Leaving the summit of Mt. Whitney and arriving back at our camp at Crabtree Meadows, I decided to eat, rest a while, and then press on. We would be climbing Forester Pass tomorrow, and I wanted to get as close Read more…
The air was cold and damp as we stepped out of the van at the trailhead – very different from what we were used to after 700 miles of desert. Still, it felt good be back on the trail. Our Read more…
Climbing up out of Tehachapi Pass, the wind swept over the ridge like an ocean current. At times, I could barely make forward progress as the strong gusts screamed over the barren landscape. Other times, I could barely stay on Read more…
It’s been brought to my attention that I often refer to “we” as I describe my adventures on the trail. Yes, I set out to hike the trail on my own, but I never had any intention of hiking alone. Read more…
Cold. Brutal Cold. Bone-chilling cold. The type of cold that you just can’t keep out, no matter how many layers you put on. All we could think about as we headed back towards the trail was why we were voluntarily Read more…
Leaving town is always hard. Even though we had technically already left town, we were still barely two miles from the sweet accommodations of civilization. Plus, the campsite had running water from a spigot and a privy. Why would anyone Read more…
I thought that we were past the worst of the snow. I thought that we would be heading downhill. I thought it would be relatively warm. And then the clouds rolled in. I stood outside of my motel room as Read more…
Easter Sunday isn’t the greatest day of the year to get a hitch as a thru-hiker. The group of four of us stood out on the main road in front of the campground for some substantial amount of time. Sometimes Read more…
As I walked down the sidewalk in Julian, California, I heard a voice behind me, “What’s up, man?”I spun around, slightly startled, “Hey! How’s it going?”“Living the dream, man. What’s your backpack for?”“I’m thru hiking the PCT.” I had a Read more…
“Hi, welcome to McDonald’s. What can I get for you?”I replied with my standard breakfast order, “I’ll have two sausage egg biscuits.”“So you want, uh, two sausages and two biscuits, uh, separately?”I was suddenly surprised, so I attempted to clarify, Read more…