June 14 Mileage 20 Mile 1072.5 to mile 1092.5 Twinkle's alarm goes off at 6 a.m. and I feel like death. I don't even want to open my eyes or unzip my sleeping bag. Every cell in my body is screaming from exhaustion and what feels like dehydration- a 40 mile hangover. So that's what … Continue reading Day 51: tahoe on the dregs of fumes

June 13 Mileage 40 (!!!!) Mile 1032.5 to mile 1072.5 I sleep amazing- I have wild dreams- I dream a bear attacks me and drags me away and I can't scream or make any noise. I wake at six a.m.- late! And by the time we hike it's almost 7. But it was worth it- … Continue reading Day 50: full moon/friday the 13th/forty miles

June 12 Mileage 14 Mile 1018.5 to mile 1032.5 I wake when the sun rises and lay in my twin bed, watching the light move through the curtains and listening to the sounds of Bridgeport's main street. People, the jangling of doors, traffic. It's all very different from the sounds in the woods. A room, … Continue reading Day 49: leaving Bridgeport

June 11 Mileage 30 Mile 988.5 to mile 1018.5 I wake up way too early- damn those caffeinated fruit snacks I ate yesterday! I hiked fast, though, so there's that. I lay in my sleeping bag, wishing I was asleep, and before long it's 5:30, time to get up. I should've just gotten up when … Continue reading Day 48: sonora pass of wonder

June 10 Mileage 26 Mile 962.5 to mile 988.5 The mosquitoes are around, but not too bad- neither twinkle or I have bug-proof shelters (the zipper on my hexamid is busted but zpacks is sending me new zipper pulls- thanks zpacks!) so we cowboy camp, pulling our headnets over our faces to sleep. I never … Continue reading Day 47: happy, arduous miles in the land of amazing magic

June 9 Mileage 20.5 Mile 942 to mile 962.5 I bolt upright at 6:30- everyone is up but me. I slept so late! But it was so good. I had wild, violent dreams. I feel awesome. Twig builds a morning fire. Twig makes a fire every morning and every evening- he also carries an external … Continue reading Day 46: the fun goes up when the miles go down

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