June 8 Mileage 17 (on the JMT coming out of Yosemite Valley) Last night NotaChance and I discovered that it was only 23 miles to hike from Yosemite Valley back up the Toulumne Meadows, to the PCT. Seven thousand feet of climbing in nine miles, but who's counting? "Let's do it!" I said. "Ok!" Said … Continue reading Day 45: Hiking out of the Yosemite Valley on the JMT

June 7 Mileage 20 Mile 923 to mile 943 I sleep badly somehow and wake in a bad mood next to the lake. Eat breakfast- why is my breakfast so sugary? Hiking is fine, up over a little pass, it's cold then warm, I'm listening to my music and I feel alright. I start to … Continue reading Day 44: Toulumne Meadows

June 6 Mileage 16 Mile 907 to mile 923 I sleep hard in our hotel room with the AC on and the double-blinds drawn to block out light pollution and then I wake at 5:30, chilly in that way only air conditioning can make you, and can't get back to sleep. I turn on my … Continue reading Day 43: sitting by lakes, talking about the nature of existence

June 5 Mileage: zero A hundred hikers in a motel room, a hundred empty cans of coors, a hundred stinky hiker feet, a hundred grocery bags of resupply, towels and bedclothes everywhere, the smell of stale balogna that follows exploded packs, like little kid lunch boxes that never come clean. Hikers coming and going, wandering … Continue reading Day 42: eating until I can’t anymore- a zero in Mammoth Lakes

June 4 Mileage 18 Mile 886.5 to mile 895.5 plus 9 miles on the Duck pass trail It's cold again, but this time not too cold. I wake once to pee and the milky way is there, smeared across the sky. I crawl back into my sleeping bag and drift off again, curled into my … Continue reading Day 41: Mammoth Lakes of Awesome

June 3 Mileage 20 Mile 866.5 to mile 886.5 I'm almost, but not quite, too cold, and I sleep in a tense little ball- tight to keep in the heat. When I wake there's frost on my bag and I ache all over- my back, my hips. I feel almost hungover from sleeping all balled … Continue reading Day 40: molasses where my blood should be

June 2 Mileage 28 Mile 838.5 to mile 866.5 I sleep better than I think I will, all hopped up on caffeinated fruit snacks- I'm lulled by the warm, stuffy hut, by the sound of my friends snoring. I wake up to pee once, stumbling barefoot out into the hard snow, squatting below the milky … Continue reading Day 39: a long beautiful day to a cold lake

June 1 Mileage 18 Mile 820.5 to mile 838.5 We wake at 6 a.m. I've only slept four hours, but I don't care. I'm so glad to be back with the group, so glad to not be wandering alone in the seemingly empty wilderness that is the Sierras in spring. It's strange how that happens … Continue reading Day 38: Muir hut day

May 31 Mileage 25 Mile 795.5 to mile 820.5 I underestimated how demoralizing it would be to go over these snowy passes alone. I sleep until 7:30, when the sunlight touches my shelter. I must've been more exhausted than I thought after going over Glen pass- that's the latest I've slept on the trail so … Continue reading Day 37: Pinchot while panicking, Mather in the dark

May 30 Mileage 14 (6.5 on the PCT plus 7.5 on the Kearsarge pass trail) Mile 789 to mile 795.5 We wake up at 5:30 to pack up for the 6:15 bus that will take me to Bishop for my box and everyone else to Independence, where they can hitch to the trail. I feel … Continue reading Day 36: glen pass is fucking sketch and the trail is covered in snow