I wake in my van in the loamy shaded forest of the west side of Washington's Olympic peninsula and flick my campstove aflame to heat water for instant coffee. The dogs wriggle awake under the heavy blankets and turn, in a moment, from sweet sleeping hot water bottles to zesty, firey chihuahuas, ready to fight … Continue reading The haul road to Anaktuvuk: a bit of the Brooks range in Gates of the Arctic

5/15/19 Mileage: 13 469.2 miles hiked The canyon is warm and moony during the night, I sleep lightly, in the morning I have terrible diarrhea. A whole month of sugar, hardly any nutritious food- it's time to finish this trail. A junk food based diet is fun and necessary while hiking but I'm starting to … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 36: Fin

5/14/19 Mileage: 11.8 456.2 miles hiked The night is warm, filled with rain and a few mosquitoes, the temporary zipper fix I did in Alpine isn't working so I resign myself to sewing my tent door shut with dental floss and only have to climb over Muffy once in the night to pee. In the … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 35: narrows

5/13/19 Mileage: 15.5 444.4 miles hiked We're only 2.5 miles from the post office in Blue, where we sent ourselves boxes, and it doesn't open until 9 a.m. so we let ourselves sleep in, but still somehow by 8 a.m. we're sitting in the grass next to the dirt road, waiting for it to open. … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 34: Blue

5/12/19 Mileage: 13.3 429 miles hiked I'm awake at 5 in the motel room, excited for morning, hiking, what the day will bring but also feeling groggy and exhausted- the longer I'm on trail, the worse I sleep in town. I make a pot of motel coffee for me and Muffy, eat honey nut cheerios … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 33: Raspberry Creek and Blue River

5/11/19 Mileage: zero The people at the table behind us are talking shit about us. We're eating pizza at the one other restaurant in Alpine, the one that's not the right wing white supremacist Bear Wallow Cafe. We thought this restaurant would be better, and it sort of is? There aren't any confederate flags or … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 32: Alpine

5/10/19 Mileage: 8 415.7 Miles hiked Nice flat campsite under junipers, the earth littered in cow patties. Warm night at 6,200 feet. What could go wrong? Lots of things, actually. The last of the light is fading from the heavy, leaded sky and we're in our shelter when the mosquitoes appear. No problem, the zippers … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 31: cold downpour

5/9/19 Mileage: 16.5 407.7 miles hiked In the night condensation comes and steals the warmth from me. I wake up, touch my damp sleeping bag, decide I need to pee anyway. The tent has frozen solid from condensation, and I push away the frozen flap of the vestibule, shivering and tiny bits of ice rain … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 30: from the frozen snags to the secret land of the free cows

5/8/19 Mileage: 20 391.2 miles hiked I dream we eat donuts from Le Caves, the very good donut shop in Tucson that is "accidentally" vegan (so Muffy can have them!) and I wake up warm and cozy in our shelter, which is stiff with sheets of frozen condensation. Just one week until Le Caves! I … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 29: The Black River is f*cking cold

5/7/19 Mileage: 21 371.2 miles hiked First thing in the morning we're hiking the old railroad grade through open mountain meadows, wearing all our layers, the wind beating us. I watch the sky warily as we walk. It's cold up here, in the White Mountains at the beginning of May. I really hope it doesn't … Continue reading Mogollon Rim Trail day 28: someday this will all be aspens