10/15/19 I am just warm enough. My pad partly deflates and I toss and turn, making unfortunate potato chip noises. When the alarm goes off I play Papa Roach on my phone, making my friends laugh. Gets em every time. We find the explosion of trees in the wash that signals water, somewhere, somewhere there … Continue reading L2H day 3: the land of zero texture

10/14/19 The alarm on my phone goes off at 5 a.m. and wakes me into a world that is suspiciously like yesterday. Dark. Dry. Moony. I slept maybe five hours? Well. I select Eye of the Tiger in my music and turn the volume up all the way. The others laugh themselves awake. We need … Continue reading L2H day 2: mountaineering but make it pinyon forest

10/12/19 I wake at 6 a.m. in my van in the bright desert somewhere west of phoenix. I pull the magnetic covers from the windows, letting in the light. I drove here from Tucson last night in a fog, so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I'd spent the previous night awake, waiting … Continue reading L2H day 0-1: full moon in Aries

Hey all, I'm teaching an online workshop on how to hike the PCT! This four week, self-guided course begins January 4, 2020. Each week, participants will receive instructional videos, reading material and homework. You will be able to watch the videos when you want to and work at your own pace, and complete the materials … Continue reading How to Hike The PCT: An Online Workshop

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