I failed to mention that we were picked at the Amtrak station in Portland by Ryan, the son of Turtle's best friend, Dave.  Dave and his wife were wonderful, allowing two dirty hikers to shower, launder clothes and spend the night. He also drove us to Cascade Locks. A thousand Thank You's, Dave! It is … Continue reading Onward to White Pass – Part 1

My journey has taken a jump. I jumped from mile 1,157 to mile 2,144.  Why jump over 987 miles?  Because I'd like to hike the whole PCT this year, and don't think I can make it to Washington before the winter snows.  So Turtle and I jumped ahead on Amtrak to the Oregon/Washington border and … Continue reading Entering Washington

Here it is three months and 1,100 miles into my journey and my equipment has changed a bit from when I started last April. As I am about to enter Washington, this is a list of what has and hasn't been swapped out.  Backpack:  by far the biggest item I've had problems with. I started … Continue reading Equipment update – July

Back on the trail after 5 days off. I needed the time off to replace my backpack, my shoes and heal my body.  My backpack had to go. Other than the fit (it simply never fit right, no matter what I did) the hip belt had a seriously flawed design. (Two 1.5" pieces of Velcro … Continue reading Back on the trail, Lake Tahoe to Truckee (Donner Pass)

We're hiking too slow. It doesn't seem like it, but to hike the entire 2,660 miles in one year, I really needed to be almost into Oregon by now.  Here it is, the middle of July, and we're not even half way. The crux of the hike going northbound is determined by when the winter … Continue reading Change of plans: To Washington we go…

Injuries, equipment issues and drama... It is 75 miles to Hwy-108, Sonora Pass and we figured 5 days of 15 miles each should do it. But, Oh Man some were tough days... Most of this section would be inside the northern Yosemite wilderness, and the views were incredible. But there were river valleys and passes … Continue reading Tuolumne Meadows to Sonora Pass

Wednesday, July 1st. -------- After a restful night at Shady Rest Campground we caught the 7:30am shuttle from Mammorh into Reds, stopping at Agnue Meadows. The 1,900ft climb to Island Pass (10,200ft) was actually quite nice, and we didn't get any rain!  The clouds did hide the sun and made for a cooler hike.  The … Continue reading Tuolumne Meadows

A full day to recharge was awesome. Shopped for food at Von's and a Whole Foods clone and ready to hit the trail to Yosemite in the morning.   We had awesome pizza last night and great Mexican food tonight. The only pictures I have are of the pizza place, John's.     Here is … Continue reading So long, Mammoth

Saturday June 27 ------- I failed to mention the Trail Angels we found just after we crossed the dam but hadn't made it to VVR. They were awesome!  Thanks, guys!    The first burger after 7 days!      Our half day stay at VVR was wonderful, but we had to press on. It's 30 … Continue reading Onward to Mammoth 

This section, at 95 miles is the largest section with no cell service so far.  There are six major passes (10,900+ft) in that 95mi to make things interesting.  What are Passes?  The mountains are separated into "Watersheds" where Snow and Rain flow into the same Streams/Rivers. The "Passes" are the low spots between Watersheds.  Friday, … Continue reading Deep Sierra