 miles so this next section will be challenging. I’m delighted to see Amber & Harry as they traipse down the hill. It sounds like they have had a tough day. “Catch you later at mile 132 tent site” I say.

    17.29 - Up, up, up! Switchbacks, rainbow mountains, and San Jacinto Mountain, this section is beautiful. This morning I was walking in a forest navigating rivers and now I’m climbing a mountain of over 5000ft. It goes on for hours!! On the decent I have my AirPods in but I hear a female voice shouting. I take out my AirPods and can see Di across the ravine. She’s waving at me. “Be careful on that next section ” she bellows across the canyon. “The trail has fallen away in parts, take your time and walk slowly”. I now remove my earphones and store them safely in my pocket. I take down my umbrella which limits my vision and take a deep breath before starting the dodgy section. As I clamber over fallen trees with sharp cliffs on one side I feel a little scared. I’m concentrating very hard but I’m also extremely tired as I’ve already walked 15 miles. My foot slips and I catch a branch to stop me falling. I then take a min and the words “if you trip, take a sip” are etched in my brain. I’m actually gulping water rather than sipping.

    Slowly, slowly I make the descent and an hour later I’m at the foot of the mountain and so happy to see camp. DinkyDi and Disco are here but Amber & Harry never made it. I hope they are ok. I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow. In the meantime, I wish you goodnight.

    We have another 15 miles to do tomorrow so this is going to be tough.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    132

    PCT 2023 - Day 13 - Toughest Day

    April 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    The one with the mental and physical challenge.

    📍 Location: MM 131.50 to MM 142.4 (camping)

    🥾 Elevation: 4162ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 11 hard miles
    💰 Money: No money sent.
    ⛑️ Health: I promised to be authentic on these blogs so that’s what I’ll do. Today I discovered mosquito bites on my back and I also have chafing where a lady should never have chafing. It’s not pleasant! Sudocrem is my best friend! I threw up and just can’t keep anything down.

    ☀️ Weather: This heat is killing me. We left at 6am to avoid the heat of the day, but it’s roasting at 8am!!

    🍲 Food: Granola, tortilla and peanut butter (which I threw up!). A few snacks but I didn’t eat much today. (Sorry for those worried about my food, ill do better tomorrow).

    💤 Sleep: last night I slept ok. It was windy and even though people were moaning about it, I loved the breeze,

    🐍 Snake count: 5. I was shaken by a rattler today and I was on my own.

    LEARNINGS:-
    Listen to your body. Stop when you need to stop.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    🎒 6am - What a great start to the day, it’s all downhill and I’m in my element. My pack is heavy but I don’t care. I slept well (ish) and feel good.

    😓 7.36 - I’m a few miles in and its boiling already. I feel a soreness in my butt cheeks which I’ve never felt before. It’s a bit difficult to stop and check but I knew I had to do something. At a bend on a switchback I grabbed my bidet to cool myself down, then got out the sudocrem. Just as I stood up “Kodak” aka Rose, came down the hill singing. “Are you ok?” She asks. “Butt chaffe sucks” I replied. “Me too, but keep cream on it and it will go away in a few days” she said. Perhaps that’s enough about a bum on fire!

    🙏 8.06 - “oh, by the way, have you dropped something?” She asks. I look puzzled as she hands me my Platypus Dirty Water bag. “Good job you’ve got your name on it” she says. Thanks to Annette for the awesome labelling machine, it works!

    🏕️ 8.08 - Amber and Harry (The Royals) had a bad day yesterday. With blisters on their feet and hands, plus the heat etc, they didn’t make it to our camp last night but camped a few miles back. It’s now just gone 8am and their smiley faces are lighting up the trail. Nothing can put these two down. It was so good to see them. They said hi then I let them pass as they were much faster than me.

    🥵 9.06am - I’m now on my own and my pace has slowed right down. Climbing these hills, negotiating big boulders and rocks on the trail in this heat is crazy. I must have at least 30th d on my back. I haven’t seen anyone for miles. Just as I pass a massive boulder I hear a very distinctive rattle. I literally ran down the trail which I know is stupid. My heart is pumping fast and I’m about to cry. I start to question what on earth I’m doing out here?

    😴 9.21am - I skip the water source as I still have two litres and I don’t have the energy to walk a 1/4 mile down the hill and then up again. I’m exhausted in this heat and it’s only 9.20am!!

    💦 10.49am - My next stop is a water concrete cistern. An American fella is here (I forgot his name) and so is Nick from the UK. The American takes charge and enjoys helping out a lady in need of water. In his manly way, he lies on his stomach and dips his water bag into the cool smeggy water below. It looks rank with bits floating in it. He gets up and transfers a litre into my dirty water bottle. I then filter it into another bottle and it’s looking much better. This guy loves the English accent and kept the conversation going for a while. If I’m honest, I was just glad for an excuse to stop.

    💤 11.30 - Siesta time. I can’t stand this heat. I’ll leave again around 3.30pm and then trek on to the Water Tank at Mary’s. (That didn’t happen!)

    🥾 1.30pm - DinkyDi shows up with Jesse and The Royals (Amber & Harry). They all look pleased to see me as they were concerned. They are pushing on in this heat and for some crazy reason I decide that this is a good idea and I’ll stay with my tramily. DinkyDi explains that they are stopping each mile and having a drink. They head off and I pack up my gear. Deep breath! You got this…. I tell myself, but I haven’t. I feel weak, in pain with my hips, dizzy and just not up for walking in this heat. Stupidly I carry on slowly. The gang is a long way ahead now and I’m just getting slower. After a mile of stopping and starting I call it quits.

    🏕️ 5pm - I made it to mile 142.4 and I’m exhausted. I’ve thrown up once and I know I’m dehydrated even though I’m drinking loads. I’ve walked in Spain but never in this heat and it’s taking its toll. I know I need to eat something as well so I choose the heaviest thing in my pack which is Orange Granola. I can also eat this with cold water as I’m running out of gas for my stove. The hot chocolate hits the spot and it’s handy that I have no mobile phone service so I can just go to bed without any distractions. The others are camped 2.6 miles away so as I’m an early bird and I hike fast before the sun comes out, then I should catch them up.

    Right, last little chores to do before bed. I need to redress my blisters and clean this filth off me using wet wipes. We have no water for a while now so I need to be careful.

    There is one other tent here, Sonia from Austria.

    Night night everyone. Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow is also town day and I intend to take two days off!    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    1
    1111

    PCT 2023 - Day 14 - Solo night hike

    April 30, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    The one with the solo night hike, the snake and real food!

    📍 Location: MM 142.4 to Idyllwild

    🏔️ Elevation: 4792 ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 12 miles
    💰 Money: $43 at Paradise Cafe, $10 for hitch, hotel room £170, $25 for dinner.
    ⛑️ Health: Mentally I’m strong but physically I’m a bit beaten up and need some rest.

    ☀️ Weather: Again, in the 30’s but I have a plan!

    🍲 Food: Twix bar for breakfast, then at Paradise Cafe I had the biggest breakfast ever of hash browns, 3 eggs, sausage followed by biscuits and gravy with coffee for 2nd breakfast. Then I had cherry pie and ice cream for a snack. Tonight I had the biggest chicken caesar salad you’ve ever seen. I was a piggy but it felt so good!

    💤 Sleep: Fell asleep, exhausted around 7pm. Woke up at 2.30am.

    🐍 Snake count: 6! One slid right over my foot today! (See long version below)

    👨 People update: I have new people in my little book now. TJ from the US was so kind to me today and shouted me a cherry pie.

    LEARNINGS:-
    Today I learned that waking up super early is my way of getting through this hot desert!

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    🔦 3.40am - I woke up around 2.30am and snoozed until 3am. I then started packing up and was thankful that the only person around was a little way down the hill. By 3.40am I’m off!! My head torch is bright and the air is cool. This time I’m watching out for scorpions and tarantulas rather than snakes. I’ve got three miles to go before catching up with the rest of the gang. I’m feeling determined, although still a little bit weak. I have 12 miles to Paradise Cafe and civilisation, which means a shower and a hotel room. Proper food and the thought of a real bed is very motivating.

    🌙 4am - It’s very dark but my head torch is leading the way. It’s a bit surreal walking on my own in the dark but I don’t feel scared. Well, maybe a little bit scared when I start hearing the coyotes howling, but for the most part it’s very peaceful. The sky is lit up by a white streak which I assume is the Milky Way, and the stars are so bright. I’m loving this!

    💧 5.22am - I made it to Mary’s although there is no water here. I snap a photo. People are sleeping so I trudge on. I have about 2 litres left from yesterday so it should be fine. Paradise Cafe is just 6.5 miles ahead and I can do a good pace in the dark. Time to crack on! I eat a twix bar to keep me going and out electrolytes into my water.

    🦯 5.30am - These climbs are tough so I retrieve my tent pole from my pack and use that as a second walking pole to help me up the hills. Note to self: buy another walking pole when you get to town!

    The sky is turning pinky purple now and it’s stunning. I’m still out here on my own and I’ve not seen a soul all morning. It’s light enough for me to find my way without a head torch so I turn it off.

    🏕️ 6.03am - Found them! There is my tramily who are packing up and getting ready to hit the trail. They were all worried about me and DinkyDi runs over to me and gives me such a big hug. The royals are there as are Handyman, Kodak, Starfox and Jesse. It feels good to be reunited. I’ve walked 3.6 miles already and it’s only 6am.

    🥾 7.50 - DinkyDi will not leave my side. We’ve been walking for a while now and she noticed that I’m still a bit wobbly on my feet. She makes me stop every 10 minutes to drink water and have a rest. It’s a long slog and now the sun is starting to hit. “What’s that?” We see a 150 miles sign made of stones at the side of the trail. We high five each other and I can’t believe we’ve walked that far! For me, only 552 more miles to go! For everyone else it’s a lot more than that!

    🐍 8.20am - Ed, the sweary Scot would be proud of the colourful language I used when a frigging black snake literally came out of the bush at speed and slid over my right foot and into the other bush! WTF! I think my fear of snakes is now well and truly conquered!

    🍳 9.05 - Paradise Cafe baby. Thanks to Jane & Lucy for my biscuits and gravy. And Emma for my lovely huge eggs sausage and has brown breakfast. I’m now stuffed. The endless refill coffee is fab! I paid for DinkyDi’s breakfast to pay it forward.

    🚗 10.52am - A guy called “less is more” fits six people into his Subaru and takes us to the quaint town of Idyllwild. It’s a 20 min journey at $10 euros each.

    We all scatter when we get to town. Some are heading for the campsite, others have a room booked and are sharing. I’ve been on the go since crap o clock and my brain is a bit foggy. I click onto Booking.Com and find a cabin that is not too far away. I need a bed and a hot shower with some chill time by myself. All booked, although I can’t actually check in until 4pm.

    🫖 1308 - I’m wandering around town with some fellow hikers but I really don’t want to drink alcohol. I make my excuses and find a lovely little tea shop. I spot a face that I recognise and TJ calls me over to his table. He is in his late 60’s and is from the US. He is also a PCT hiker and I’ve leapfrogged him a few times on the trail. We chat and I add him to my little book of hikers. I order tea and a slice of warm cherry pie and ice cream. I went to pay but TJ has beaten me to it and had paid for my pie. Thanks 🙏 TJ.

    🛌 2pm - I risk checking into my cabin early and it all worked out. The cleaner was just finishing as I arrived. A big shout out to Bethany, Lou & Mark. This one was on you guys and it was pure heaven. Thank you so much. I have a big bed, a lovely hot shower, a little kettle and Netflix!!

    I sleep…. And then sleep some more!

    🍽️ 6pm - Dinner time! I walk back into town to meet up with the crowd. Catching up with people I’ve not seen for ages like Joey, Sarah and Steph. I stuff myself silly on a huge chicken Caesar salad and a Heineken zero. I get everyone to do a Mexican Wave for my YouTube video which was fun, then leave them all to enjoy a few more drinks as I head back to my cabin.

    Tomorrow is a much needed rest day and then we head out into the mountains for our first taste of snow!    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    1
    1

    PCT 2023 - Day 15 - HOT TUB BABY!

    May 1, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    The only one with the mayor, laundry and hot tub!

    📍 Location: Idyllwild rest day.

    🏔️ Elevation: not a lot!
    🥾 I actually walked: no idea! But I bet it was a few miles. My Garmin charger has broken so I’ve ordered a new one from Amazon.
    💰 Money: Laundry $5, Breakfast $22.80, resupply $85.
    ⛑️ Health: I feel like a new woman. All good and well rested.

    ☀️ Weather: Weird! It was very warm then a mist came over the town and it was freezing! A sign of things to come. I’m glad I’ve got my Sundick booties and down pants from my bounce box! It’s gonna get chilly!

    🍲 Food: Loads! Corn beef hash breakfast with 3 eggs, followed by a plate of watermelon. Cherry pie (my favourite with coffee). Pizza for dinner. I’m stuffed!

    💤 Sleep: slept like a log in the cabin last night. No sweats, so perhaps it was just the heat?

    👨 People update: caught up with loads of people that I’ve not seen for ages. Supervisor Sam’s crew were heading out to summit San Jacinto at sunrise tomorrow. It was great to see them.

    LEARNINGS:-
    Listen to your body, it’s essential for survival.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    💤 4.30am - Slept like a log! I was up at normal time and did blogs, postcards etc. I then face timed Matt & Rachel to say hi. It feels so good to see their faces and hear stories of home.

    So today has been a day of rest (well, sort of). It’s actually been a day of chores:-

    ✉️ Collected my bounce box and changed into my town clothes (felt like heaven).
    🍳 I had a text from DinkyDi who was in The Red Kettle Cafe having breakfast with The Royals (Amber & Harry). I joined them and had corn beef hash, hash browns and three eggs, followed by a big plate of lush sweet watermelon. DinkyDi started howling with laughter when she learned that the owners of the cafe were called Kath & Kim. We didn’t know what in earth was so funny, but apparently it’s an Ozzy TV show with two comedians called Kath & Kim. The owners actually looked like them as well so they posed for a photo. (You had to be there moment!).
    🧺 Then went to the Laundry and washed my clothes (an experience!). If you’ve seen the episode of Friends where Rachel & Ross do laundry, it was just like that, even with the little wheeled baskets. 😂
    🥘 Next stop was resupply food. I bought some meals for the next 5 days at Nomad Adventures £51 (thanks to Julie B, Gillian and Grace for their PCT donations). And then another $34 for snacks, water and breakfast stuff from the grocery store. My food bag is heavy!
    🦯 Whilst at Nomad Adventures I asked if they had hiking poles. I only need one but they only sell them in pairs (at over $100!. “There may be one in the hiker box outside” said the owner. And yep, sure enough there was a Black Diamond hiking pole there which had my name on it. The guy who left it broke his other pole so bought a new pair. So a win/win. Hopefully these mountains will be a bit easier with two poles.
    ☕️ Disco Daddy turned up at the outfitters. “Would you like a coffee?”. Why not! We then sat and chatted in the coffee shop for a few hours! It was a lovely way to pass the time.

    ❤️ Idyllwild is such a lovely town. It has some strange shops such as “Dicks Dogs” or Happy Frog”. The buildings are all wooden and look like something out of a Western Movie. I love it and could easily spend another day here.

    🐕 Probably the strangest thing and the highlight of the day was meeting the mayor. The mayor of Idyllwild is a dog! For real! See photos. It’s a golden retriever called Max. He also has a deputy mayor, whose name I’ve forgotten. The dogs were gorgeous.

    🍕 I said goodbye to Max the dog and made my way to the post office to meet my Tramily. I posted my bounce box on to Big Bear (I should be there in about 10 days. We order pizza and then hike as a group to our cabin in the woods. Well, we started walking and a trail Angel called Grumpy Bear picked us all up and took us to our cabin.

    The cabin is amazing! We get to work putting a detailed plan together of our hike for the next few days (well, Harry does and we all listen). We scoff pizza and drink beer (they have some lovely non alcoholic beers here).

    🏊 Once we are settled then Amber and I jump in the hot tub in our underwear. Why not! Omg it feels so good (apart from a slight stinging feeling in a small open blister on my left foot).

    It’s been an awesome day and I’m ready for the next section. Bring it on!!

    PS - Thank you to everyone for my coffee pot donations. It’s all been a bit overwhelming and super appreciated. ❤️❤️    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    12131

    PCT 2023 - Day 16 - I feel good

    May 2, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    The one with the mountains, alpine forests and a very windy camp!

    📍 Location: Idyllwild to MM 163

    🏔️ Elevation 7002ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 11.4 miles
    💰 Money: $10 on a hitch.
    ⛑️ Health: I feel amazing. I have energy and am enjoying the trail. I’m literally skipping up and down these mountains today. It’s all good.

    ☀️ Weather: Perfect weather. Around 18 degrees and was a bit chilly on the ridges but for me, it was spot on. I don’t miss the desert heat!

    🍲 Food: Lots of snacks and trail mix today. Noodles and bacon bits for lunch. Hot chocolate. So looking back I didn’t eat much :-(

    💤 Sleep: Last night in the cabin I slept like a log. I was sound asleep by 10am and woke up at 5am.

    LEARNINGS:-
    These multi vitamin gummies are awesome! (Thanks Rachel)

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    7am - Our trail Angel, Leo, collects all four of us from the cabin. He’s a character. I’m sitting in the front as he declares “I’ve not driven for over 20 years”. What?? He lived in New York so didn’t need to use a car. “It took me a while but I’m getting used to it now…. Ah! “School bus” he yells as we nearly had a head on collision with a big yellow school bus which he finds hilarious! The road is twisting and turning and I feel sick. My head goes down and Inclose my eyes praying that we all get to the trail head in one piece.

    7.35am - “There’s Disco Daddy” says Harry as we whizz by Paradise Valley Cafe. He is a fast walker so will catch us up.

    8.34am - We have Leo goodbye and thank him for the lift. I feel better now I’m out of the car. Rucksacks on and we are off! The trail is beautiful and we can see why so many western movies were made here. We have boulders to negotiate, and then little sections of alpine forest with humongous pine cones. We start meeting hikers who are coming the other way. A guy stops to chat whom is called “One Time”. He had a big beard and was sweating profusely so much so that it was dripping onto to the floor. He gave us advice about what lays ahead. Di and I looked at each other when he said “it’s easy if you have good mountaineering skills, but very sketchy if you don’t”. Um!

    It’s 9 o’clock navigating boulders. There’s a nice cool breeze. The snow covered San Jacinto mountain is looming ahead with looking quite intimidating. This is so much fun!

    9.14am - Di has issues with her shoes. She purchased new ones yesterday which were a bit big for her and they are flipping around in her foot like clodhoppers. Disco took charge and retired her shoe laces so that her foot sat better in the shoe. We stop for a break at the creek. It’s beautiful here. Perfect weather so far.

    950am - Look at the size of these pinecones, they’re gigantic. We snap photos of them next to our heads! Everything in American is huge!

    1247pm - Di is not feeling great and her altitude sickness has made a return so it’s my turn to take care of Di, rather than the other way around. Everyone else is ahead of us now as we just take our time and take lots of little rests.

    1.20pm - We are sitting on a log and hear giggling voices coming above. Two sisters are in hysterics laughing about something or other. They turn the corner and see me and Di sitting in the log and start laughing again. They stop to chat and their humour is infectious and exactly what we needed. The trail provides!

    3.10pm - We have bern climbing all day and now we are over 6000ft. The Royals and Disco are waiting for us in a shady spot. Harry takes charge and explains that it’s a mile off trail, downhill, to the water source. Then a mile back up. I think I carried the most of everyone and still had 3 litres left so I didn’t need water. I would wait under this nice tree while everyone else left their packs with me and headed down the hill. I get out my little chair and my puffy jacket. I’m all settled and ready to have an hour or two of rest. This is the life! PCT hikers go by and stop to chat.

    I’m still feeling good, especially as I didn’t do the 2 mile water source trek. A few others are knackered and if we don’t stop here then it’s another 6 miles to the tent side and the bad weather is rolling in. Decision made, we start pitching our tents in the wind. It’s challenging with a rocky ground and the wind blowing everything into spikey bushes!

    As soon as I get changed and snuggle up into my quilt with my puffy pants on I realise how tired I am. Let’s pray I sleep well tonight and that the rain forecast for tomorrow blows o we during the night.

    Night night. See you tomorrow.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    1

    PCT 2023 - Day 17 - We laughed!

    May 3, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    The one with the cloud inversion, amazing sunrise, firemen a home cooked meal.

    📍 Location: MM163 back to Idyllwild

    🏔️ Elevation : High! Over 7000ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 9 miles
    💰 Money: Breakfast $24, $25 groceries, $100 for two nights accommodation (not bad!)
    ⛑️ Health: I’m on form and feel great. My bisters are gone, shoulder pain is no more and I have good energy levels.

    ☀️ Weather: It’s turned! We woke up to freezing weather and my hands were so cold I couldn’t clasp the zip of my tent. Packing up was challenging! We have a storm rolling in so we are cutting the walk short today and getting off the mountain.

    🍲 Food: Breakfast oats with cranberries and peanut butter, Cheeeeburger and potato salad, then Harry cooked for five of us (Spaghetti bolognaise, salad, garlic bread and wine). A good food day.

    💤 Sleep: Not the best night as it was freezing and super windy. Tonight I’m back in a proper bed though 😜

    🐍 Snake count: 5 still

    👨 People update: We are a bit worried about DinkyDi. She is struggling with the altitude so we were sensible and went to the Fire Station and the nice firemen took her blood pressure and gave her the once over. She’s ok but he talked to her about nutrition and electrolytes, and not to use the caffeine electrolytes).

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    🏕️ 5.10am It took me nearly an hour to pack up today due to the lack of dexterity in my fingers, but eventually we are off. As I start to hike the sun is peaking its head over the mountain and sprays a deep pink and orange colour through the sky. With the lights of Idyllwild below it’s stunning. The wind is now non existent so it’s extremely peaceful and all yuh can hear is the crunch of our feet as we walk.

    ☁️ We are so fixated on the sunrise we hadn’t really looked to our left but when we did we all just stopped in our tracks. Me, DinkyDi and Disco were in awe of the spectacular cloud inversion that was happening below. It looked like a huge ocean was rolling over the mountains. I’ve never been this high before and I’m loving every moment.

    ☕️ 6.49am - The trail starts a steep descend which is formulated in a series of endless switchbacks but I’m loving it. Disco has his stride on and we lost him a while ago so it’s just DinkyDi and I now. She spots a gorgeous little tent site with a log to sit on and a cave to explore “breakfast time” she declares and and we set up our stoves as we enjoy the a well deserved break. Little did we know what was around the corner!

    😂 8am - OMG! That was so much fun. I have not laughed that hard in ages as two 50+ year old ladies are trying to negotiate blow down trees. We are pole dancing around some of them. Soldier crawling under others getting filthy, legs dangling on the higher ones. The heavy backpacks were up and more than a tarts knickers! 😂

    💦 9.10am - We are still laughing at our antics when we turn a corner and are surprised to see a familiar face. It’s The Royals! We thought they would be well ahead of us by now but they had stopped for water (which was a mile down the mountain then another mile up). With the storm rolling in tomorrow, Di and I had no intentions of camping out in that and risking hypothermia so this intersection was our exit point into town. It’s a six mile hike down the mountain but we knew we would be in town by lunchtime. Amber chatted with Harry. She currently has 14 blisters on her feet and her Achilles are extremely painful with each step. After lots of chatting with Harry they also decide to take the exit point and stay with us for two nights. They will ride out the storm in town and rest Ambers feet. Good call guys!

    🎒 9.20am - We leave them to pack up as they will catch DinkyDi and us for sure.

    🥾 I’m loving the walk today. We
    See endless birds and hear woodpeckers. A humming bird flew right in front of me and hovered for a second. We are guests in their world and what fabulous world it is.

    ☀️ The sun is now out and we are starting to sweat! Outer layers are removed as are my waterproof socks. DinkyDi tells me stories of her childhood in Australia and it’s so interesting to hear tales of her past. We sing along to songs, dance in the sand and then DinkyDinhas an idea. “Let’s make a note for Amber & Harry”. With her pole she writes in the sand “sing out loud” and I draw a big smiley face and write “The Royals”. Apparently Harry has an amazing singing voice and can play the guitar. We hope to witness his talents in the coming weeks.

    🚗 12.10pm - DinkyDi and I made it to the road and now it’s the fun challenge of getting a hitch. I’m so glad I’m not doing this on my own.
    A few cars drive by but within 15 mins a car pulls over and a lovely lady called June shouts for us to hop in. June is a character and often gives hikers a lift. She had offered a lift to other hikers up the road but they declined as it was too dangerous to get in a car with a stranger, so they had called an Uber. There was nothing scary about this 61 year old lady who told us all sorts of stories of the local area. She had a strong negative opinion of max the mayor which made me smile. She wouldn’t take any money from us even though we offered and dropped us in the centre of town.

    🍔 We are not able to check in to the cabin until 3pm so we leave our packs in the hotel reception. “Burger?” I asked DinkyDi. “For sure!, Kathy and Kim’s?” She replied. I nodded and we headed back to the Red Kettle Cafe for a slap up lunch. I was starving!
    We had just finished our lunch when The Royals walked through the door. High fives and lots of coffee all around. Today is a good day, and it just gets better!!

    👨‍🚒 2pm - DinkyDi is a bit worried about her reaction to the altitude so we asked in the diner if there is anywhere she can get her blood pressure taken and get checked out. The waitress told us that they offer free check ups at the fire station so we make our way to the fire department. Sure enough, the lady made a quick phone call and within 5 minutes an ambulance appeared and DinkyDi hopped into the back with two hunky firemen called Troy and Trevor! “Have fun” I waved with a wink 😜. 10 mins later she had received a good service (medical of course!) and was given the all clear. No clots and her heart and blood pressure were fine. They gave her lots of advice and explained that they see a lot of hikers who struggle with the sudden change of diet, heat and daily exertion of hiking with a heavy pack. We both walk away feeling confident about how to manage our bodies going forward.

    👋 Guess who I saw? As we were walking back from the fire station we bumped into Ash from Ireland. It was so good to see her and we hugged each other in the street. She now has a trail name “zippy” as she got her hair caught in the zip of her tent and had to be rescued in the night! 😂

    🔑 We check in and get the key to our cabin. It has three bedrooms and a huge wood burning stove, a kitchen and a bath. We are here for two nights and sharing with The Royals and Disco Daddy. DinkyDi and I go grocery shopping whilst Amber and Harry go shopping for another pair of hiking shoes for Amber. She can’t wear those Zero Drop shoes anymore as they are wrecking her feet.

    🤩 Wow! In the supermarket a voice behind us said “are you
    PCT hikers?”. “We sure are”
    Says Di. The kind old gentleman introduces himself as Robert Muir. The famous John Muir was his great uncle. We stood in the cereal isle for about 20 mins chatting with this guy. He even showed us is his driving licence to prove his name! He was in his 80’s and had suffered a stroke about three months ago. But he just lived talking to hikers about the trail. It was an honour to meet him.

    🥘 7.30pm - Back at the cabin, Harry got to work making the most gorgeous home cooked supper, and then Disco Daddy turned up. We all sat around the table chatting and listening to Disco Daddy’s day. He has climbed over 100 blow down trees, traipses through snow, post holed and traversed over Apache Peak which is not too bad at the moment. He had fun sliding down a sleep incline in the snow on his bum. He looked exhausted, but very happy. We are all so proud of him and he deserved his meal and beer!

    🛌 10pm - I bid you goodnight and wander what tomorrow will bring.

    As I close my eyes I’m thinking about our 2nd tramily of Handyman, Jesse and Kodak who are still up there on the mountain with this bad weather rolling in. I hope they are ok.

    Thanks for reading my rambles.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail

    PCT 2023 - Day 18 - 200 miles!!

    May 5, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    The one with the deep snow, 200 miles reached and a forced cowboy camp!

    📍 Location: Black Mountain Trail to MM 200.5

    🏔️ Elevation 8868ft (never ending up!)
    🥾 I actually walked: 17.1 miles
    💰 Money: No money spent
    ⛑️ Health: After two days rest I feel great. I have a cold sore on my nose, but I have no muscle or feet issues at all. All good.

    ☀️ Weather: Blimey, it was cold in the snow this morning. My new gloves are working a treat but I do need to get some rain pants. It rained and was very slushy in places. Finally, we started the descent and it warmed up. By 5pm we were back in the desert with frigging snakes on the trail!

    🍲 Food: Poached eggs on toast, snacks all day from nuts, fruit and chocolate. Tonight I ate a dehydrated meal which I think was a chicken pasta dish but not really sure! It tasted good though.

    💤 Sleep: Slept like a baby in the cabin last night. Tonight we are cowboy camping so it will be a very different experience!

    🐍 Snake count: 7! I saw a small snake today on the trail that slithered across my path. I didn’t even flinch this time.

    👨 People update: Amber & Harry are taking an extra day in Idyllwild as Amber has issues with her feet. They are catching up with Jesse and Kodak who had a bit of a nightmare on the mountain in that storm last night. We will catch up with them in a few days.

    THE LOND WINDED VERSION:-

    🏬 I had a day off from blogging and doing videos yesterday. It was a good day of shopping (tourist stuff), but I also bought new gloves and some nail clippers etc for the trail. In the evening Harry cooked the most amazing mushroom and chorizo risotto and we were joined by Captain Cook. It was a lovely chilled out day.

    🚗 We, (me, DinkyDi and Disco) were collected at 7.30am by a local trail Angel called Cindy. She’s lovely and refuses any monetary compensation. We all sign her little book and give her a hug at the trail head. Today we have 8 miles of hiking up Black Mountain Trail, in the snow, before reaching the PCT trail. It’s going to be a long day!

    🧦 9.27am - The trail is beautiful and it’s not long before we have a break and Disco is putting on his waterproof socks! I’m stopped by a young man called GuideBook and he asked about my SHOUT cap. “I’m intrigued, he said, as the number 85258 is my house number!

    🥾 11.54am The trail weaves through an amazing Alpine forest and the snow is melting and dripping on us. The walk is tough but it’s very pretty and we keep stopping for photos and videos. Finally, 8 miles are done and we have reached 7659 ft at the PCT junction. Yey! We are back in trail. It’s busy today. We must have seen at least 20 hikers and lots of new faces.

    ❄️ 12.14pm - We stop to put on our Microspikes as it’s now getting a bit dodgy up here. Disco gives DinkyDi and I a quick lesson on snow safety. We shorten one trekking pole (mountain side) and the long pole (cliff side!). It’s a bit scary. Disco explained that we should dig in with our feet and have three points of contact in the ground all the time as we traverse these ridges. We were all counting, 1, 2, 3, 4. It was slow going but we were safe and it worked. Thanks Disco.

    ⛄️ 12.47pm - Over the less sketchy sections, when my attention relaxed, I fell over numerous times. Good job the landing was smooth! We stop for lunch and I’ve realised I’ve lost one of my microspikes. Oh no! How did that happen? No wonder I was slipping all over the place! Note to self, but new spikes!

    🏔️ We are now going down and the huge San Jacinto mountain is behind us all intimidating and covered in snow. The hot desert floor is in the distance which is saturated with wind turbines. We can just make it out. Disco daddy shows us a song he has in his Airbuds and starts dancing on the mountain. DinkyDi and I look at each other and then join in! We are all grooving away to “Star Night” by Wonderland. He’s so funny, we love him dearly. 5 miles to go!

    🐍 15.55pm - bye bye snow, for now, and just like that we are back in the desert. We stop to remove leggings and waterproof socks. Omg! A snake! Just a little one which crosses the path in front of me at warp speed. I didn’t even flinch. Can you really get accustomed to things that quickly?

    🎉 4.10pm - 200 miles! A group of 11 of us all stop to have photos taken at the 200 mile marker. I also somehow managed to convince everyone to do the Chandler Dance on video! 😂

    ⛺️ 5pm - We fill up 3 litres of water at a creek and we now have less than a mile to go for the campsite. It’s hot and tough on the knees as we descend down the mountain. We find the camp spot and it’s already full. The large group has passed us so we know the next site will also be full. Disco declares that cowboy camping is our only option. We are tired and exhausted as we have already walked 17 miles. I look at DinkyDi.., “cowboy camping it is then?” “Let’s do it” she says.

    Wish us luck!    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail
    3
    13

    PCT 2023 - Day 19 - 80’s style!

    May 6, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    The one with the 80’s mountain disco, the desert wind and an awesome trail Angel!!

    📍 Location: MM 200.5 to Banning

    🏔️ Elevation:, currently 1875ft (so a big descent from yesterday).

    🥾 I actually walked: just under 10 miles.

    💰 Money: $64 on resupply in Walmart (including rain pants). $15 on In and Out Burger (Omg! This was yummy), then $40 for the trail Angel house with Mitsey which included dinner, a place to sleep, a shower, washing of clothes and a lift back to the trail head tomorrow. She is an absolute gem and so is her rescue dog, Abigail.

    ⛑️ Health: I felt great today until we got to the road. We had to trudge for 3.6 miles through a wind farm whilst walking on hot sand. I was near on horizontal as I pushed against the wind and was exhausted by the time I reached the I10 Interstate.

    ☀️ Weather: Cold for about 20 mins then the heat started! Luckily it was windy so we didn’t notice it as much….. until I stopped and then it hit me! I much prefer the cold weather (never thought I’d say that!).

    🍲 Food: Breakfast bar (I know, I should be eating more!), snickers and nuts for lunch (please no lectures, I know it’s terrible). Once I got to town I had a massive cheeseburger, fries and a coffee. Then cookies, then Pizza and salad followed by banana split. My appetite is just very strange at the moment.

    💤 Sleep: Last night I slept on and off all night. I was cowboy camping next to DinkyDi. As we laid there we watched the swifts flying above our heads whilst we chatted. When darkness came the stars were so bright and the full moon was shining down on us as if someone had forgotten to turn the light off. It was so much better than my last cowboy camping experience.

    🐍 Snake count: Still 7, although people were taking about snakes at dinner tonight and quite a few rattlers are out and about.

    👨 People update: Jean Pierre aka Two Speeds has hurt us foot and we are all quite concerned about him. Our lovely trail Angel Nitsey is going to pick him up tomorrow and lion after him. The PCT has blown me away with the kindness of strangers.

    THE LONG WINDRD VERSION:-

    ☀️ 7am - The sunrise was anothe beauty today. I will never tire of the stunning views first thing in the morning.

    🐜 All packed up, some people have very wet sleeping bags (my Tyvek Bivvy is a god send)., “Have you seen this?” Says Di as she points to something moving on her groundsheet. “I think it’s a tick” she says. It’s gross, whatever it is. I snap a quick video and photo and Di checks herself over for bites. “All good” she smiles and we haul our packs on and set off down the mountain.

    🥾 and we are off! Just 9 miles until the I10 and I hope to see my first Walmart today!

    🎵 this downhill is tough on Di’s knees and her shoulder is aching. My hips are also feeling the strain so we need a distraction. No one else is around so I tap “Now that’s what I call 80’s” music and we sing our way down the mountain. It’s amazing what a bit of Blondie, KC and the Sunshine Band and a spot of The Bangles am an do for your moral! I’m sure people could hear us singing for miles! “I’ve had the time of my life….. 🎶

    🥾 We finally reach a water spigot which is located on a dirt road. We can see and hear the Interstate from here and it doesn’t look far. Disco Daddy checks our PCT app and declares “3.6 mile road walk from here”. It didn’t look that far but the app is never wrong.

    🏝️ 1030am We reach the Cabazon change and take photos of signs to Canada etc. Spirits are good and we are still walking together. Shortly afterwards the trail take us off road and leads us for about 2 miles through a desert wind farm. By this stage, I was way at the back and had trouble standing upright! Not only was the wind terrible but we were trudging through deep sand! Driftwood was all over the place and it felt as if we were walking in a dry sandy beach. In the middle of my misery I spot three weird statue things (see photo). I saw some of these on day one and I’ve still no idea what they are or who put them there.

    🙌 1155am - I finally reach the highway underpass to a round of applause. It looks like it wasn’t just me that found that section challenging! The underpass has a weird vibe. Cardboard is pinned to the walls and hikers have signed their names or written little massages. There is a hiker box with discarded food and empty water bottles. A large group are here with some familiar faces such as Joey and Jeanne.

    🚗 12.10pm - Disco, Di and I head up to the road and it’s good timing as a station wagon turns up with a badge on the side saying “PCT TRAIL ANGEL”. The lady is called Nitsey and she loves hikers. She offers seven of us to go back to her house where she will feed us and run us around to get our chores done… for $40. Disco, Di and say yes, but there is no way I am sitting in the boot of the trunk of this vehicle. I sit in the front and the dog sits on top of me! I’m now covered in dog hair but I don’t care. I’d rather be safe and clunk the seatbelt together. We start driving and Nitseys phone pings. She picks it up and starts reading as the car swerved into the next lane. I grab her phone and say “shall I play secretary?”, and read out the message to her. It’s a hiker wanting a lift. I swiftly respond and Nitsey thanked me. Just as I put the phone down it pinged again. “Would you get that for me” she said. And that’s how it went for 5 miles! I’m a trail Angel secretary with a big hairy dog sitting on my lap and six hikers crammed into the trunk!

    🍔 We stop at “In and Out” which is a bit like Burger King and I suddenly realise how hungry I am. I also need coffee! We all eat, then pile back into the station wagon for round two!

    🛏️ We reach her pad which is a one bedroom house on an estate, but the backyard is rather unique. She has beds, charging stations, hammocks, portaloos etc all laid out well. There are loaner clothes for those wanting to use the laundry facilities and a hot shower available. This lady has a heart of gold and just doesn’t stop.

    🍺 We all pick our spots (us oldies are in a little corner out of the way, whilst the youngsters can drink beer and be merry!). We settle in and the Nitsey offers to take us to Walmart so that we can buy food for the next section of our hike.

    🏬 Walmart is HUGE! I’ve never seen a supermarket so big! It’s actually a bit overwhelming and I wish I had made a list of things I needed. We have 1 hour .

    🍕 Back at the house we are treated to an endless flow of hot pizza, ice cream with bananas. Life is good.

    🌙 I fall asleep listening to the hum of the highway, the gentle snores of Disco Daddy & DinkyDi and the goats who are next door and sound like they’ve lost their mum.

    This has been such a fun and unexpected day!

    See you tomorrow and thanks for reading my rambles.    Read more

  • JuliadohertyJuliadohertyPCT 2023 - Prep & Trail

    PCT 2023 - Day 20 - Short day.,

    May 7, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    The one with the solo hike, crazy wind farm and a beautiful trail.

    📍 Location: Banning to MM 219.5

    🏔️ Elevation: highest 3214ft
    🥾 I actually walked: 9.8 miles
    💰 Money: $40 for hostel.
    ⛑️ Health: I felt great at the start of the hike, but the heat and sand have caused more blisters to erupt. I just need to suck it up!

    ☀️ Weather: Hot, but very windy so it didn’t feel as bad. At times I was nearly blown off the mountain and was thankful for my poles!

    🍲 Food: Omg! I’m so hungry. I ate two helpings of breakfast which was homemade hashbrowns with sausage, blueberry pancakes with yoghurt and fruit - twice! Lots of coffee. Lunch was a pitta bread wrap filled with lemon tuna and a mars bar. Dinner was a dehydrated meal (chicken and rice with extra bacon and onions). I’m eating so much! I’ve lost weight though. I weighed myself at Nisty’s and I’m now under 9 stone, so need to Ip my calorie intake.

    💤 Sleep: I slept really well. It was a cowboy camp but in someone’s back yard so we were protected from the elements.

    🐍 Snake count: 8 today I saw a red and black snake. It’s head was in the bush and it’s tail was on the trail. I just jumped over it.

    THE LONG WINDED VERSION:-

    💨 Today I mostly walked on my own, accompanied by David Goggins audiobook. It’s been a beautiful trail with lots of ups and downs and views that go on for miles. We are walking through a wind farm area so you can imagine how windy it is! I had to take off my cap otherwise I’d lose it!

    🚗 10am - I sat in the front of Nity’s station wagon (actually it’s a Toyota truck of some kind) and she just gave me her phone. She thinks it’s funny when she calls me her secretary. I’d rather that than her answering calls and sending text messages whilst driving. In the trunk is Disco Daddy, Joey, Erica and Jim.

    🥵 Disco Daddy was soon a distant yellow blob as he walks very fast. It’s a late start so the sun is already blazing hot. Within 2 miles we are filling up with water and chatting. A familiar face approaches me. It’s Jack! He has a great YouTube channel and we catch up for a while. Ive not seen him since day three. He had to go home for six days! (Yes, we are slow!)

    🙋‍♀️ 1pm - I stopped for lunch with Erica. She’s from San Diego and started on March 5th, but took some time out for family stuff. She’s a pleasure to walk with. “Where’s Joey?” I asked , as they had been walking together. “He left his Garmin at Nitsy’s place so has gone back to get it. Erica also tells me that Jim left his shoes in the car! How can you forget your shoes? Jim was in the car with all of us and then seems to have vanished.

    🏕️ There is not really much to report. Joey caught us up and I finally found DinkyDi and Disco Daddy. They are pitched just before the river crossing. One lady was swept away in the river a few days ago so we are playing it safe. We will cross it tomorrow morning when it’s not as aggressive. It’s not called Whitewater river for nothing.

    Night night.    Read more

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