#hikertrash

[treewalker]

[hostelhiker]

Missong the days on the PCT (2021)

#pct #pacificcresttrail #pctclassof2021 #thruhiking #thruhiker # thruhiking #hikertrash #appalachiantrail

[joeythebrofessor]

Be careful. That next step could be a doozy! #hiking #arkansas #hikearkansas #52hikechallenge #arkansasoutdoors #outdoorliving #hike #hikemore #hikersofinstagram #hikers #hikertrash (at Arkansas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnuxaVMJ4ao/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hikertrashprincess]

Day 101

8.8.22

Woke up and wanted to get to the Appalachian Market. The trail is so dry this year that really was the only place to get water, with added benefits of hot food and cold drinks.

It was a pretty standard hike there. On the way we met Slow and Steady, who we had been leapfrogging for a while but only knew his name by the logbooks.

We got to the maket/ gas station and immediately established ourselves as Hikertrash. We found all the secret outlets and settled in at the tables after ordering some breakfast at the deli.

We remained at the gas station for about six hours. We practically moved in but the staff didn’t even seem to care when we started drinking beer in the gas station.

The most interesting character was a man named Red who tossed his stuff all over the parking lot, swore at Morpheus when he offered him water, whitesplain racism to the next black man he saw, advice all of us to start having children early, and also inexplicably got his life advice from a satirical Sacha Baron Cohen character but not even Borat. He was a character but talking to him was still better than hiking in 95 degree heat with 75 percent humidity.

We did 8 miles to finish the day at a campground with water and experimented with our “lantern” which is a headlamp under the clear bag of water, which we made into a sort of disco ambulance. Slow and Steady didn’t seemed too bothered by it.

The night took a turn when I woke up to something rummaging through my food bag. I got my headlamp out and it was a skunk just outside my tent! I absolutely freaked out and threw everything outside my tent to I guess run away and camp on the other side of the field. I realized the skunk had actually just peacefully ran away so I went back to sleep hoping he wouldn’t come back.

Spoiler alert- he did and we repeated the same routine twice before I realized I could put my food up under the awning with the trailhead signage on it. I didn’t think skunks could climb and I also didn’t think it would wander too far from the forest but whatever the reason he did not come back and I slept until morning.

Loyal readers will know that the same thing happened the night before I was set to start the CDT. It actually went a lot better this time but hopefully it never happens again.

[cabinology]

Onward!

[hikerdaze]

Hikertrash summer 2021 Gletscher und so. Tramp

[weatheredandshorn]

Day 8 on the JMT and we hiked about 12 miles from Natalie Lake, over Silver Pass and finally ending somewhere along the Mono River. It is around this point that keeping track of the days was a challenge, both the actual date, day of the week, and how long we'd been on the trail. Feral tendencies began setting in and yet, life is surprisingly stable. You wake, you eat, you pack, you hike, you eat some more, you set up camp, you read or meditate or swim, you eat again, and you sleep. Only to repeat the process the next day as the scenery changes around you. Mono Creek was a lovely surprise and ended up being one of our favorite campsites. We were able to find a spot that was not crowded with other hikers and hidden from the trail. As I layed in my tent reading Edward Abbey I listened to the rush of Mono Creek next to us and I swear I could hear the singing of a man. It sounded as if the barrier between the past and the present had become closer and more transparent and I was catching a glimpse through the cracks. It made me wonder about the history of the area. What tribes lived here and what names did they have for the mountains, streams and meadows whose names now bear the titles of white men. Mono Creek hinted at the answer to my question. Mono Creek was named for the Mono tribe. This tribe is often lumped in with the Paiute tribe, but they are their own unique people. "Mono" was a title borrowed from the Yokuts language meaning "Fly People" as the Mono Tribe's main food staple and trading article was fly larvae. I laid back and continued to listen to the song of Mono Creek. What was he singing about? I couldn't make out the words exactly, but the melody was high yet deep and echoed across the canyon. Perhaps it was the mountains who were singing a melancholy remembrance of a people they missed. . . . #jmt #jmt2021 #johnmuirtrail #johnmuir #johnmuirwilderness #thruhike #thruhiking #thruhiker #hike #hikersofinstagram #hikecalifornia #hikemoreworryless #hiker #hikersofinstagram #hikertrash #hikerlife #hikerbabes #hikergirl #monocreek #sierra #getoutside #goexplore #California #californiaadventure (at John Muir Wilderness) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSx85EfrvuQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[actionadventureactivator]

The High Sierra's actually found a special place in my heart. I wasn't expecting to love them as much as I did. But man, how can you not? Muir sure did. I typically prefer massive prominent mountains like the ones I grew up around in WA. Mt Whitney definitely didn't appear very prominent, but everything beyond it stood out for it's beauty. I'll never forget some of these sights. I do hope to return someday. We got to spend some time in Tahoe. My family even made it out to visit. However this is when the wild fires started to get out of hand. We made it to Tahoe without major fire concerns, but the rest of the hike was pretty much defined by them till WA. #pct #pct2021 #pacificcresttrail #riseandhike #backpacking #thruhike #hikertrash #dirtbagging #kingscanyonnationalpark #sierras #vvr (at Yosemite National Park, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUG0_pQM9Pv/?utm_medium=tumblr

[yosemite-store]

”HIKER DESIRE CAP“ ¥9,350tax-in @ryosuke_iwashi が手がけるHiker TrashよりCapが初めてリリースされました。  「歩き始めて4日、次の街まであと3日もある。そんな時に冷えたクラフトビー ル！ホットシャワー！ハイカロリーなピザ！が頭をよぎる。  カラカラ、ドロドロ、ペコペコな彼らが、その時にこのキャップの刺繍を見ようものなら、我慢できずにもがき苦しみ、そしていつもより少し早めに歩き始めるだろう。」  Hiker Desire Cap は伸縮性のあるポリエステルニット素材のジェッ トキャップ。軽量で乾きが早く、ツバ部分をソフトに仕上げることでフィット 感を高めている。丸めてコンパクトにパッキングする事も可能です。  #hikertrash #アメリカ3大トレイル #yosemite_nara  #yosemite_store  #yosemitehikingclub  #yosemitehighlandcircus  #imustgo #trails  #trailtalk #trailrunning  #barefootrunning #fastpacking  #ultralighthiking #climbing  #hiking  #altra #vivobarefoot #hyperlitemountaingear #ultralightadventureequipment #ヨセミテ  #山道具  #トレイルランニング  #ロングトレイルハイキング #縦走  #登山  #とび出しハイカー  #ナラムリ族 (Yosemite) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPKZapeNhuR/?utm_medium=tumblr

[waywardluminarychaos]

Chris Hikes the PCT-part 1

Chris set off in late April to hike the PCT, hopefully in its entirety (2,650 miles). Visiting some friends and family along the way, he was able to leave our car with our friend Touch in San Diego, and arrived at the start of the PCT on the night of May 3rd. Months before, he had applied for a PCT permit, and had a start date of May 4 at Campo, on the California/Mexico border. Chris at the…

[hikertrashprincess]

Day 11

5.10.22

When I packed up I discovered I’d left my beloved cooking pot behind at the NOC. I only have three pieces of gear I haven’t replaced, broken, or lost on my thru hikes and the pot is one of them. I texted Burning Man who had stayed in town and luckily he was able to find it! We made an agreement that he would carry it on to Fontana Dam and when we met there his beverage of choice was on me.

I didn’t have a way to cook dinner that night though. This is where, as they say, the trail provides. I had texted some CDT friends in the area around the Smokies that I was getting close. I guess they had spontaneously planned to meet up for dinner that night. So Chili Mac texted me and asked if I could make it to Mile 158.3 by dinner time. It was a bit far so I started crushing miles motivated by food and friends.

At lunchtime I came to a highway crossing where I met three new hikers: Michael, Lost and Found, and Jetboi. Someone had given them chic fil a sandwiches so they offered me one. I sat down and devoured my sandwich. I fixed Michael’s trekking pole for him. When we were about to take off they looked like they were about to THROW AWAY a chic fil a sandwich. I asked if anyone was going to eat it and they said “naw it’s been sitting out.” ??? Some of these new hikers, even with 150 miles under their belts, are not quite in Hikertrash Mode.

We left together but I was too fast going up hill and I didn’t see them again. Hopefully I see them again to explain it wasn’t them, it was because of my dinner engagement.

I arrived at the meeting spot at 6:22 and Chili Mac pulled up at 6:35ish. He had very kindly driven an extra half hour to get me off trail. We met Captain Caveman, another CDT friend, and Amelia, his girlfriend who we had met when she picked him up from the southern terminus. We met another Ridge Runner Joshua who knew Captain Caveman and Amelia. It was a fun night and a lot better than the cold snacks I would have had for dinner otherwise.

Chili Mac brought me back to the trail and I walked about a mile to a shelter and set up for the night.

[justonemilemore]

No. 4 • • • • #bw #bnw #monochrome #blackandwhite #monochromephotography #bnw_legit #bnwminimalmag #_bnwart_ #Idaho #WhiteClouds #StanleyIdaho #UL #ultralight #ulbackpacking #backpacking #hiking #hikertrash #ultralightbackpacking 📍 Shoshone-Bannock Ancestral Land (at Idaho) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdhK1ol-SM/?igshid=qdf3ig8m665h

[hikerdaze]

Friendship - Vagabond Life ✌🏻

[tuellertrails]

Why the PCT?

When I was 18, my coworker and I traded books for fun. I don’t even remember what book I gave her, but she gave me a copy of Wild by Cheryl Strayed, about a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in the 90′s. I loved the book because not only was it about this great adventure of the solitary trek that she took, but it was also a story of healing, a search for meaning and the strength to move forward after losing someone that she loved.

The author lost her mom to cancer when she was 18 or 19 years old, and it came on very suddenly. Within a month of being diagnosed, her mom had died, and the suddenness of the event really wrecked her and her siblings and step father. For years afterwards, she struggled with a drug and a sex addiction, got married and divorced, and just felt lost (The quoted sections ahead are all shared from her book).

“I was a terrible believer in things, but I was also a terrible nonbeliever in things. I was as searching as I was skeptical. I didn't know where to put my faith, or if there was such a place, or even what the word faith meant, in all of it's complexity. Everything seemed to be possibly potent and possibly fake.” 

Randomly, she comes across a guidebook all about the PCT, and on a whim decides that she needs to do something different with her life. So she sells everything that she owns, goes to REI and buys a bunch of backpacking gear, and sets out to hike this trail with absolutely no backpacking experience. At the beginning her pack was so heavy that she called it “Monster” and could barely lift it. But she set out and hiked 1,100 miles in 94 days, reading, journaling and taking in this brutally hard experience. She conquered her fears and achieved this incredible thing that most people don’t even imagine doing. 

“Fear begets fear. Power begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn't long before I actually wasn't afraid.”

It was this incredible journey that she undertook that actually helped her move on with her life and deal with her Mom’s death, perhaps in a way that almost nothing else could have. I loved it. It’s an incredible story with so much beauty and wisdom, and it inspired me like nothing else ever has. After reading it, I knew that I wanted to have my own experience and hike the PCT for myself.

“I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I didn't embrace the word as my new name because it defined negative aspects of my circumstances or life, but because even in my darkest days—those very days in which I was naming myself—I saw the power of the darkness. Saw that, in fact, I had strayed and that I was a stray and that from the wild places my straying had brought me, I knew things I couldn't have known before.”

I had briefly mentioned this “wild” ambition to Landon, but we didn’t start seriously talking about it until Spring of 2018 when I was finishing up nursing school. I told Landon that before we had kids, i wanted to hike the PCT. Always down for an adventure (especially of the outdoor variety) and being the supportive husband that he is, he enthusiastically replied “Ok, lets do it!”

So we sat down and started researching what it would take to turn this dream into a reality. We watched Youtube videos (we reccommend Darwin on The Trail and Homemade Wanderlust) and read blog posts of hikers who had hiked the trail. We looked up all of the different options for backpacking gear and decided which pieces we wanted for our own kits, and opened up a savings account to start socking away money for the excursion.

Our original plan was to hike in 2020, and though we had saved up enough money and had all of our gear, we ended up cancelling our thru hike that year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Things were very uncertain in April of 2020, and many of the small communities that are along the PCT came out with statements asking for hikers to please cancel their hikes to eliminate the spread of the virus, especially in those trail communities whose residents are primarily elderly and do not have access to much healthcare close by. Shortly after, the Pacfiic Crest Trail Association also came out with a statement parroting the same sentiments and asking hikers to respect the wishes of the trail communities and please cancel their hikes, which the majority of hikers did. Even though we were bummed, we felt like cancelling our thru hike was the right thing to do, and we were able to spend a lot of time doing self supported backpacking trips that summer and continue practicing on those trips and dialing in our gear choices.

Fortunately for us, we have one more window of opportunity to hike the PCT this year in 2021. Landon is in between his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs, and doesn’t have any obligations until Fall semester of this year, at which point we anticipate him having to leave the trail a little bit early to go to graduate school in Colorado, where I will join him shortly after completing the trail. I have been working as a travel nurse over the last year and completed my most recent assignment in March, which gave us about a month to travel home, see our friends and family, pack up for grad school, and prepare our resupply boxes for the trail this year. We are both very fortunate to have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine and we are feeling much more optimistic about the safety of hiking the PCT this year, though we will still continue to wear masks in towns. As I write this, I’m sitting at the table in Landon’s Aunt and Uncle’s house in San Diego, where we’ve been resting for a week before we start our thru hike on Monday, April 19th (they’ve been kind enough to host us while Landon recovers from running 62 miles from his latest ultra marathon endeavor).

We are so happy to finally be taking this journey together and to be realizing a goal and a dream of mine for the past 10 years! It’s going to be an amazing adventure and we can’t wait to start. I’ll be posting here at least once a week writing about our experiences, and Landon might be convinced to write an occasional post here too. Feel free to comment below or ask us any questions at the bottom of this post! And thanks for reading and supporting us. Just 2,653 miles to go!

[weatheredandshorn]

Day 6 on the JMT and we only hiked about 6 miles. Today was a full on regroup. Walking to breakfast at Red's Meadows and hearing fellow thru hikers wax eloquent about Vermilion Valley Ranch (VVR), I turned to KT and said, let's give ourselves until the 12th. With that statement, calls were made, changes were had, and we both breathed a little easier. I was pleased to hear everyone we talked to say, "The important thing is to have fun." I had forgotten that. I resolved never to forget that again. And while we never did make it to the famous VVR, we did enjoy the rest of the trail infinitely more and more each day. Before leaving, we ate a large breakfast and went over, and over again, our resupply as we talked to fellow thru hikers. It was a Red's that my trail name changed again. A PCT thru hiker misheard my trail name 'Belle' as 'Bill'. The ruggedness of the new name seemed to fit a bit better and I took it on for the next week or so. A couple days earlier I had given KT the name 'Rock Dancer' per her tendency to jump from rock to rock as we hiked. As she danced on the rocks, I danced in the dirt. The state of our hiking clothes reflected that reality. We then said our goodbyes and headed towards a popular campsite called bear creek and as we traveled through light sprinkles KT posited that her name be shorted to 'RD', or rather 'Ardey', and so we became 'Bill' and 'Ardey' for a time, our trail names reflecting the new grit we had acquired. Bear Creek was lovely, but crowded with hikers and flies, so we spent most of our time in our tents - I reading the words of John Muir, and she reading the words of Margarette Atwood, until the sun set and our eyes closed for another night on the trail. . . . #jmt #jmt2021 #johnmuirtrail #johnmuir #johnmuirwilderness #thruhike #thruhiking #thruhikers #thruhiker #sierra #hike #hikersofinstagram #hikemoreworryless #hikecalifornia #California #californiaadventure #californiadreaming #getoutside #hiker #hikersofinstagram #hikertrash #hikerlife #hikerbabes #hikergirl (at Red's Meadow, Inyo National Forest) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSsglG_F203/?utm_medium=tumblr