peeps of the PCT: John, general store owner

The owner of Laguna Mountain Lodge & Store gives us good rules to live by: lighten up and be nice.
peeps of the PCT: Benita, Idyllwild Innkeeper

Historic Silver Pines Lodge has seen its share of “Hiker Trash,” but the innkeeper says it’s enriching.
peeps of the PCT: Bob, Hiker Town

It’s a long 18-mile stretch in desert to Hiker Town, one of the oddest places I slept along the PCT.
PCT Day 139, Lake Morena campground to Mexican border, 20 miles

You don’t choose the day you enter the world and you don’t chose the day you leave. It’s what you do in between that makes all the difference. – Anita Septimus I wake on my final day with the moon casting leaf shadows on our tent, Rich a giant breathing blue bag next to me. […]
PCT Day 138, Mount Laguna to Lake Morena County Park, 22 miles

To me, there’s no greater act of courage than being the one who kisses first. – Janean Garofalo It’s quasi cowgirl camping in our enormous tent with no fly. The stars don’t disappoint before the moon rises over the ridge obliterating them. No campfires in this tinder box means everyone’s asleep when it gets dark. […]
PCT Day 137, past Sunrise Trail junction to Mount Laguna general store, 18 miles

A sign shows me I how far I’ve come and how far I have to go to finish the PCT.
PCT Day 136, Highway S2 to past Sunrise Trailhead junction, 18 miles

Dreams and reality are opposites. Action synthesizes them. – Assata Shakur I wake up with the sun even though we were up late talking and laughing in the hotel’s beautiful lobby. It’s so nice to have Richard right there next to me, though he begs for more rest. I mess around with my pack on […]
PCT Day 135, water cache to Scissors Crossing (Julian), 14 miles

If you have the courage to fail, then you have the courage to succeed. – Shalane Flanagan Desert sunrises are magnificent – orange light in the east as the full moon drops, deep pink on the other horizon. I sit up and make coffee noticing a tiny animal hole right next to my mat. OK, […]
PCT Day 134, Highway 79 to water cache, 19 miles

You never find yourself until you face the truth. – Pearl Bailey I have seen lots of animals on this hike including black bears and marmots, rattlesnakes and golden eagles, but nothing has gotten too cozy or threatened to steal my food until my stay at one of the Warner Springs Resort cabins. There’s a […]
PCT Day 133, zero, Warner Springs

The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present. – Barbara De Angelis Behold! The final ‘zero mile day of this epic hike, and all I have to show for it is this haiku – Luxurious restat mile one-hundred-and-nine.Hop, skip, smile, the end! […]