June 26, 2025 Campsite at mile 2647.3 to northern terminus at the Canadian border (Nobo mi 2655.8; Sobo mi 0), then back to Hopkins Lake (Nobo mi 2649.4; Sobo mi 6.4) 14.9 miles It’s a pretty morning when I wake just before 6. Mixed clouds and sunlight again. I lay down after my routine early …
June 25, 2025 Windy Pass to campsite at mile 2647.3 16.9 miles This morning feels nice. Chilly but not frigidly cold. I slept just okay last night; it could have been worse, but my hips and back still hurt. But no matter. I have my hot coffee and breakfast wraps. The stream rising from the …
Continue reading PCT Day 155: Ground Squirrels, Pikas, and Marmots, Oh My!
June 24, 2025 Glacier Pass to Windy Pass 15.1 miles I’m awake long before my alarm again. Either I’m still on east coast time or the light wakes me up or both, but either way I don’t mind much today because I actually slept really well. Of course, there were still the obligatory moments when …
June 23, 2025 Campsite below Cutthroat Pass at NOBO mile 2599.5 to Glacier Pass 15.8 miles It gets light early, just before 5, and I’m awake again. It usually takes me a while to get used to sleeping in my tent and on a sleeping pad again, so I’m not surprised that I was awake …
June 22, 2025 Rainy Pass to campsite below Cutthroat Pass at NOBO mile 2599.5 5.2 miles My heart skips a beat when the sign comes into view. “North Cascades Scenic Highway - Rainy Pass Picnic Area.” The base is stone, emblazoned with a metal Forest Service logo. The mountains behind it are jagged and snow-flanked, …
One whole rotation of the sun ago, I stood at the monument in Campo, California, and started walking north on the Pacific Crest Trail. I wanted to write a long, meandering, weepy reflection on this day like I tend to do, but I don't think I have it in me. I really should be grading. …
I thought of it in the desert. I started it in September. I've been teasing it for months. And now it's finally available: Absolute Creatures: A Zine About Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.
September 17-21, 2022 0 miles Seattle, Washington I wake up on the morning of September 17 in the ranger cabin feeling groggy. I don't know why, but the quality of sleep I've experienced on the PCT is far lower than on the AT. It could have something to do with the fact that my sleeping …
September 16, 2022 The alarm goes off and we set about packing up. It's still dark, and it's cloudy again today. If there was any doubt before that the seasons are changing and autumn is setting in, those doubts are gone. It's undeniable. We are at a crossroads. And today is the last day on …
September 15, 2022 Bridge Creek Campground at mile 2577.8 to Rainy Pass at mile 2592.1 14.3 miles I wake up slow. There’s no need to go fast, not anymore. I pack up my tent and move all my stuff over to the picnic table, where I eat breakfast: part of one of the cinnamon rolls …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 