Hiking just the PCT is not that impressive anymore. Every year, more and more people hike and successfully finish the entire trail. You think you’re special just because you stuck to your precious continuous footpath? And didn’t succumb to the temptation of skipping a tough section? No no, it doesn’t work like that anymore. Hiking …
In the safety and comfort of Ashland, it became clear our continuous footpath was a thing of the past. The fire behind us kept growing at an alarming pace and new fires were quickly gaining ground ahead, north from Crater Lake. The question that remained was what we were going to do about it. Three …
Last night was one filled with chaos and panic. Lots of people had passed our campsite, bringing disturbing reports of falling ash, thick smoke and a red glow visible on the horizon. The fire had grown exponentially overnight. Stinger’s part of the group had arranged an evacuation ride from one of the dirt roads the …
I got up earlier than normal, all too glad to leave my muggy abode behind. This was the first night I slept without sleeping bag for most of it. I only had my underpants on and felt like my sweat had glued me to my sleeping pad. As I got out of my tent, Big …
This was it then. The supposed climax of the heat which had been beating relentlessly down on us these past 2 weeks. Seiad Valley was already generally hotter than the rest of NorCal, but with the heatwave it got clean to 44.4 degrees Celsius. We got up super early again, trying to beat the worst …
Mash had been hounding us for days now to do a 30 mile day together and today we did. I got up and left, racing ahead of the others. Usually, I prefer to switch hiking alone with parts together, but the humid heat that was back in full force made me decide to make the …
The heatwave that never ends didn’t either today. We made a quick stop in Etna, a teeny tiny town. Fitz and Lavalamp had camped there the night prior on the high school tennis court. We rested for a while in the park, taking showers and lying on the grass. It’s so freaking hot. At lunch, …
It was supposed to be a short day, only 21 miles. It did not feel like a short day at all. FarOut had warned us about a ‘Blowdown Buffet’ and for once, it wasn’t exaggerated. It felt like every 15 minutes we had to clamber over a big tree trunk which slowed us down a …
Time for my actual birthday! I felt like it had been going on for a long time, basically since Shasta, such that I didn’t expect anything to happen today, far from town. How wrong I was! It began with Cookie, blessed being that he is. He had carried out a pepsi for me, which I …
Time for a tale of tragedy and sadness! It began in the morning, when Lucky Charm’s eye fell upon a dead moth lying on the trail. It was a beautiful, big moth, a deep orange hue tinting its fragile wings. Lucky Charm got the idea to pin the moth to her cap, as an ornament. …
