The title say it all.  First, a summary.

I retired in 2015 with the express purpose of hiking the whole 2,700 mile Pacific Crest Trail.  And….I failed.

Although I started at the Mexican border and did finish Washington State into Canada, I only completed 1,700 miles that year.  After 5 1/2 months I took a break after reaching Canada and just didn’t want to get back on trail; Mentally I was done.

Cut to 2016 where I restarted with my two friends with a renewed purpose to finish. Fracturing my left Tibia crossing a minor creek killed that.  I took off 2017 just to allow the leg to finally heal.

2018 found me with a dogged determination to finally finish the damned thing, and I did!  Gawd it felt good.  (Well, painful at the time…but it feels good NOW 😀 )

I learned a lot doing the trail.  I’m glad I listened to friends when I originally planned the hike who advised me to do the whole thing and not skip the desert.  Growing up in Southern Cal and hiking in the arid hills, I really wasn’t looking forward to the desert sections.  In hindsight I actually enjoyed them more than I thought I would.  I wouldn’t do them again on a bet!  But I’m still glad I did them.

I have so many people to thank who helped me succeed on this journey: From family, friends, and new friends I met along the way.  This wouldn’t have been possible without their help.  Thank you, all of you.

I’m often asked what was my favorite section.  That’s a tough question because so many parts had things I loved.  Here are my top three:

1. Central Sierras, from West of Lone Pine to Donner Pass.
2. Goat Rocks Wilderness in central Washington.
3. Eagle Creek trail, Oregon.

I feel blessed to actually live in the Sierras, so day hikes are awesome.  Heck, I’m 90 minutes from Yosemite Valley and two hours from Tuolumne Meadows.  Yeah, day hikes are grand and I look forward to SHORT backpacking trips.  (where I don’t HAVE to grind out 15+ miles in a day)

I’m also asked what major through-hike do I have planned next?  The Appalachian Trail?  (AT)  The Continental Divide Trail?  (CDT)   NOPE!  I’m DONE with long death marches.  (At least for now…)

But I still want to visit other places and see new things.  So I’ll be getting my Travel Trailer out of storage and hitting the road.  But, where to?  Mmmmm…dunno yet.

Right now I’m enjoying sitting, reading and just visiting the hills close by.

This blog is about my travels and I intend to update it when I do get off my A**.

Stay tuned!