Category: Hiking

Windy Whitewater
2015.05.04
Latergram, My VW Westfalia, Pacific Crest Trail
Scenes from Ziggy and The Bear’s place on the Pacific Crest Trail, featuring Chief Pete, wind, Honey Badger, Billy Goat and Dutch Claire cleaning up the trash bin, and a bunch of hikers siesta-ing. May 1 we were 230 hikers over the 5/1/2014 hiker count, but yesterday we were only 120 hikers over the 5/1/2014 count. There is either a vortex south of here or the dropout rate is astounding this year. Wouldn’t be surprising given the drought, heat , and last weekend’s storm.

Read more

Billy Goat
2015.04.30
Hiking, Latergram
Look who I lured into the Pine House Café and Tavern for a salad! The Billy Goat! He’s done 25,000 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and is out for a stroll before heading to Wisconsin to walk the Ice Age Trail. I had him sign my Billy Goat trucker hat, then he let me drive him through Anza Borrego to Whitewater (complete with a momentary Vanagon breakdown). We had a nice chat about what it’s like to not be able to hike when you’ve made a life out of hiking. Heavy stuff. An honor to have some of this man’s time, and his thoughts.

Read more

Jam
2015.04.27
Latergram, Pacific Crest Trail
Hiker Benjamin “The Sheik” leads an a cappella Beach Boys bear vault and stick percussive jam while attempting to light a cigarette with a burning pine cone. Happy Little Trees whittles a stick in the foreground left. The guy hom-hom-ing – Bradley – is hiking barefoot, and the man to his left – Nude Dude – is often found naked and does a brilliant but unsettling free flow jam himself. I found this lot to be particularly weird, and that’s saying a lot on the Pacific Crest Trail. Today was the busiest day with hikers at mile 42 yet for the 2015 season. (Postscript: Someone wrote another book about the PCT and included this scene, and me, in it. I found it fascinating how what I said […]

Read more

The Best Ultra Lightweight Sleeping Bags
2015.01.07
Bikes, Pacific Crest Trail, Sewing
Ultra lightweight sleeping bags are purpose-built for long-haul treks where space is at a premium and weight is counted in grams, but they can also be used on your ordinary family camping trips. I call that win-win! The sleeping bag is part of “The Big Three:” These three items comprise the most weight, and take up the most space of all your gear. Also, they are items (aside from food and shoes) that can make–or break–your hike or bike tour. Be prepared to shell out good money up front (and not have to re-purchase something better later). This is an investment you’ll be putting to very good use. A sleeping bag is a camper’s best friend! Considerations For Choosing a Sleeping Bag Sleeping Bag Comparisons These comparisons […]

Read more

Hitch-hiking Pro Tips
2015.01.04
Hiking, Pacific Crest Trail
I did done a ton of solo hitchhiking both during and after my PCT thru-hike — over a thousand miles and many dozen hitches. I learned a lot about hitching and from hitching and thought I’d share with you. Before my thru-hike it never occurred to me to hitch-hike. Not only that but it seemed dangerous and rather taboo. But on a thru-hike it becomes not only necessary but mostly fun. And for me, I wondered not only why I had never done it before, but why not keep doing it? And so after my hike, I continue to hitch-hike. Of course I’ve seen firsthand that it is easier to get a ride when you’re a female (or two or three females) on the side of the […]

Read more

Backpack Choices for a Thru-hike
2014.12.29
Pacific Crest Trail
(UPDATE 2023) I realize these days all the “cool” kids want a tissue-thin artisanal custom sub-2-lb backpack for their thru-hike. If that’s you, maybe you don’t need this article. If you’d prefer to carry something sturdy that can actually handle water carries, snow gear carries, and possible longer stretches, then this post is for you. (UPDATED 2019) Here is a run-down of all the popular backpacks on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Also included are a couple pack comparison charts for you, looking at a range of the most common and reasonable packs for normal people. I hope this helps your selection. Please correct any mistakes or omissions in the comments below. Index Common Packs Outliers Other Ideas Considerations 55-60L Comparison Chart 65-70L Comparison Chart Common Backpacks […]

Read more

My Portraits of the Pacific Crest Trail
2014.12.07
Pacific Crest Trail
I was super excited to find this excellent photo gallery of PCT hiker photos over at Outside Online today (thanks Pacific Crest Trail Association for the link). How cool is it that an unwitting trail angel became a documenter of some of the 2014 personalities? I met a few of those hikers (Justin, Blanco, Far Out, Sarah!, Namaste) , and maybe met a few others before they got their trail names, and got teary-eyed looking at their beautiful portraits. But it made me remember that I took some 2014 PCT portraits myself, and still haven’t shared them beyond the ephemeral Instagram base. So here you go: Hiker Apache. Now I’m partial to this guy because I hiked a few miles with him in 2013, and he’s just […]

Read more