PCT Day 89, South Fork San Joaquin River to Middle Fork Kings River, 21 miles
You grow up the day you have the fit real laugh at yourself. – Ethel Barrymore Making breakfast and packing up, I hear some twigs snap and look over towards the trail as a bear saunters by. He’s uninterested in my Clif bars and knows my coffee mix is subpar, so saunters right on by. […]
PCT Day 88, Bear Creek trail to stream near South Fork San Joaquin River (via Muir Trail Ranch) 18 miles
My best successes came on the heels of failures. – Barbara Corcoran I allow myself a bit more delicious sleep next to my private waterfalls wrapped up in Big Greenie, so lofty and cozy, it feels like I’m cuddled in with a warm creature. Rich invited me for breakfast and this hungry hiker has no […]
PCT Day 87, stream near Mono Creek to Bear Creek junction (via VVR & Bear Creek trail) 14 miles
Champions keep playing until they get it right. – Billie Jean King Something fell on the tent just as I was falling asleep. It banged so hard, fast and loud that I squealed. No damage at all and no evidence of any particular object either. It was probably just a cone, a piece of bark […]
PCT Day 86, creek near Red Cones to stream near North Fork Mono Creek, 23 miles
There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success, but if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going… you’ll know that it was you and the people who love you that put you there. […]
PCT Day 85, small creek below Island Pass to small creek near Red Cones (Mammoth Lakes) 21 miles
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. ― Jane Goodall A huge wind rattles the alicoop most of the night, I hear it traveling through the tree tops towards me, pleased I chose a site in the forest. It’s not cold yet, I […]
PCT Day 84, view above Tuolumne Falls to small creek below Island Pass, 26 miles
My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it. – Judy Blume Shocking as it might sound, I’m too warm in the night at this exposed perch. There’s no wind. There’s no dew or frost. It’s only silence as the stars fade, a half moon shining like […]
PCT Day 83, small lake below Seavey Pass to view above Tuolumne Falls, 24 miles
You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. – Elizabeth Gilbert I wake up in my rocky wonderland, the sky lightening gently with just a touch of breeze. Such a heavenly place to lay my head. It […]
PCT Day 82, above Dorothy Lake to small lake below Seavey Pass, 22 miles
Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get. – Ingrid Bergman It was not the best of nights. I am cold even wearing all my clothes, and using a liner inside the quilt. The alicoop has a coat of ice, the water bottle is chunky and frost covers my mini-meadow above […]
PCT Day 81, Sonora Pass (Kennedy Meadows North) to Dorothy Lake Pass, 20 miles
I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. – Diane Ackerman My day started early as the resort crew was up before 6:00. I cuddled on the couch in the lobby […]
PCT Day 80, Astounding view to Sonora Pass, 11 miles
Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention. – Pink The day opens pink, cold and just a shudder of wind on the alicoop. I’m in an exposed spot and taking my chances, challenging the wind in my mind to return. Of course, I will lose this fight. But my night […]
