June 15 Mileage: 26 765.5 miles hiked Just as I'm tucked into my sleeping bag, warm and cozy and ready for sleep, my legs start to itch. What the fuck? I lay there, trying not to scratch. If it's mosquito bites it'll eventually pass... but it doesn't pass. The itching goes on, a sort of … Continue reading CDT day 42: mystery rashes and broken icecream freezers

June 14 Mileage 25 739.5 miles hiked Here in Glacier we're living the same day over and over again: cold morning in the deep woods, shivering through breakfast, walking through the lush undergrowth along some deep green-blue water, stinging nettles and blowdowns, the long slow ascent to a cold high pass with views of valleys … Continue reading CDT day 41: things could definitely be worse

June 13 Mileage 23 714.5 miles hiked I wake once when the sun comes up at four, see that it's clear, roll over in my soggy sleeping bag and go back to sleep. When I wake again it's nearly 8, and still so cold, down here in this wet foggy valley in the dark forest- … Continue reading CDT day 40: high passes and giant burgers

June 12 Mileage 20 691.5 miles hiked I wake up way too early in the hostel- I never know what time it is here. It seems like the sun comes up at four a.m. in Northern Montana. The sun is always up! I order eggs and homefries from the Whistlestop cafe next door and eat … Continue reading CDT day 39: magical Montana!!

June 9, 10, 11 Mileage: zero Tuesday I sleep. Oh my god, I sleep. When I wake up, everything seems better. I drink tea and eat leftovers while figuring out last-minute logistics stuff. We're dropping the car off in Kalispell, Montana tomorrow- how will we get to East Glacier from there? Hitching maybe? And where … Continue reading CDT day 36, 37, 38: north to Canada!

June 5, 6, 7, 8 Mileage: zero Friday Durango is bigger than I thought it would be- we get dropped off midday by an exuberant beautiful older hippie lady with silver hair and silver jewelry who talked to us on the drive about wolves and the necessity, when raising children, to instill in them a … Continue reading CDT day 32, 33, 34, 35: WTF are we even doing

You Think You Have Time: Hiking the Lowest to Highest Trail

June 4 Mileage 12 671.5 miles hiked from Mexico Everything is confusing today. There is a trail, there isn't a trail, there are many well-defined cow trails which aren't the trail. The trail is mud, the trail is water and corn lilies. We're all crossing a big wet meadow towards the forested mountains on different … Continue reading CDT day 31: ch ch ch chama

June 3 Mileage 30 659.5 miles hiked from Mexico Cowboy camping and there's no condensation- what joy! My bag stays fluffy all night instead of wilting around 3 a.m. and I don't wake up cold to the eerie moon. I sleep amazing and then the sun is pouring through the forest and we're doing our … Continue reading CDT day 30: ridgewalking! ridgewalking!

June 2 Mileage 30 629.5 miles hiked from Mexico The clouds burn pink at sunset and then darker clouds roil in, thunder, and then the wind picks up and the sky dumps. I'm in my shelter, which I accidentaly set up facing the wind and I spend some time trying to keep out the water, … Continue reading CDT day 29: there’s nowhere else to go