The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a roughly 2,650-mile long hiking trail that runs from the Mexican border to the Canadian border along the western crest of the United States, traversing through California, Oregon, and Washington. I’ve dreamt of the PCT since I was 18 on the Appalachian Trail. I fell in love with hiking and the lifestyle and dreamt of thru hiking the Appalachian Trail’s West Coast sister. A college degree, a few broken bones and nearly a decade later I am finally going to tackle this behemoth of a trail! Check out my blog posts below to follow along with the journey.
- Day 137&138 Miles 1737-1786
Day 137 Start: 1737 End: 1761 Total: 24.1 Fish Fry, Mantis and I had some breakfast then we got a ride back to trail with a trail angel named Monica. We then took a short cut on a road that cut off a few miles. We stopped at a Bureau of Land Management building to … - Day 135&136 Ashland
Mantis and I had an ultra chill and relaxed morning, drinking coffee, making breakfast and stretching. Jenna was busy packing things up and I offered to help her vacuumed her huge red carpet because it seemed like it would be a satisfying job to see it all clean (and I’m sure it would be helpful … - Day 133&134 Miles 1693-1716
Day 133 Start: 1693.5 End: 1716.1 Total 22.6 We had another late start this morning, Drinking coffee and journaling. We left at about 9:30. We started with a nice gentle uphill with lots of green and flowers and good views. We got water 5 miles in then pushed for another 11.6 before lunch. I listened … - Days 131&132 Miles 1551-1693
Day 131 Start: 1575 End:1674 Total hiked: 18 Total skipped: 71 With a 26 mile day ahead of us we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time. We woke up at 5 or shortly after and were on trail by 6. It was a beautiful morning walking along the ridge as the sun … - Days 129&130 Miles 1528-1575
Day 129 Start: 1528.1 End: 1551.2 Total: 23.1 We woke up a bit later than usual, around 6:45. It felt like the world was burning down, we were surrounded by smoke. It was such a cloudy haze, it was so unnerving. It was pretty scary to start walking in it, it couldn’t be good for … - Day 127&128 Miles 1502-1528
Start: 1502.7 End: 1506 Total: 3.3 We slept at our trail angels Michaels house that night in a cozy bed. We slept in a bit then made pancakes and eggs! After we took a couple bikes and hit the town to take care of some chores. We went to the gear shop but they didn’t … - Day 125&126 Miles 1459.7-1502.7
I woke up to seeing a buck running right by Mantis outside my tent. I guess there were a bunch of deer running around throughout the night. They kept Mantis up but I was so soundly asleep I didn’t notice. His sock was wet, apparently the deer were chewing on it. My sunglasses were further … - Day 123& 124 Miles 1413-1460
Start: 1413 end: 1434 Total: 20 It was a hot night in the recreation building at the church. They have a carpeted basketball court next to a dining room/kitchen area that they let hikers stay in. The church has showers and loaner clothes to wear while doing laundry! I awoke around 8 am to some … - Days 121&122 Miles 1359.1-1412.8
Day 121 Start: 1359.1 End: 1387 Total: 27.9 I woke up around 6, I slowly got out and went down to the lake to filter water before heading out around 7. It was gearing up to be a hot one, I had 15 miles to do to get to the post office before they closed … - Day 119&120 Miles 1314.7-1359.1
Day 119 Start: 1314.7 End: 1332.8 Total: 18.1 Slept in until a bit after 6 and then took my time packing up and eating while waiting for Mantis to be ready. We met an older couple, Gingerstep and Dealer who left just before us but had stayed at the same campsite. A different hiking group … - Day 118 miles 1294.4-1314.7
Start: 1294.4 End: 1314.7 Total: 20.3 It was an early start as we still had quite a climb through a burn zone that left no shade. We were on trail just after 5:30, packing up was a breeze without our shelters to take down. We then began the big climb up the remaining 9 miles … - Days 113-117 High Sierra Music Festival
Thursday morning we awoke at our trail angels house and had a relaxing morning. We made some pancakes and eggs and took care of chores. Around noon we met up with some other hikers and went to the music festival. One of our hiker friends had gone the year before so we would set up … - Days 111&112 Miles 1251.5-1288.6
Day 111 Start: 1251.5 End: 1273.1 Total: 21.6 We had an earlier start than normal, up at 5:30, out by 6:30. Yet everyone who shared that campsite had already left by the time we got up. I guess no one really wants to hike in the extreme heat that has been the normal lately. We … - Day 110 Miles 1233-1251.5
Day 110 Start: 1233.3 End: 1251.5 Total: 18.2 Had a great start to the day, super chill trail and walking. A little bit of uphill with great views then rolling hills down. We took a dirt road for a mile ish to avoid some really big blow downs from the fire that had destroyed the … - Day 108&109 miles 1196-1233
Start: 1196.5 End: 1210.9 Total: 14.4 We woke up in the pebble palace of Sierra City around 6. What we had nicknamed the little PcT patio they have there. I did a little work on my blog while I made some instant coffee as nothing in the small town opened until 8am. Once the shop … - Day 105- 107 Miles 1154-1196
Start: 1154.5 End: 1161.9 Total: 7.4 I woke up around 7 and packed up immediately and got out fo the mosquito hell I had set up in. I walked down the Little Rock hill I had went up to sleep and onto the road. I got a quick hitch with the second car that passed. … - Day 104 Miles 1137-1154.5
I slept in until 7:30 this morning, with not very many miles to do and no rush to do so. It felt nice to not be in a hurry. I packed up my things, had my coffee and oatmeal and was out walking by 8:30. My foot started hurting immediately. It started the day before, … - Days 102-103 Miles 1093-1137
Start: 1093.4 End: 1113.8 Total: 20.4 I set my alarm for 6 as I would have a big day that day and still needed to get to trail. Kathy and Michael had breakfast burritos, muffins, fruit and coffee ready for me in the morning, it was amazing. Michael even made some extra burritos for me … - Days 99-101 San Francisco
Josh made it in the night before but I was asleep. In the morning, Kathy and Michael took us out to breakfast and then Josh and I left for San Fran. When we got there we just relaxed for a while and Josh took care of some chores. We later went to Trader Joe’s and loaded … - Day 98
Start: 1062.7 End: 1077 Total: 15 It was a really relaxed morning as last I heard I was meeting my friend Josh’s mom at Carson Pass between 4-5. Josh is a friend from SLC who moved out to San Francisco. His parents happen to live halfway between there and the trail. The plan was his … - Day 96&97 Miles 1018-1062
Day 96 Start: 1018.1 End: 1036.6 Total: 18.5 It was a late start to walking. I woke up and walked .5 down the road to the general store/diner and got breakfast. After breakfast I chatted on the porch to a trail angel called Oblivious who hiked the pct in 2016 and was back doing trail … - Days 94&95 Miles 976-1018.1
Day 94 Start: 976 End: 1003.6 Total 27.7 I woke up, packed up immediately then hit the trail. I was camped by a lake so I needed to find a better spot to go poo and a better water source. I stopped early on to take care of those chores before continuing up and over … - Days 92&93
Day 92 Start: 944 end: 956.4 Total: 13 miles I awoke in the morning and had a nice long session on the highline. I did a few laps and it felt good to remember how to do it as the day before felt hard and scary. Kiki and Rocky had another session and this other … - Days 88-91 Yosemite Valley
Day 88- zero We had a nice a relaxing morning drinking espresso and doing laundry. Kiki has a friend in the valley, Haile, who borrowed tubes for us. So in the afternoon Rocky, Haile, Kiki and I all went tubing down the Merced River that flows along the center of the valley. It was so … - Day 86&87 Donohue Pass to Yosemite Valley
Day 86 Start: 908.5 End: 928.1 Total: 19.3 I woke up around 6:15 and laid in my tent until around 6:30. I decided I would get up and go have a nice solo breakfast session in the hot springs. I grabbed my breakfast and coffee supplies and went up. I stayed for about an hour, … - Day 84&85 Mammoth Lakes to Red Meadow Hot springs
Day 84 Start: 902.6 End: 904.8+ 3.5 total: 5.7 I finally was able to sleep in! Martin said he’d bring my bear can to me in the morning so I would know when they were awake. I woke up before them and laid around in my tent until around 7 when Martin brought over my … - Day 83 Miles 882.7-902.6
Total: 19.9 Woke up to the roaring of the water all around me. In my sleepy confusion I thought someone was calling me when my alarm went off around 4am. I had my coffee and oatmeal and then got ready. When we were all ready we took off. In .3 miles we had a crossing … - Day 82 Miles 864.9- 882.7
Total: 17.8 Woke up in the morning around 4/4:30. There were some headlamps that went by my tent even earlier and a group of three that went by when I was packing up. We had a pretty easy climb up Selden Pass. It was only a couple miles from where we slept. We had knocked … - Day 81 Miles 844.6-864.9
Total: 20.3 miles Martin had said the day before they planned on waking up at 6, leaving around 7. I couldn’t see their tents and wanted to hike with them for a bit. I thought they might be shooting for another big day and I didn’t really want to do that so I would probably … - Day 80 Bishop Pass and Muir Pass
Start: Long Lake 9.6 miles on Bishop Pass Trail + 12.4 PCT miles End: 844.6 Total: 22 miles It was hard to wake up and start hiking. I was very sad to have to leave Nick and that he wasn’t coming with me. I made some coffee and ate my crossaint while he packed up … - Day 76 Bishop Pass & 77-79 (3 zeros)
DAY 76 Bishop Pass Total: 10 miles We had an early morning, waking up at 4. We didn’t know what lie ahead and wanted to be sure the snow would be hard and we wouldn’t be postholing. We had done half the mileage and elevation the day before so had only 3 miles and 1000 … - Day 75
Start: 824.4 End: 832.2 + 3.2 miles of Bishop Pass Total = 11 We had planned on having a super chill day and sleeping in so neither of us set an alarm. I had to pee around 7:30 though and there was no going back to bed for me. We were cowboy camped right along … - Day 74 Mathers Pass
Start: 813.5 End: 824.4 Total: 11.9 My alarm went off at 3:30 but I snoozed until just after 4. We were hiking by 4:40. The PCT is supposed to cross Kings Fork River, a raging river, twice. However, there is a well known alternate that has you follow the east side of the river upstream … - Days 73 Pinoch Pass
Start: 800.9 End: 812.5 I woke up and checked my watch, it was 5am, we had overslept. I shouted to Nick to wake him up and we did our best to pack up quickly and hit the trail. We crossed a really shakey suspension bridge. Then the first 5 or so miles followed a water … - Day 71&72 Glen PassMiles 789-800
Day 71 Start: Onion Valley Campground End: PCT Total: 8ish miles We woke up at our usual time, a bit after 4. Even though we were planning a shorter day we wanted to get up and over Kearsarge Pass before it got too mushy and slushy. We had breakfast and coffee and used the campgrounds … - Days 68-70 Miles 775.3-790
Day 68 Start: 775.3 End: 788.2 Total: 12.9 Woke up at 4:15 to the sounds of Eskimo and Fox talking. I have been setting my watch alarm for 4 but either sleeping through it or it hasn’t been going off. We were out on trail by 5/5:30, Fox and Eskimo were just ahead of us. … - Day 66&67 Miles 746.5-775.3
Day 66 Start: Cottonwood Pass Trailhead .6+ 2.2 to mile 746.5 End: 759.2 Total: 15.5 Nick and I woke up in his car at the trailhead where we would reenter the PCT. He only had two weeks off work and wanted to see the most of the Sierras as possible so I skipped the 40 … - Days 47-65-a 3 week side quest
I awoke on the morning of May 28th and begun my first 0 in a string of many. I paid for a giant breakfast with an all you can eat pancakes but they were so large I could barely eat one. But needing to get my moneys worth I slowly worked on the second. My … - Day 45 & 46 Miles-658.1-703
Day 45 Start: 658.1 End: 682 Total: 24 I woke up at 6am with my sleeping bag decently frozen and I was in a cloud. I could hear the wind ripping and roaring all around me. I drank some of my coffee and ate my pop tart then started hiking. I immediately went around the … - Day 44 Miles 636.5-658
Day 44 Start: 636.5 End: 658.1 Total: 21.6 I woke up around 6:30, relieved to have made it through the night without incident. I laid my sleeping bag in the sun and went to a spot on the trail where I had service to send a couple texts. Sparks was behind me and was alone … - Days 42 & 43 miles 589-636
Day 42 Start: 589 End: 610 Total 21 I woke up and was out on trail pretty quickly. I passed a bunch of way nicer campsites after I started moving. It was a beautiful morning with rolling green mountains and spring flowers and green blooming everywhere. I had a bit of a mental struggle this … - Day 39-41 Miles 541.5-589.2
Day 39 Start: 541.5 End: 556 Total: 16 I woke up later than usual and took a bit more time to get ready and get walking. It was a nice morning and I tried to call my boyfriend and friend while I was walking but kept losing service so eventually just sat down and talked … - Days 37&38 Miles 510-541
Start: 510.9 End: 517 Total 7 I woke up exhausted from the day before, my whole body aching. I stayed in my tent and in my sleeping bag until my urge to pee forced me to get up. I relished my slow moving morning. I still had a clean pair of socks but it wouldn’t … - Days 34-36 Miles 451.8-510.9
Day 34 Start: 451.8 End: 471.5 total: 17.7 I awoke early and had a pleasant stroll through Vasquez rocks with my coffee + breakfast essential on the go! I packed out a danish from Trader Joe’s and munched on that thing while I walked. After a few miles I popped out on a road and … - Day 31-33 Miles 418.6-451.8
Day 31 start: 418.6 end: 440.2 total: 21.6 What a magical day! And the mark of my one month on trail! I awoke in the morning and struggled to get myself up once again, but I was unsure if I was actually allowed to sleep at the fire station so I wanted to be up … - Days 28-30 Miles 374-418.6
Day 28 2 miles of road walking getting back to trail I got back to the trail after a chill morning, a scenic drive and a nice river stop. It was around 3 pm. Natalie and Sami took me right to where hikers can get back to trail after a portion that was closed due … - Days 25-28 Miles 302.7- 342
Day 25 Start 302.7 End 317.9 Total 15.2 I awoke and had a more relaxed start than normal. I walked a couple miles and saw Lucky and another hiker, Doc Holiday, at a stream. Doc had also hiked the AT in 2017! I hung out for a bit and dried out my sleeping bag that … - Days 23&24 Miles 266.1-302.7
Day 23 Start: 266.1 End: 280.5 Total: 14.4 Had another relaxed morning, making a nice egg filled breakfast and chugging as much coffee as a single pour over would allow. We helped Sami take a load from her camp to the dump then she dropped us off at the trailhead. I started walking and then … - Days 20-22 Miles 241.5-266
Day 20 Start: 241.5 End: 261.6 Total: 20.1 Awoke early to a beautiful sunrise that was soon over taken by fog. The forecast said no rain but my tent was wet. It was still quite windy and cold so I had my coffee and breakfast in the shelter of my tent before braving the weather … - Mile 210-241.5 Days 18&19
Day 18 Start 210 End 226 Total 16 I awoke around 5 in the morning, checked my watch and was thrilled to continue sleeping in such a comfy bed! I slept until around 7 when I heard footsteps above and I went out into the kitchen. I had a couple cups of coffee and made … - Miles 181.3-210 Days 16&17
Start: 181.3 End:193.8, 6.8 up and down San Jacinto + 8.2 on PCT Total 15 It was a cold night sleeping on the snow. I realized my foam pad is not the most insulating pad and had a chill most of the night. I woke around 3:15 when I heard Rocky start to move around. … - Miles 151.9-181.4 Days 14&15
Day 14 Start: 151.9 End: 168.5 +2 miles on side trip for agua. Total= 18.6 After a nice beach vacation I was ready to get back on trail! Awoke around 6:30 and was on trail by 7:30. Nick walked out a few miles with me and it was steady trail with big rocks and pretty … - Miles 110-152 Days 9-13
Start: 110 End: 127 Total: 17 Nick and I had a slice of pie for breakfast before heading out on our sunrise hike. We started through a meadow where many cows blocked our path. I was a bit afraid of the cows but Nick bravely ushered them out of our way. We strolled along the … - Miles 77.4-110 Days 7&8
Day 7 Start: 77.4 End 94.4 Total 17.1 Nick and I awoke in the morning, had breakfast and coffee then headed out on trail. He hiked up with me for a couple hours before turning around to go to work. It was a steady climb of switchbacks up away from the road. Shortly after he … - Miles 54-77 Days 5&6
Day 5 Start 54 End 77 Total 22 I awoke to frost covering my sleeping bag and the tent I had laid out to dry. It was still so cold so I stayed in my sleeping bag for a while while I did my daily meditation and looked at the maps for the day. I … - Miles 20-54 Days 3&4
Day 3 Start: 20 End: 36.1 total: 16.1 I awoke around 6:15 and started quietly packing my belongings trying not to wake the others. The forecast was calling for snow, then rain, starting around 2. I had a big climb up Mt. Laguna, going up a couple thousand or so feet in elevation, where the … - Miles 0-20 Day 1&2
Start:0 End:11.3 Total: 11.3 Jeff took me to the trailhead around 11 , we snapped a few pictures and I was off! There was another couple taking their photo with the monument before me and a man that same after. Pretty smooth walking to start, cloudy with some sprinkles but nothing bad enough for me … - PCT Prologue
I’m sitting at my friends Sara’s parents house about 20 minutes east of San Diego. I arrived in SD Saturday night and spent the first couple nights catching up with Sara, my old college Roomate and seeing some sights around San Diego. In college, Sara’s parents came to visit and offered to host me and … - Pacific Crest Trail Gear List
Below is the gear I will be taking with me on my 2600 mile trek from Mexico to Canada! Some of it, like my backpack, tent, trekking poles, crocs are still viable from the AT. Some things I was able to get from my old wilderness therapy gig, like rain pants(way too large), a head … - PCT 2025 Proposed Resupply
This is a tentative list on where I plan to resupply and where I am choosing to send boxes. All things subject to change, stay tuned for the actual version after all is said and done 🙂** = sending resupply box Julian (mile 77)Distance off Trail: 12 milesResupply options: Jack’s Grocery, Julian Market & DeliNext …