August 25, 2022 Campsite at mile 2191.4 to campsite just past the Sawtooth Mountain Trail junction at mile 2214.5 23.1 miles I can immediately feel yesterday in my feet when I start moving. I’d thought that my new insoles from Portland were really working some magic because my foot pain has decreased since the zeroes, …
Continue reading PCT Day 129: Trail Magic and Sawtooth Sunset
August 24, 2022 Rock Creek campsite at mile 2167.2 to campsite at mile 2191.4 24 miles I have weird dreams about a new job and a computer virus. I procrastinate getting up to pee. I’m exhausted when the world starts to grow lighter. But it’s time to hike! I pack everything up and then meet …
August 23, 2022 Bus from Portland to Cascade Locks to Rock Creek campsite at mile 2167.2 19 miles The morning is chaotic because we realize it’s a 20-minute Uber to the transit center where we have to catch our bus back to Cascade Locks. I get up and quickly make coffee, eat a bagel, and …
August 21 and 22 0 miles After the slug debacle, we sleep surprisingly well. Jumbo is feeling a little rough in the morning, but nothing compared to me the day before. We call Tribute asking him what his plan is. He says we have probably about an hour before he comes to town with his …
Continue reading PCT Days 125 and 126: Double Zero in Portland
August 19-20, 2022 August 19: 7.3 non-PCT miles, 0 PCT miles August 20: 0 miles Tribute is abnormally energetic this morning. “It’s TOWN DAY!” he roars, packed up long before Jumbo or I are even out of our tents. It takes us a minute to get moving, and we’re slow when we do. It feels …
August 18, 2022 Campsite at Lolo Pass, mile 2115.2 to Eagle Creek alternate to campsite 7.5 miles from junction 13.4 PCT miles 7.5 non-PCT miles In the middle of the night, Jumbo gently shakes me awake. “It’s raining a little,” he says. “I’m going to get in my tent just in case.” I sleepily hammer …
August 17, 2022 Timberline to campsite at Lolo Pass, mile 2115.2 Technically, 17.3 PCT miles, but with my detour, who knows I think I do a pretty good job of being honest about the thru-hike experience, its highs and lows and positives and negatives. But in case I haven’t made it clear enough, sometimes this …
Continue reading PCT Day 121: Timberline Breakfast and the Accidental Detour
August 16, 2022 Campsite at mile 2079.1 to Timberline Lodge 18.8 miles I really like this sleeping in thing. Like, really like it. I hear Tribute moving around before I open my eyes, but he’s not moving with any real conviction. When I finally look at my phone, it’s nearly 6:45. We have a whopping …
August 15, 2022 Campsite at mile 2055.6 to campsite at mile 2079.1 23.5 miles Jumbo is so motionless when I wake up that I start to worry he’s dead. What do I do? Is he breathing? Normally he’s the first one to start rustling, but today it’s Tribute. Even when I sit up and start …
August 14, 2022 Bend to Oallie Lake at mile 2046.7, then to campsite at mile 2055.6 8.9 miles (45.8 PCT miles skipped due to the Lionshead Fire Closure) The morning of back-on-trail days are always chaotic. I will myself out of bed and organize my pack explosion down to a somewhat manageable pile, make coffee, …
Continue reading PCT Day 118: A Headache Turned into an Adventure
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 