Start: Kearsarge Trail Stop: Independence 6 miles 700 ft. up, 2500 ft. down As the first light brightens the sky, I breath a sigh of relief. No humans or bears were harmed in last nights series of events. I get up around 5am and take a gigantic post-adrenaline dump before crawling back to into my … More Grateful For Dawn
Start: Tyndall Creek, PCT mile 775 Stop: Kearsarge Pass Trail 16 miles 3836 ft. up, 3679 ft. down I’m up early enough that I can eat breakfast before leaving camp. And then the climb to Forester Pass starts. I chat with Puppy part of the way up. It’s a 2200 ft., 5 mile climb which … More When A Bear Laughs In My Face For Being A Stupid Human
Start: Rock Creek, PCT mile 760 Stop: Tyndall Creek, PCT mile 775 14.25 miles 3679 ft. up, 2232 ft. down It’s a slow climb out of Rock Creek canyon. I huff and puff, trying to dislodge the altitude brick that rests squarely on my chest. I’m grateful no one is around to see how often … More Bighorn Plateau
Start: Horseshoe Meadow Stop: Rock Creek, PCT mile 760 14 miles 2000 ft. up, 2327 ft. down A girl roles into the hostel dorm about 11pm and climbs into the creaking bunk above me. At 1am the other bottom bunk girl roles in. At 2am the girl above me climbs from her bunk, turns the … More 110 MPH and High Sierra Euphoria
Start: Bakersfield Stop: Lone Pine Plan B. There’s a devastating fire storm in the Lake Isabella area with at least 90 structures lost so far. Hwy 178 is closed so I must detour farther south. Luckily there is a bus that leaves Bakersfield and goes through Tehachapi and Mojave. Hwy 395 is also closed north … More When Fire Storms Erupt
I’m awake early and Yazhi lazes on my chest. I think he knows. I don my familiar hiking clothes, dump my pack and resupply box in the car. My mom clutches the oh shit handle as we bounce down the rough road into town. Amtrak bus departure is 40 minutes late but I get a … More How Do You Make Antifreeze?
Spring is in the air. The black-headed grosbeaks, acorn woodpeckers, and hummingbirds are just returning. Madrone blossoms rain down, looking like patches of snow. Allergy goo flows from the nose. The newborn black-tailed fawns prance through the front yard following their cautious mother. The garden weeds are joyfully excommunicated. Evasive maneuvers are used dodging the numerous … More 2016 PCT Section Hiker Gear List
My foot is hurt and now I will crawl into a corner and cry. If I were Anne of Green Gables, I would be in the “depths of despair.” Is this what happens when you’ve hiked 6,000 miles and tied your shoes too tight? During all those miles, I’ve never had an injury bump me … More My Next Career Is Toe Wrestling – A Thru-Hike That Ends Before It Starts
Story originally written in 2016 for Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association (ThyCa). Updated 2024. It’s Thyroid Awareness Month! If you have cold intolerance, stiff joints, fatigue, thin hair, and have gained weight, get your thyroid hormone checked! It was the Spring of 2006 and I was studying geology at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. I … More The Jeopardy Question – My Thyroid Story
A planned thru-hike turned into a section hike. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. There are always things beyond your control whether it’s Mother Nature, or family or even injury. They get their say too. So here’s a review of gear that I used for 700 miles on the Continental Divide Trail in 2015. … More A CDT Section Hiker Gear Review
Journey Return 