June 25, 2022 Kerrick Creek at mile 979.8 to campsite at mile 1003.8 24 miles When my alarm rings at 5, I only snooze it once. If I get up now, I think, I could make some coffee! I run to the bushes to pee and then dive back into my tent, set up my …
June 24, 2022 Spiller Creek at mile 957.3 to Kerrick Creek at mile 979.8 22.5 miles A huge uphill is first on the menu on this chilly morning. I start out in my puffy and wind pants but have to take them off within a mile. This climb is not messing around. In mere minutes …
June 23, 2022 Mile 937.7 to Spiller Creek at mile 957.3 19.6 miles It’s a lot easier to wake and pack up when you’re cowboy camping. The daylight streams through the forest, and we have food and hot coffee on our minds. The trail is flat this morning, following the meadow and river. I walk …
June 22, 2022 Campsite at mile 920 to mile 937.7 17.7 miles For one brief moment, the sunrise paints the mountains a deep orangey pink. I start to move to take a photo, but by the time I get to it, the clouds have rolled in and the moment is gone. It’s going to be …
June 21, 2022 Mammoth to trail near Red’s Meadow to campsite at mile 920 13.3 miles The alarm goes off and I ignore it. No. No! You can’t pull me from this bed. But I hear Jumbo rustling around and know it’s game over. “We’ve got shit to do!” he says. He and Tribute are …
June 19, 2022 Deer Creek to Red’s Meadow to Mammoth 5.6 miles Everything is frozen. The water bottle inside my tent is frozen. My feet are frozen. I know I should get a move on because today is town say, but I just don’t want to get out of my sleeping bag. I boil water …
Continue reading PCT Days 62 and 63: Nero and Zero in Mammoth Lakes
June 18, 2022 Campsite at mile 882.4 to Deer Creek at mile 901.1 18.7 miles The water outside my tent is frozen. I can see my breath. I pack up begrudgingly, chasing patches of sunlight across the campsite. When we start moving, I have all of my layers on, and I take a few of …
June 17, 2022 Marie Lake at mile 866.3 to campsite at mile 882.4 16.1 miles It is frigid. It is absolutely Baltic. How can I have been so hot yesterday afternoon and so chilly today in the wind and the clouds? The Sierras do not mess around. I start to pack up, realize how cold …
Continue reading PCT Day 60: Cloudy With a 0% Chance of Cheese
June 16, 2022 Campsite at mile 848.4 to Marie Lake at mile 866.3 17.9 PCT miles 3 non-PCT miles to Muir Trail Ranch and back I’m determined not to be the last one ready today. I never want to get up, but we are going to be walking by 6 and make the most of …
June 15, 2022 Big Pete Meadow at mile 832.6 to campsite at mile 848.4 15.8 miles It’s a slow morning. We aim to leave by 6:30, but it’s after 7 before we get moving. We had to eat breakfast, get water, pack up, and chat with Qwerty and Trash Balloon, after all. Part of me …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 