austinonthepct

[austinonthepct]

Days 116 - 119 (mi 2296 - 2394)

Got to snoqualmie pass which is exciting! past 3ish days have seen some nice views occasionally but for most part have been hiking thru the rain//perpetual mist. Felt like it took the entire day today to thaw + dry my body, but it’s been a good source of bonding for all the hikers:) Also staying in a really cool hostel - the Washington alpine club which is a ski bum live out in the winter but they turn it into a hiker spot in the summers. Lots of fusbol, ping pong, board games + big wood stove vibes. Chilling here until later this am then hitting the trail once the weather turns. Supposed to get sunny again for the next while:)

(1) pulling up to rainier

(2) I’m now riding a llama to Canada

(3-4) cool views

(5) stayed at a backcountry cabin for first time which was cool! lots of mice tho

(6)mist mode last 3 days

(7) huckleberrys everywhere out here

(8) swooped some new speed goggles from a hiker box

(9,10) bunking out here!

[austinonthepct]

Days 109 - 115 (mi 2148 - 2296)

Spent the last week enjoying great Washington views and hanging w the locals. Hiked thru rainforesty trails to Trout Lake where we weren’t expecting to chill, but heard that the Huckleberry Days were going on and couldn’t pass up such a holiday. Ended up putting together a team of pct hikers to enter in the parade where we competed hard but unfortunately didn’t come out on top. Secured some free burritos and beers on the way though!

Followed this by going through mt adams wilderness which was gorgeous and gave us some nice views of pretty much the entire cascade range. Yesterday and the day before were some of my fav days on trail. Radio’s bday and Goat Rocks (famous pct section) warranted two 20 mi days to chill out and spend lots of time swimming and goofing around. Easy to do when it’s so pretty out here:) Also climbed Old Snowy which has been on my bucket list ever since I saw it up here!

Pulled up to white pass this morning which means there’s only 2ish weeks left on trail.. crazy. Honestly quite difficult to stay present w the end so near, but trying to soak up all the amazing things about trail life and not get too reflective haha.

(1) dramatic thoughts crossing the bridge of the gods

(2,3,4) trout lake + parade time

(5) crazy lil frogs on trail

(6) the most weight inefficient food I’ve yet seen haha

(7,8,9, 10) goat rocks!

[austinonthepct]

Days 106 - 108 (Jefferson fire closure - 2148)

Wowowow finished up the state of Oregon today. Bummed to have not been able to go past 3 fingered jack due to the big 2017 fire, but can’t complain - the home state treated me well! Felt a little tired coming out of Bend, but only because of the good times that were had, so ended up sleeping like 11 hrs in my tent on Monday (a first). And then got the privilege of hiking up to Timberline lodge and around mt hood.. pretty iconic scenery here! Finished the little stretch taking a popular alternate thru the eagle creek wilderness and linked back up w a group of buddies I haven’t seen in a couple weeks which was sweet! Also got picked up hitching today by a guy I knew from HS.. small world haha.

Everybody is very stoked to get into Washington and begin the last leg of this adventure - grateful and celebratory vibes going on big time:)

(1 & 2) coming up to Hood via a ski run

(3 & 4) timberline scenes

(5) chilling at Ramona falls

(6) rolling deep w the conga line after linking up w an old squad - this is what everybody pictures pct hiking is like haha

(7) ingenuity

(8) post-dip in eagle creek

(9) cool falls

[austinonthepct]

Days 94 - 102 (mi 1719 - 2001)

2000 miles down and it feels like I finally made it home! Pushed a 40 mile day to get to the Santiam highway around 10:30pm on Thursday which felt great - biggest day yet I think. Was planning on camping like 5ish miles before but mom said there’d be burger waiting for me and my mind was decided haha. Everybody else is gonna pull up tmr (fri) earlyish then all cruise to bend where we’re planning on hanging for the weekend!

Hiking in this state has been pretty great thus far. I think we just barely missed the big mosquito bloom that was being rumored around the trail leading up to here - something more clutch than we can appreciate now. Coming up to crater lake was amazing and I totally forgot how beautiful that place is. Also - another thing I love about being on trail - I feel like every view/experience is magnified because you’ve spent so long hiking to get there. We stopped there for like half a day to get some pizza and watch the sunset on the rim, and then hiked another couple days to shelter cove (a pretty nice rv/fishing resort place) to resupply before the 3 day push to bend.

And going by the three sisters was one of my favorite sections by far - felt really good being in a familiar place and they’re gorgeous this time of the year w all the wildflowers and nice little streams:)

One of the best parts of the hiking recently is how much more relaxed I’ve felt on trail. In norcal we ramped up the mileage quite a bit w the long daylight hours and less traditionally scenic parts of the trail. I think we’ve been averaging around low-mid 30s which feels good in the sense that ur making progress, but you pretty much have to hike from sunrise to dusk everyday w out stopping to much. Definitely feel like I’m on the tail end of this adventure now and want to cherish the time out here, and the sense of pace//need to get miles in has pretty much gone away since we hit oregon and these sentiments hit. I think everybody else is on this page which is cool and we’ve been trying to spend more time just hanging out and appreciating. Might collectively install a mandatory sub 15-20 mi day each week to take advantage of the beautiful places we’re coming up on!

(1) catching a ride

(2) the new night fit

(3) nice little lake

(4) dracula returning to his roots

(5) cruising by mt thielson

(6 & 7) 3 sisters wilderness

(8,9,10) enjoying the first trip-0! chilled w mom and dad in black butte for a night and now staying w the bro in bend and catching up w some buddies

[austinonthepct]

Days 86 - 93 (mi 1500.1 - 1719)

Made it out of California woohoooooo! Had some smoky views coming out of dunsmuir but we cruised by and are now posted up in Ashland, OR. I can already feel the difference in vibes - animals are definitely more laid back here without the economic pressures of sales tax, and we’ve unlocked an entire new lexicon of ‘local’ beers to inspire our miles.

Wrapping up norcal was a good time on and off the trail. The quick work of smokejumpers let us go through the trinity alps - the most beautiful section since the end of the Sierras - and after that we went up into marble mountain wilderness, another really neat stretch. Wildflowers are now everywhere and that’s been one of my favorite things about the trail this entire hike.. I’ve accepted my role in the ecosystem as a salt lick to the honey bees pretty well, and (let’s hope this keeps up) mosquitoes have been pretty much nonexistent for the past 400 miles.

Had 2 stops on the way here - etna and seiad valley - and both were pretty solid neroish days. Might not be aligned w the political aspirations of the great 51st state of Jefferson, but the people here have been super kind and we’ve been getting great luck w trail magic! Finished up a night hike the other day to a huge circle of candles and a bunch of van campers doing yoga and playing bocce ball up on a dirt road; they gave some awesome company, drinks and snacks, and cooked me bfast burritos the next morning:) A really cool way to finish up this state.

mentioned this a little last post, but I’ve definitely been on here way less since the beginning of the hike. More and more, I’m relishing the pretty absurd lack of responsibility & ties to the real world I have on this journey. I know the pace of life is going to hit light speed (at least relatively) once I get back to campus in the fall, so I’ve been trying to really appreciate how lowkey and comfy the trail is. I guess this is just a drawn out rationalization for fewer updates. Will keep on posting but the word count will prob also go down - brainpower beyond subtraction to figure out the next food carry seems like too much these days haha.

Anyways I’m having tons of fun out here and can already feel nostalgia coming on! With the same trail fam of 5, but have met/joined w some really cool hikers alongside us. also met a weird amount of other gap year kids this last week and that’s been fun. Next stop: bend:))

(0) grabbing din

(1) yaks, apparently pretty famous burger spot, w the crew

(2 & 3) chillin at camps

(4) vibing

(5) bfast burritos

(6) jetsetter w some clothes from my closet haha

(7) lots of flowers

(8) yessir!

(9 & 10) highlight of the week: mom and dad visiting in Ashland and got us all an Airbnb!

[austinonthepct]

Days 80 - 85 (1329.7 - 1500.1)

Definitely a memorable week on trail! Hiking wise, triple digit temps and longish water carries made it one of the tougher stretches on trail. I’ve been trying to get up earlier and end up chilling midday and hiking later as a means to beat the heat. Definitely the move out here but it also means less sleep which is unfortunate. That being said, my fav hiking hours are definitely in the evening - I’m always in the best mood pulling up to camp.. sunsets have been crazy w the nearby wildfire smoke.

We also had a lot of cool little stops on the way this stretch. Went thru Lassen so saw some steam vents and weird volcanic stuff, a really cool set of lava caves/tunnels, burney falls, and way more trail magic than you’d expect out here. It’s pretty nice to have something to break up the day with since hikers will bottleneck there and u end up getting to chill//meet new people.

Just said bye to the homies from school - buzz & woody - after hiking w them for this stretch. Was fun to put in some miles w them and made me even more stoked to go back to school in the fall! Crazy story: the last time I hung out w them was right before the pandemic sent us home and I remember talking about the pct as something that’d be cool to do. Over a year later and jackson and i are scrubbing dirt off in a stream in the middle of norcal haha.

Anyways we pulled up to Dunsmuir, a small town outside Shasta, yesterday and are gonna zero today which we’re all pretty pumped for. Plan is to celebrate the 4th w some 4 lokos and see what festivities are happening around town which’ll be fun haha. Also the people here have been super nice - radio and I got some incredible burgers at this place and the owner came out and sat w us and, once she heard we were hikers, brought out an entire tray of food from the menu she wanted us to try:) Def gonna miss all the random privileges that come w being dirty and wearing a pack!

Lastly, I’m stokeddddd to get to oregon - should be about a week until we’re there and I’m ready to log some miles on home turf!

(1) some unification action

(2 & 3) Lassen scenes

(4) the best trail magic on a hot hot hot day

(5) burney falls, sick place to go for a swim!

(6) tons of butterflies and wildflowers in this section:)

(7) got tired of hair sticking to my face

(8) smoky views

(9) shadow dance mode in the caves

(10) pulled up to dunsmuir ft. Boones new cheetah shirt haha

[austinonthepct]

Days 72-79 (mi 1193 - 1329.7)

Have had a pretty decent amount of service this past week but (in a good way) haven’t been making the time to write one

of these guys. I try not to be on my phone when I’m on trail which is nice//have just been lazy I guess. I had this thought the other day where the pct is just one big plug for blue light glasses haha. Here we are though:) Made it to Chester yesterday and we are hitting some double nero action to beat the heat. Days have been way more social than usual for whatever reason which is fun - like I said last time, there’s a couple hiker bubbles colliding and we’ve all been camping together each night which is def something to look forward to during the day. Physically been a little bit of a grind though dealing w some minor injuries, but I’m pretty sure my body will get used to the bigger miles soon. Also have access to the best western hot tub which will be great for the health bar.

Most exciting update is that two of my buddies from school - Sammy and Jackson - are also in Chester! They’ve been thru-hiking since january (look up calendar year triple crown) and have been creeping up on me since they jumped back on the pct in the Sierras. We all got bfast together and some super kind ladies payed for us and now r chilling out//catching up:) Plan is to hang out today and then get back on the trail tonight so we can get out early - before the sun really comes up - and enjoy Lassen national park tmr. stoked to explore around and maybe take a dip in some hot springs! Also def gonna try and hike w those 2 friends for a bit which will be exciting. Feels like worlds colliding out here!

(1 & 2) filled up a mini pool to chill out in Sierra city haha

(3,4,5) more norcal views

(6) cool camp spot

(7) cascades baby!!

(8) chillin

(9) halfway monument let’s go

[austinonthepct]

Days 68 - 70 (mi 1092.3 - 1172)

Sun’s out and the miles r getting big! A combination of post mountain trail legs and mosquitoes chasing me wherever I go. Not sure which is a bigger influence but I’ll take it haha. Currently lying in my tent and feeling ~sticky ~ amidst this norcal heat wave we’ve been hiking thru. Also prob some mosquito juice from the graveyard my skin became for them during dinner. Anyways this section has been super cool being on the Tahoe rim trail for a while and then going thru all the ski resorts. Had a lot of fun climbing around the lifts and being reminded how lucky we are that it’s a low snow year.. I think in 2019 people were still skiing at this time. Not sure why exactly, but have been meeting a lot of new hikers coming out of south lake which is neat. It’d been pretty sparse for the past couple weeks, but I think we caught up to a big bubble so that’s exciting.

It was also great going through desolation wilderness (the first section of the pct that I’ve hiked before thus far). Brought back a lot of good memories from sierra camp and was cool to see the others see it for the first time. Super beautiful place.

Plan is to cruise into Sierra city tmr to resupply and I’ll spend the night there for a nero - ish day. I’m like 8ish miles in front of the squad after pushing today so want to wait for them to pull up.

(1) lake aloha in desolation

(2 & 3) pretty views

(4) cooling off

(5 & 6) introducing s’moredillas into the equation

(7 & 8) nice

(9) accidentally took the wrong trail and ended up @ the sugar bowl summit

(10) donner lake

[austinonthepct]

Days 66 - 67 (Nero, zero)

South lake - as expected - has been a dope spot to hang out! Might just be the typical trail fear mongering, but I’ve heard this is one of the last good trail towns for a while which is a bummer. All of us are staying at the hostel here which is a pretty sweet spot. I’ve been hanging out playing the guitar and eating hiker box food most of today and met some pretty fun people:) One of thr employees also gave me her bike to use so I’ve been able to cruise around! Didn’t tell me the brakes weren’t connected anymore tho so I had to bail coming up to a cross walk haha.

Apparently the hostel is part of a work away program where u work 2-3 days a week and can live here indefinitely. Definitely going to keep this in mind.. it would be sweet to live here for a summer and the people r all super cool + around my age. appears to be a way sweeter deal than wwoofing // manual labor too haha.

Anyways just got back from din which was great we got a squad of 9 hikers to go get burgers and drinks - always fun to catch up w everybody!

Stoked to officially begin the Northern California section tmr and keep on putting in miles:)

(1) swooping the usual dessert

(2) cool slack line in the yard

(3) strong hiker vibes w this sack lunch.. made me smile

(4) echo lake - first spot on the trail I’ve been to before!

(5) some resupply action

(6 & 7) locking in on some jenga to not shotgun a beer haha

(8) cruising to the beach

(9) bunk vibes

[austinonthepct]

Days 63-66 (mi 1016.9 - 1092.3)

It felt like a lot happened in the 3 and a half days getting up here. did a chill day coming out of Sonora w way too much burger meat still in my body, a marathon day, and then my first 30+ day which I’m pumped about! Pretty much felt like a normal long day pulling up to camp around dinner time, but the flatter terrain made/makes walking faster for sure. I’m excited to try and push some bigger miles going into norcal - less climbs + less cool spots to hang out at will hopefully make this a feasible thing.

The hiking coming up here has been way cool. coming into it w no expectations//thinking of it as a sort of break between Yosemite and Tahoe made everything a really nice surprise. We’ve had some sick views and it’s been fun to see the terrain change coming down from high elevation. We pretty much won’t get above 10k feet from here on, which is a big W for the lungs but I’m not stoked to get back into hot weather + rattlesnake zone again haha.

I had a super cool moment 2 days ago coming down a ridge and seeing the lake off in the distance. It felt like a really tangible milestone in how far we’ve come, and I felt proud of myself for making it up to the part ( /latitude) of california that has been home for past few years. Also south lake has a pretty special spot in my heart - lots of good memories up here!

(1) some hiker trash resupply outside the post office

(2) Sonora pass

(3 & 4) bear bag reality

(5, 6, & 7) views

(8) first non desert trail magic

(9) camp

(10) interesting take

[austinonthepct]

Days 57 - 62 (mi 903.3 - 1016.9)

Pretty solid 5 and a half days of hiking to finish up the Sierras (kinda.. not sure what tahoe is considered, but the lack of bear canister clause feels significant). We had a super fun zero in mammoth establishing a rotation between the bakery, brewery, and gear store - definitely a place I want to come back and revisit - and then a chill afternoon hiking out on Sunday. I’ve been excited to get into Yosemite for a while now, even more so than the high sierra, so was itching to get back out there. And it definitely was something to look forward to:) this section has been beautiful in its own right. I remember learning about how John muir called the sierras the ‘range of light’, which seemed kinda fitting in the southern sierra, but he must’ve been hanging around here when he came up with that dub. Crystal clear rivers and golden slabs of granite everywhere that make me very grateful the sunglasses have held on this long.

It’s also been a way more physically difficult stretch than I’d thought. I guess a little snub towards all the hiker talk re how chill things get after the high sierra. There’s still a ton of elevation change, and unfortunately my heels have been acting up w some plantar fasciitis stuff - a much feared term out here haha. Came across a roley ball thing tho so hopefully the health bar is on the come up!

Still w the same squad of 5 which is awesome.. hiking w these guys has been one of the best parts of the trail so far:) Actually currently @ Radio’s house for a nero. She’s from Sonora and they have an airbnb on their property that her parents are letting us all crash at! Should be a fun night just hanging out and a nice rest before getting up to Tahoe.

(1) cool campsite coming out of mammoth

(2) hiker trash

(3) thousand island lake!

(4) coming over Donahue pass - last one of the high Sierra

(5) hanging

(6 &7) Yosemite!

(8) got snowed on

(9) 1000 miles let’s go

(10) for the non believers

[austinonthepct]

Days 53 - 55 (mi 842 - 903.3)

Made it to mammoth lakes! Feels like we’re getting pretty deep into the sauce at this point.. pretty crazy that I’ve been out here for almost 2 months now:) I’ve learned that - mentally - the best I feel is when I don’t really think about the trail as something to be ‘finished’, but more so a different way of life for 5ish months. This is just what life is like for this period of time, as opposed to the interim on life a lot of people (myself included) kind of pigeonhole it as. For the most part I think I’ve made this transition introspectively, but I definitely have days where I’m less present and slip out of that. Whenever the numbers side of the trail come up, for example. a couple days ago this hiker I was eating lunch w kept on taking about the fact that we were 1/3 of the way done and that def put me in a weird mood. I think it’s a good thing to check in w the big goal every once in a while, but it would be impossible to keep it in mind constantly.

One of the goofiest updates of these past 3 days has been a new hobby Boone, Dracula and I have picked up - fishing. There’re a gazillion cutthroat trout out here, and the small streams everywhere r filled w them. And (no lie) we’ve been able to catch them w our hands haha. They’re not super spooked out here since not a lot of anglers I guess, so u can move real slow up to them and grab their head so when they try and swim they go into ur hand. Or just snipe them as they come up the stream haha. Anyways been a fun break time activity and currently trying to get to the top of the leaderboard.

Yesterday was a super fun + solid day of hiking. Started out thinking we were gonna camp a mile or 2 before the junction to mammoth, but (surprise) I started thinking of town food like halfway into the day. 3 of us ended up pushing 26 to get down the trail to mammoth and Boone and I tried to run the last 4 to make it in time for the shuttle. Unsuccessful - legs were not happy- but were able to catch a hitch straight to the brewery haha. Was so hungry and stoked for food I accidentally left my shoes in the bed of the truck which led to like 10 min of absolute devastation but then they pulled up to the parking lot waving w them. Maybe the happiest moment I’ve had all week!

Oh and final update is that - very unfortunately - the mosquitoes r out to play. Hoping the deet induced genetic mutation my kids have will at least be something cool like a tail.

(1) Bear Grylls

(2) deceptively enticing looking water + nice foot soak action

(3) eyeing the fish haha

(4 & 5) top of silver pass

(6 & 7) just got hitch face

(8) juicy example of android-iPhone file compatibility

(9) tent sunrise

[austinonthepct]

Days 50-52 (mi 789 - 842)

First 3 days of this stretch were some of the most exhausting ones yet. In a good way tho.. it’s super gratifying to be physically spent and crawl into your tent at the end of the day. Gotten to the point where the sleeping pad is the comfiest thing in the world haha. We hit (in order) kearsage, glen, Pinchot, Mather, and Muir pass during this stretch - five 12,000ish footers in 72 hrs! Calves r activated big time.

I think my fav day of this stretch was going over muir. We started like 20ish out so weren’t sure if it was the move to do it that day since the snow would be soft in the afternoon but jetsetter and I got there w a lot of gas left in the tank so decided to go for it. It ended up being the grindiest few miles I’ve had out here but in a really fun way. We postholed up to the top and as we got there a thunderstorm started to come in so everything became super dramatic and the adrenaline came in hot. Decided to not stay in the hut up there and ended up glissading/sledding/falling down the other side of the mountain until sundown.. the most exhausted I’ve been but was the most memorable day and a good bonding moment for us. We’ve been super lucky w storms + weather so far, so it felt like a box was checked to take an L out there haha.

And as w the last section, the alpine landscape has been killer pretty much throughout. I love how completely remote it feels out here and how challenging the hiking is. It’s fun to sort of zoom out in my brain and admire the faithfulness, but also almost disregard, the trail takes here. always going north, no matter what’s in the way.

(1 & 2) coming over glen

(3) Webster’s definition of postholing

(4) nice lunch spot

(5) Pinchot

( 6) coming up to Mather

(7) dopeee camp spot

(8 & 9) Muir hut!

(10) tenter

[austinonthepct]

Days 48 & 49 (Nero & zero)

Basically just been booling around in bishop this past day and a half. It’s a pretty cool town and it’s popping off this weekend - there’s a rodeo/festival called mule days and it is supposedly a very big deal here haha. Excited to kick back and check out some mules later today when the festival starts. We’re all staying @ the same hostel, The Hotel California, where the vibes definitely parallel the acronym haha. Ton of hikers, little dogs, spots to chill, and bikes for us to use which is sweet. It’s been fun to cruise around the town on some wheels, def miss being on campus and being able to bike around. There’s a ton of likeness between 0 days and the ‘off’ days I had working @ Sierra camp 2 summers ago. Everybody is just down for whatever and we end up doing a lot of random/goofy stuff to fill the time:)

Also got some pretty good bbq for lunch yesterday and then hit the brewery here for dinner. Radio’s (one of the girls in our trail fam) parents came to town for the weekend and have been super generous taking us out to meals!

(1) 1st time wearing cotton (found a shirt in a hiker box) since day 1 let’s go

(2) 5/6 pulling up to the hostel. (left to right: radio, boone, me, jetsetter, Dracula)

[austinonthepct]

Days 46- 47 (mi 766 - 789 + trail to bishop)

This past stretch of the high sierra has felt like a movie.. the john Muir trail has lived up to the hype! After coming down from whitney we hit the power nap button for a few hrs and decided to push on another 8ish miles. I was crazy excited to get into Kings Canyon nat park and up onto the jmt - something that’s been on my bucket list since I did whitney in 2017 and first head about it. Next day was prob my biggest day on the trail so far (and one of the best too). We hit forester pass - the highest point on the trail - in the am and then decided to push on over kearsage pass to a campground so we could get to bishop the next morning. I think 23ish miles but a ton of elevation change. Honestly didn’t really feel like a lot until the end of the day, it’s way easier to keep on going when there’re epic vistas at everywhere. Also stoked to see how my body feel after the mountains.. ready for the supernatural legs everybody talks about post Sierras.

Pushing it to the camp was worth it since we met some really sick car campers there w some impromptu trail magic - had a bunch of extra beers, snacks, and a fire going for us to chill at! Was sweet since we didn’t have to wake up early the next day.. our ride (radio’s dad) swooped us at 9 and brought a mcd’s bfast platter haha.

(1) chillin @ guitar lake on our way down whitney

(2) some reflection action

(3) views coming up forester

(4) 700 miles hiked together = 1 good dap

(5 & 6) coming down the pass back into canyon

(7) backside of Whitney

(8 & 9) up over kearsage

(10) mcdank

[austinonthepct]

Days 42 - 45.5 (mi 702 - 766)

Currently @ the summit of mt Whitney woop woop! Gonna keep this v terse so as to not catch frostbite haha. Woke up at midnight to catch the sunrise up here - one of the most badass and beautiful things I’ve ever done.. Already one of the best days of my life and it’s only 7am :) Getting up to - and then in to - the high sierra has been the best part of the trail so far. It’s a huge playground for us, and we’re taking our time enjoying it - gonna have to speed up a bit tho haha cuz running out of food.

Hands too cold to caption all of these so here we go haha. Vibes have been great out here - lots of chilling and enjoying the lakes/rivers/sunshine/company!

(Appendum)

I brought some dots (my favorite candy) to the top and tossed one up to catch in my mouth. I think that means I hold the official record for highest piece of food tossed into my mouth, at least in the continental us which is sick. Action shot added

[austinonthepct]

Days 36-39 (612 - 702)

Just made it to Kennedy meadows - officially done w the desert baby!! I’ve felt like a kid before Christmas these past few days.. desert has been awesome but getting here has been a huge goal//thing ive looked forward to since day 1. It feels incredible to be here and the drinks and burgers are already coming in hot haha.

And hiking in here has been super solid. We did two marathon days, a a chill day to hitch into ridgecrest and swoop some more food, and then another biggish day pulling up here. Feels good to push the legs a little. Yesterday was super goofy - we caught a ride into town and ended up hanging out w the guy who drove us for like 3 hrs while he fixed his brakes at his house. He’s an ex Hollywood actor and apparently was in Iron man and pretty little liars which was fun to hear about.. mainly just ate food and loitered in the big 5 messing around haha. I forgot my trekking poles in there so had to hitch back and ended up night hiking to catch up to the buddies. Was a great sunset and cool views leaving the mojave for the Sierra foothills tho and ended some super most memorable miles.

Today was basically a mad dash to get here. I was so stoked I woke up at 4:30 and got out of camp early to get moving ASAP. Halfwayish into the day I was thinking something along the lines of ok now it really feels like we’re out of the desert and then Mother Nature slapped me in the face haha.. I was walking on this slope and a fat rattle snake (like 5 ft long) started rattling out of nowhere right at the tip of my trekking pole. For context, usually they rattle 30ish ft away. I looked over and it was coiled up w it’s mouth open - I could actually see it’s fangs 👀 - and I tweaked out and jumped away. Unfortunately away was off the other side of the trail which was a 45 degree slope haha. I tumbled down like 20 ft but have no idea how I landed since my adrenaline was so high.. there’s a pic after this caption of the slope I fell down. One last desert moment out here I guess.

Pretty excited to chill out here for the night and all of tmr before going up imto the mountains! We’ve got our core squad but I’m also expecting to see buddies that are behind us pull up tmr and catch up. Big celebratory vibes - we earned it.

(1) trying to catch a hitch as a group of 6 which will never work haha

(2 & 3) views leaving the Mojave

(4) whenever I really feel the adventure vibes I chew on random things out there

(5) cool camp spot

(6) pivoted away from tuna tacos and towards avo + bagels for the week

(7 & 8) getting into the sierra

(9) the promise land

(10) location of the tumble