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 …
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 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 …
September 14, 2022 Stehekin to Bridge Creek Campground at mile 2577.8 4.9 miles Today is an odd mix of relaxing and chaos. We think the shop opens at 9, so we sleep in way later than usual, which is pleasant. After we pack all our stuff up and go back down to the deck to …
Continue reading PCT Day 149: Chaotic Planning and the Last Night on the PCT
September 13, 2022 Campsite at mile 2558.1 to Stehekin 14.8 miles It’s not as damp as I expect it to be when I wake up. It’s still cloudy, but I don’t think it rained last night. I hear Jumbo rummaging around and, although I’m not ready to actually move yet, I rouse myself enough to …
September 12, 2022 Mile 2538.5 to campsite at mile 2558.1 19.6 miles It’s raining when we wake this morning. Usually, the sun wakes us up naturally, but today, we have to motivate ourselves a little harder than usual. This is what Washington is supposed to feel like, I think: cool, misty, mysterious. Once we’re packed …
September 11, 2022 Mile 2519.7 to mile 2538.5 18.8 miles Jumbo is still quiet this morning, which means he’s still hurting just as much as he was last night. I understand the feeling. Even though we’ve been getting really decent nights of sleep recently, our bodies are just simply done. We slowly start moving. It’s …
Continue reading PCT Day 146: Blowdown City and the Marmot King
September 9, 2022 Campsite at mile 2481.2 to Reflection Pond at mile 2501.2 20 miles It’s smoky when we wake up, even smokier than it was last night. We can barely make out the outlines of trees in the distance, and if there are other mountain ranges out there, we can’t see them. It’s just …
September 7, 2022 Mig Lake at mile 2457.7 to Leavenworth via Stevens Pass 7.5 miles Last night I fell asleep right at 9:00, and this morning I wake up at 5:00 on the dot. I lie there for a while, thinking about things, watching the stars blink out and the daylight switch on. It hits …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 