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PCT 2023

May - October 2023
"Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver Read more
  • 140footprints
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  • 4.5kmiles
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  • TravelerPCT 2023

    Day 9

    May 10, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Miles hiked: 16.3
    Elevation: 2313 ft
    Campsite location: mile 118.5
    Weather: 60s and cloudy
    One word to describe the day: slow 🦥

    Yesterday I met with Morgan, an on trail PT. She has thru hiked before and is spending her summer on the pct helping hikers. I told her what was going on with me and she gave me a plan/tips to help strengthen my knees. It was super helpful. 1. Take smaller steps and just slow down. 2. Use my glutes more while hiking downhill. 3. Every 2 hours stop and take a 10 min stretch break with various stretches she gave me. 4. Twice a day do a couple knee strengthening exercises she gave me.

    Today I went very slow. My knee hurt a little mid hike but felt pretty dang good towards the end so I am hopeful if I keep doing what I am doing my knee should feel better and be stronger in a week or so.

    Today we went past eagle rock, I got my first hitch from a lovely lady who teaches in the nearby schools, picked up my first box, and sent a few things back home to help lighten up the pack.

    After restocking on food we headed back to trail and hiked a few more miles. This week we are hiking towards Idylwild!    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023

    Day 10

    May 11, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 59 °F

    Miles hiked: 18.5
    Elevation: 3615
    Campsite location: mile 136.7
    Weather: sunny and 70
    One word to describe the day: hard

    Today was hard. We had a pack full of 5 days worth of food to get to Idylwild and the longest water stretch of the trip. I carried 5 liters. Usually there are water caches along this stretch but they were all dry so we had to carry enough water for the entire day. We hiked so far to get to the next water source.

    My knee feels pretty good considering how far we went today. My body is sooo so tired though. I have a rash all over my legs. I'm thinking it's from the sun. Going to get hiking pants in Idylwild. So tired. Going to bed!    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023

    Day 11 - Paradise valley Cafe

    May 12, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 64 °F

    Miles hiked: 16
    Elevation: 2772
    Campsite location: behind paradise valley Cafe 😂
    Weather: sunny and high 80s
    One word to describe the day: 🥵🍔

    Today was a great day. It was hot but beautiful desert landscape. I saw my first rattlesnake. I nearly stepped on it and it almost gave me a heart attack. I backed up quickly and waited for a few minutes to see if it would move, but it didn't. So I lately tossed a pebble near it and it didn't do anything. Eventually I saw it's tongue move so I knew it was alive. It seemed like it was very lethargic. It never shook its tail or seem agressive. Eventually it's slowly moved off the trail and I ran quickly by it.

    It was another long water carry today. We camped near water that smelled like eggs and also tasted like them. Luckily there is a trail angel in the stretch that provides water. But unfortunately this will be her last year. I think she's pretty old. Thank you Mary! After Mary's I hiked seven more miles to get to Paradise valley Cafe. I saw a gentleman dropping off hikers at the trailhead and asked him if I could get a ride to Paradise valley Cafe. His name was Rob Muir. John muir is his great uncle! He said his uncle had a big part in creating the Pacific Crest trail. He loves helping hikers. What a cool experience! Such a nice guy. Have me guys number in case I needed anymore help.

    I had a cheeseburger, side salad and a drink at pvc. I sent my micro spikes and ice ax to the cafe. They are very hiker friendly. And I'm currently in my tent behind the restaurant which is where I will sleep tonight!    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023
    1

    Day 12

    May 13, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    Miles hiked: 12.7
    Elevation: 2876
    Campsite location: cedar spring 162.7
    Weather: 80s and sunny
    One word to describe the day: relaxing

    I woke up this morning behind Paradise valley Cafe, packed up and got breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, bacon, hash browns and cantaloupe 😌 It was delicious! Today was a short day. We hiked 12 miles through the desert landscape that slowly turned to pine trees and cedars. We are heading up towards San jacinto. Tomorrow we hit snow for the first time.

    Staying at a beautiful campsite surrounded by cedars, it has a fresh water spring and lots of great people. A few people I met on my first day showed up. Alex from Seattle who is a friend of a friend, and the darkness who is a triple crowner. She had hiked all three long trails and is doing the pct a second time.

    Met Megan who started in March and is back in the San jacinto area to hike what she had to skip. She is from orange county.    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023
    3
    21

    Day 13

    May 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Miles hiked: 13.8 m
    Elevation: 3885 ft
    Campsite location: 175.4 - highest camp spot yet at 8754ft
    Weather: sunny and 70s
    One word to describe the day: challenging

    Caroline and I climbed the entire day and had our first snow encounter, in a handful of spots. Beautiful panoramic views all day long! We also had to navigate many down trees. Overall I am feeling good! Tired but I think that's fair!

    Tonight's campsite has an awesome view of all the mountains we just climbed up and palm springs below.

    Tomorrow we hike down the devil's slide trail (extra non pct miles) to go into Idylwild for resupply, town food and a night in a bed!    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023

    Day 14 - nero in Idylwild

    May 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Nero means "near zero" which is what you call and very short day because you are either going into a town or out of a town that day.

    Woke up and walked 3.5 pct miles, and 3 off trail miles down the devil's slide trail to a trailhead where we got picked up by Rob Muir again! I called him to see if he could give us a ride and he happily said yes. He took us the rest of the way to Idylwild. He gave us a little tour of the town. Elvis filmed a boxing film here (can't remember the name), showed us all the houses he had built over the years, homes of famous people. He even spotted two of his ex's vehicles while we were driving 😂

    Idylwild is a very cute mountain town. Giant sequoias and huge pine trees all over town. Cute very old mountain homes. It's very picturesque. We got Mexican, an iced coffee, and checked into our hotel at 3. Took a much needed shower. we stayed at the Idylwild inn. They do your laundry for 5 bucks!

    After resupply we went to the brewery for dinner! Tomorrow we hike back up the devil's slide and summit San jacinto!    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023
    21

    Day 15 - San jacinto

    May 16, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Miles hiked: 7.5m
    Elevation: 4245 ft
    Campsite location: San jacinto emergency shelter
    Weather: sunny and 60s / brief thunder and hail
    One word to describe the day: exhausting

    This morning Rob took us to the devil's slide trailhead. A true trail angel! We only hiked 7.5 miles but it was allllll uphill and mostly in the snow. It was slushy and hard going. But our goal was to make it to the summit of San Jacinto which is at 10834 feet.

    Tonight we are camping in the emergency shelter which is technically not allowed but we're so tired it's the safest thing to do. And as soon as we got to the shelter it started thundering and hailing. Kind of an emergency! Right? 😅

    Feeling proud of myself for getting here. On our way up we were told not to do it by two hikers. They had a friend who had done it the day before and said it was awful and not safe. We decided to continue on and if it felt unsafe we would turn around. Never did I feel in danger or unsafe. It was just hard, and I feel comfortable in the snow. It's a good reminder that everyone's comfort level widely varies and to go see for yourself before you decide. You may miss out on something amazing!

    Tomorrow we start the very long descent down into the desert. We will be going from 10,834 feet all the way down to 1809 feet. Quite the elevation and climate change!    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023
    2

    Day 16 - the decent

    May 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    Miles hiked: 14 miles
    Elevation: 6543 decent
    Campsite location: 175.4 - highest camp spot yet at 8754ft
    Weather: party cloudy and widely varied temps with quite an elevation change
    One word to describe the day: proud

    Today we woke up at 5:00 a.m. to catch sunrise. But also to start hiking down while the snow is still firm. It makes for an easier hike down! I was a bit anxious because we had to traverse fuller ridge today. A lot of people have been skipping this section to avoid the snow and because some find it dangerous.

    Happy to report back that for ME this section was no big deal. It was a big confidence boost and just another reminder to go see for yourself before you go with plan b.

    Once we hit the snow line, we stopped for lunch. I packed out bagels, cheese, salami, spinach, mayo and mustard! 🤤 We then continued on the descent which quickly lead us back into the desert. It's long but gradual which my knees are happy about.    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023
    14

    Day 17 - Cabazon

    May 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Miles hiked: 18.6 m
    Elevation: 4650 descent
    Campsite location: mm 216
    Weather: sunny and 90s 😅
    One word to describe the day: unique

    Today was quite the day. We hit the 200 mile marker!! I started the day with an 11 mi descent towards I-10. Once we reached I-10, we went into cabazon to resupply.

    The descent down was beautiful and winding. We had great views of San jacinto in the background. Once we got to the valley floor it was hot, around 95°. We had three more miles to walk in the heat until we reached the underpass. I was so hot by the time I got there. I was so grateful for the shade and definitely envious of people with umbrellas.

    Usually there is a Trail Angel at the underpass called Mary. She likes to bring drinks and grill some food. But, supposedly she's on a cruise right now😛 however, there was a different guy there who had some goodies to surprise us with and he gave us a hitch into cabazon. So far I've had luck with easy hitches. Once we got to cabazon we got in and out burgers. Then went to Starbucks for a coffee, AC and charge our electronics. We resuppled 4 days worth of 4 to get us to big bear. The market had all sorts of delicious hiking snacks but it was quite expensive. Supposedly they are famous for their date milkshakes but I had already had a milkshake and in and out so I didn't get it. We then ubered back to the underpass and continued on with our day.

    We started the Ascent towards white water preserve, saying goodbye to San jacinto. There is a wind farm we walked through. We spotted a turtle on the trail and there are group of biologists here specifically to keep an eye on the turtles to make sure they don't go into the wind farm. The biologist that came to watch the turtle said that once a turtle is spotted they have to follow the turtle around all day until they're sure it's far enough from the wind farm. If a turtle is killed by the wind farm it cost the farm a million dollars! You would think that they could put up a fence or something 😂 The wind farm had lots of snacks for hikers in their office which was a fun surprise. I grabbed an ice pop and doritos for the road.

    We ended up doing another 7.5 miles after our resupply. Finding a camp right before sunset. I'm tired. It's windy and my tent is set up in sand. Really hoping I set it up well enough to stay upright through the night 🤞    Read more

  • TravelerPCT 2023
    1

    Day 18

    May 19, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Miles hiked: 16.6 m
    Campsite location: mm 232
    Weather: sunny and 80s
    One word to describe the day: tired

    Today we started at 5am to avoid the heat. We had our first big river crossing. White water River is the biggest water crossing in the desert section. We walked about 11 miles before stopping by a small creek for a long siesta. Then walked another 6 after. Views were beautiful today and we crossed the mission creek about 25 times 😅

    I feel like my body is adjusting and doing pretty well all things considered but I'm feeling tired.    Read more

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