May 4, 2022 I-10 underpass to Mission Creek at mile 226.2 16.7 miles Freight trains woke me up at a few points last night. They blared their horns and rumbled past like huge strange animals. Other than those few times, though, I slept surprisingly well through the night. I wake up ready to hike. We …
May 2, 2022 Idyllwild to Saddle Junction via Devil’s Slide Trail, San Jacinto Peak trail to PCT, PCT to campsite at mile 190.5 6.6 PCT miles +8.8 non-PCT miles on Devil’s Slide and San Jacinto Peak Trails 15.4 miles We start rustling much earlier than yesterday. We’re going back to the PCT today! Within an …
May 3, 2022 Campsite at mile 190.5 to I-10 near Cabazon 19 miles It’s not as cold this morning as it was last night, and it seems like my packing routine might be turning a corner: I’m ready in close to half an hour. Andy still isn’t moving by the time I’m nearly ready, though, …
May 1, 2022 0 PCT miles Idyllwild, California I am oddly comfortable when I wake up. I stretch out and remember that I am in a bed in a hotel room instead of on my crinkly potato chip sleeping pad in my tent in the woods. 6:00 comes and goes, then 7. It’s close to …
April 30, 2022 Campsite at mile 170.9 to Saddle Junction, then Devil’s Slide Trail to Idyllwild 8.5 PCT miles +2.5 miles on Devil’s Slide Trail 179.4 total PCT miles Today it’s light when we wake up. We didn’t set an early alarm because we decided we aren’t going to hike San Jacinto today—we’re going to …
April 29, 2022 Campsite at mile 155.9 to campsite at 170.9 15 PCT miles +2 mile accidental detour +1 mile to Apache Spring and back My alarm goes off at 4:45 and I am off and running. I put Leukotape on my feet, change into hiking clothes, shove my sleeping bag in its dry sack, …
April 28, 2022 Tule Spring to campsite at mile 155.9 19 miles My alarm rings at 4:00. I snooze it, wake up again, and turn it off. Next thing I know, Andy is waking me up. “Passport? Do you realize it’s 4:30?” I was in the middle of a very uninteresting dream, something about trying …
April 27, 2022 Campsite at mile 112.5 to campsite near Tule Spring, mile 137 24.5 miles The original plan is 18 for today. We wake up early and start hiking around 5:30. The trail turns steep, and almost immediately, my foot catches on a rock and I land hard on my knee. I’m okay, and …
April 26, 2022 Campsite at mile 96.5 to campsite at mile 112.5 16 miles This is a long one. But I think it’s pretty good. Read on. The start of the sunrise wakes me up before my 5:45 alarm does. It streams through my thin tent walls and bathes the campsite in orange. I start …
April 25, 2022 Campsite at mile 80.4 to campsite at mile 96.5 16.1 miles My alarm goes off at 4. It’s the first time in the past week that I wake up with the alarm instead of hours before it. Finally, a good night’s sleep! I figure I have plenty of time before our planned …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 