Tag: PCT

Wednesday, April 29, 2026. No clouds, mid-40s going up to mid-70s.

Up at 6:15. Nice, quiet night. On trail at 7:30.

Hiked 5.4 miles to Scissors Crossing to catch a hitch into town at the highway. Nursed a bit less than 1 liter of water to get there.

Found somebody’s Z-packs tent 2.5 miles from Scissors Crossing. I carried it to town and posted on FarOut that I found it.

We got to stare at the nasty climb we will have tomorrow as we hiked all morning.

I made a short video to show what hiking in the desert was like. YouTube video of home to Julian.

We reached Scissors Crossing at 9:30 and 5.2 miles. There was a nice water cache and chairs waiting for us under the bridge.

We sat down for about 25 minutes when a day hiker named Bob asked us, Fibi, and Olivia if we wanted a ride into Julian. Very nice of him.

We got dropped off in front of one of the markets in Julian at 10:15. I immediately found the owner of the lost tent. She was extremely happy!

It’s a rough couple of days in Julian as there was a water main break a few days ago. Water is back on today, but no restaurants are open until tomorrow. Ouch.

We hung out in front of Jacks Grocery for a bit. Got a drink and snack. The hotel texted that my room was ready now. Awesome. 

Brad and I walked the 2 blocks to the hotel and checked in. They also do laundry for $25, which is a nice bonus. We unpacked, showered, and dropped off our laundry at the front desk. I fixed the day 1 blog and uploaded day 5 blog. Generally relaxed for a bit.

Walked to the outfitter in town and got new shoes, socks, and gloves. I’m a little worried about the shoes. They are Altra Olympus trail shoes, which are a great shoe, but a zero-drop design. We added a heel lift insert to compensate for the fact that I am not used to a zero-drop shoe. Fingers crossed!

Walked to the market and picked up resupply for 2 days plus a deli sandwich and frozen burrito. No other food options with all the restaurants closed.

Boxed up my dead shoes, had the hotel print a UPS label, and asked the outfitter to add the package to their next outgoing UPS pickup. Everyone was very helpful.

I talked to my family and had a nice video chat with Pit Crew after an early dinner in the room. There is karaoke at the American Legion a few blocks away starting at 6:30. A lot of hikers are heading over there for the evening.

Spent 2 hours socializing and watching karaoke. It was a blast. Brad and I got talked into doing two songs: Don’t Stop Believin’ and later on Piano Man. We were the oldest in the room by a good 20 years. Token old guys 🙂

Overall, a really good test day.

Technical Notes:

• Pop Tarts: 340
• Jerky: 200
• Slim Jim: 250
• Ham and Swiss on rye: 380
• Burrito: 720
• Seltzer: 600
• And more
• Propel x: 0
• Water liters: 2
• Miles: 5.18
• Time: 1:56
• Up: 358
• Down: 1220
• Calories consumed: 4000
• Calories burned: 852
• iPhone battery used: 50%

Tuesday April 28, 2026. Light clouds and 36 going up to 70. Minimal wind.

Up at 6:15. It got very cold last night. The cold woke me up several times. We both had a thin layer of ice in our tent rain flies due to condensation freezing. 

Packed and on trail at 7:15.

Stopped at 4.95 miles at 9:10 to get water and take a break . Nice water pipe with high pressure in the desert. Lots of hikers here watering up.

Back on trail at 9:35. Only carrying out 2 liters of water as there is water in 6 miles. It’s getting hot due to the constant sun.

This is the terrain today. Mostly heads down to avoid cactus encroaching on the trail.

Got to the big water stop in the hot, shadeless desert at mile 11.1 at 12:35. Lots of hikers here resting and getting water. Most are going all the way to Julian today, but we are only going 5 more miles today and Neroing in Julian tomorrow.

Lots of people headed into Julian. It’s either a cot at the American Legion if they don’t fill up or a pricey hotel room with a bath and AC. Guess what I made a reservation for 🙂

Hung out for 45 minutes, ate, filled up 3 liters of water, and headed out at 1:20. We have 4.5 miles to camp where there likely won’t be any shade.

Hard afternoon hiking. Lots of steep downhill and several annoying steep climbs.  Dry hot and dry. Nursing my 3 liters of water so that I have enough for dinner tonight and tomorrow morning’s 5-mile hike. 

Stopped at 3:50 and 14.73 miles. Good campsite for 2 tents. We both took a break in the shade until after 4:00 before setting up camp.

That’s me on the left.

Both shoes really falling apart ! I’ll contact the vendor from town tomorrow. 

We have 1 poor bar of cell service. I can barely text and nothing else. Wrote today’s blog then made dinner at 6:00. Spam, ramen, and hot pepper flakes. I forgot how much I love that meal. Still a bit hungry though.

Got settled into my tent at 6:30 and watched videos I previously downloaded. Hope to get to sleep by 10:00.

Technical Notes:

• Pop Tarts 340
• Jerky 100
• Jerky 80
• Propel x 2
• Ramen 370
• Spam 260
• Fritos 500
• Water liters: 4
• Miles: 14.73
• Time: 7:45
• Up: 1565
• Down: 3281
• Calories consumed: 1650
• Calories burned: 3041
• iPhone battery used: 40%

April 27, 2026. Cloudy with fog and mist, and 35 going up to 45.

Up at 6:15. Feel pretty good. We got packed up, ate breakfast, and headed out at 7:30. Issues from yesterday seem to be under control.

Cold, windy, foggy with very minimal visibility for the first 3 miles. Then the fog finally drifted off, and we got some amazing views.

Took a break at 9:30 and 5.5 miles for a snack. Found a sheltered spot out of the wind. Some nice views but not a very memorable hike. We did pass the 50-mile mark!

We stopped at the Pioneer Mail Picnic area at mile 10.8 miles at 11:30. There was trail magic and about a dozen hikers in the parking lot. Awesome surprise.

It’s still windy and cold, especially when the sun is not out. I filled up my 1-liter water bottle with Sprite from trail magic. What the hell. Back on trail at 12:25.

Brad and I are both tired and hurting a bit. We found a couple of dispersed camp sites near a dirt road in 5.1 miles. Gonna camp there.

Reached camp site at 2:30 and 16.5 miles. It will work. Took some work to get tents pitched in the wind, but we did it. Had to rely on rocks instead of tent stakes.

Our plan for tomorrow is 15.4 miles. That sets us up with an easy 5-mile morning and a hitchhike into Julian on Wednesday.

Chilled in tent due to cold. Had 1 bar of cell service so texted with Dana and Ed. Made dinner at about 5:30. Cold out so cooked and ate in tent. Watched a movie while working on blogs. 

In bed at 8:00.

Technical Notes:

• Pop Tarts 340
• Rice Krispy Treat 90
• Doritos 260
• Soda 140
• Slim Jim x 2 75
• Fritos 320
• Propel x 2
• Sprite x 3 420
• Peak Refuel Sweet Pork and Rice 
• Water liters: 2
• Miles: 16.56
• Time: 7:00
• Up: 2073
• Down: 3114
• Calories consumed: 2600
• Calories burned: 2985
• iPhone battery used: 40%

April 25, 2026. Sunny and mid-40s going up to mid-50s.

Up at 6:00. Slept really well. Surprisingly so for the first night on the trail. 

On the trail at 7:00. We had a tough climb out of Hauser Creek first thing. I struggled and had to make frequent stops. Still feeling that 11lb water carry in my hips. 

We reached Lake Maurena campground at 9:25. Brad beat me here by 15 minutes. I wasn’t as slow as I thought!

There was a big trail magic event at the campground! We stayed for an hour. I had coffee and bagels and chatted with folks. Everyone from camp last night plus many others were here. 

Hiked out of Lake Maurena with a crew of six. We all met at CLEEF on Thursday evening. 

Stopped at 12:00 and 8.7 miles for a break. Found a nice shade tree. First shade in 3.5 miles. We are making good time as a group. Next stop is a campground in 2.3 miles for water and a decision as to how far to go today.

Brad and I took a break at 1:00 in the shade. We let the younger folks plow ahead. We are not in a hurry and they are on a mission.

We reached Boulder Oaks Campground at 1:15 and 11.1 miles. Lots of hikers here including the folks we were hiking with earlier. Toilets and water too.

I reached our planned campsite at 13.8 miles at 3:15. Brad missed it and kept going. Took a break and pressed on trail to follow. Ugh.

Met up with Brad 1 mile down the trail. I was struggling badly at this point. We pressed onward hoping to find a pair of tenting spots not on the map. I found two spots while Brad took a side trail DOWN into Kitchen Creek for water. No way I could handle the climb back out of there. I’ll survive with the 2 liters I have with me tonight. Set up camp at 4:40.

The forecast for the night is bad. Rain, very cold, high winds. Worried about keeping my tent from collapsing in this high wind and sandy soil. 

Got camp set up slowly. Almost fell asleep getting my air mattress and other gear settled into the tent. Dozed for 90 minutes and then forced myself to eat dinner. Rain and wind started around 6:00.

Wind pulled out 2 tent stakes and the tent collapsed at 6:30. Big winds have not even arrived yet. Trying the little rock, big rock trick instead of using tent stakes. Hopefully, that will hold through the night.

Ugh. I am almost broken. 15.6 miles today. The plan was 12, but we ran into issues and had to go further. 31.7 miles in 2 days. That was not the plan. I need to slow up. Water is proving very problematic and dictating where we need to stop. I’m okay, just need to slow up before I injure myself.

Trying to go to sleep at 8:30.

Technical Notes:

• Pop Tarts 340
• Bagel 300
• Coffee x 2
• Fatty Beef Stick 300
• Propel x 2
• Potato chips 350
• Curry Noodles 450
• Dehydrated Chicken 170
• Water liters: 3
• Miles: 15.55
• Time: 9:50
• Up: 3166
• Down: 1621
• Calories consumed: 1910
• Calories burned: 4199
• iPhone battery used: 50%