Day Whatever. Smoke poured into the valley, menacing and dark. I closed the windows on the house and turned on the air conditioning. What a thing. Air Conditioning. Conditioning The Air. I looked at my foot, still peeling from the swelling going down. From the beating the trail imposed. No Read more…
Day 71 Pit…pat…pit-pat…pit…pat-pat-splat. Light hit the side of my tent and my eyes sprang open. My heart pounded out of my chest. Was I on a road? I never pitch my tent on a road. How did I forget my rule? Was a car coming down the road? Did they Read more…
Day 70 Miles Hiked 0 The morning campfire crackled and popped, sending up little curly-queues of smoke as the flames licked the sides of the cowboy coffee pots. I sat with Carla and Richard and Cindy, telling stories in tones hushed by the morning light. Most of the camp was Read more…
Day 69 PCT Mile Marker 1869.60 – 1875.70 + 10.63 OST Miles Covered 16.73 Stabbing pains shot through my foot whenever I moved it in my sleeping bag. I gingerly sat up and unwrapped a breakfast bar and brought it to my mouth. My hands still smelled like horses. I Read more…
Day 68 PCT Mile Marker 1848.70 – 1869.60 + 2 Miles Hiked 22.9 I didn’t come out of my tent until I’d eaten breakfast, packed my sleeping bag, and put everything away. I didn’t want any skeeters to ruin my morning. It Was My Birthday! Turtle handed me a gigantic Read more…
Day 67 PCT Mile Marker 1820 – 1836.74+3.36 – 1848.70 Miles Hiked 15.32 “Your pack really stinks. Baaaad.” My nephew pointed out in the back seat as we headed back to Crater Lake to drop me off at the trail. I laughed. “Yeah. It does.” We drove past fields of Read more…
Day 66 PCT Mile Marker 1820 – 1820 Miles Hiked 0 Smoke billowed into the sky. Huge bubbly grey balloons of it. I thought maybe on our way back to the motel tonight, I should stop and get a dust mask and a handkerchief. I could wet the handkerchief and Read more…
Day 65 PCT Mile Marker 1820 – 1820 Miles Hiked 0 I couldn’t sleep. I was too hot and I thrashed around and kept waking up completely sideways in the bed. At some point I realized I haven’t used a pillow much in the last few months, so maybe that’s Read more…
Day 64 PCT Mile Marker 1820 – 1820 Miles Hiked 0 I got up in the middle of the night and ate a bunch of peanut butter and ibuprofen. It was cold and I was awake, so I got up and put my rain fly on my tent too. Then Read more…
Day 63 PCT Mile Marker 1813.08 – 1820.00 Miles Hiked 6.92 Turtle gave me his extra hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast. I drank it out of my pot. Cougar tracks on the trail again. He must be following me around. I got my favorite. Finding that cadence that eats Read more…