Paradise On The Ground

It’s taken me sometime to gain the strength to write about what I am about to address. It’s very  personal, it’s very difficult and I would be an absolute fool to not admit that it has stifled me in every aspect of my career. But, as lonely as I have felt in my situation, I know I am not; and I only hope that there is some catharsis amongst all of this and that this allows me to accept what has gone on and be able to remove the nonsensical pressure I feel from myself, my loved ones and those who follow me.

DAY 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111 - Idyllwild to campsite 238.4 km, to campsite 195.52km, to Warner Springs, to Third Gate, to campsite 101.92km, to campsite 57.76km to the Mexican Border! Idyllwild brought another angel into my life. Tiffany. I was so thrilled to have crossed paths with this woman. She is an incredible inspiration and possess a heart of pure gold. Tiffany was so unbelievably generous with opening her house up to me and sharing her space. We had endless conversation and shared our lives and truths. She has a wealth of PCT knowledge and is one of the hardest working women I have ever met. I am grateful for my time spent with her and connecting on a very truthful level. She's a special angel and I cannot thank her enough for allowing me into her life.

DAY 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 - Wrightwood to campsite 578.72km, to campsite 534.08km, to campsite 499.42km, to Little Bear Springs camp, to Big Bear Lake My experience in Wrightwood I am beyond grateful for. I contacted a trail angel by the name of Dottie who was listed on the PCT angels list as having the ability to host females and couples. I thought 'why not give it a go?' So, after contacting Dottie, she very kindly offered me a place to stay for the night. As I was walking into Wrightwood, my tent was soaked from the previous night of precipitation overload from the influx of clouds over my last campsite. It was also so deliciously covered in mud and so was I! I was hoping for any accomodation to allow me to sleep indoors but dry my tent outside. Dottie said she could offer me both. 

DAY 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94 - Tehachapi to some stealth camp spot along the LA aqua duct, to parking trail head, to Maxwell Road, to Casa De Luna, to Hiker Heaven Agua Dulce, to North Fork Ranger Station, to Foutainhead Spring, to Little Jimmy campground to Wrightwood. Sometimes things don't come full circle  Yes. I've been slack on the blogging. Mainly because of the boys being around, but moreso, exhaustion. We've been hiking in to the nights on some days and it just gives me no time to journal. But I'll try to recall the days. It's been a crazy few!

DAY 70 - Mammoth lakes to Cascade Valley Junction High Sierras starts now! My stop in Mammoth had myself and my mum and dad putting our heads together to figure out what best way to do this next section. I'm solo again and the Sierras are summits, peaks and passes, day after day, ranging between 10,000 to 13,500 feet. It's cold at this elevation, so we sat down and talked gear. And LIGHTWEIGHT.

DAY 63 - Donner Pass to campsite 2527.36 km Something more than everything  Wow. Today was everything I could have wished for and more. Never in my entire PCT adventure did I expect what today gave me. It gave me heart. It gave me hope. And it gave me life. 

DAY 51, 52, 53 - Burney falls Campground to Burney Mountain Guest Ranch to campsite 2028.64km to Hat creek Campsite Yep. Blogging has been slack these last 3 days. I'm going to play full disclosure here and admit that these last few days have been tough. I'll post a lot of pictures  with this post, to accompany what the days have looked like, but I'll explain a little further into why this has been a little difficult. 

DAY 44 & DAY 45 - Ashland to Etna to Campsite 1714km & campsite 1754.2km Driving in cars with the boys It's so great to be back on trail. Things just feel right out here. Simple. Complicated in other ways. It really puts in to perspective how stupidly crazy stressful we make our lives in city living. We all really need to slow the bloody hell down!!

DAY 42 & Day 43 & Zero day - Fish Lake to Grizzly Creek to Callahans Lodge to Ashland  I have officially been given my trail name! It's only taken 800 miles, but I wasn't settling for being named after condiments, food or something in my pack.  On the trail, you are given a trail name. A name that says something about you. It's a thru hiking tradition and something most people just pick up quite early on. 

DAY 31 & zero day - Dirt road campsite to Cascade Locks to Portland  Make a brand new ground And then it rained... The definition of divine. My, oh my, how I have missed the rain. After being drenched in it 8 times a week in Singin' In The Rain, I did not realise how much it does not bother me anymore and how much I genuinely missed it. It was a blessing to be hiking in the rain today. 

DAY 29 & Day 30 - Campsite 697.2km to Campsite 731.68 to Dirt Road campsite Open the doors and set me free This section has been a little underwhelming. It's a difficult one for keeping the head in the game. I've really had to find the miniscule of things to keep me motivated. 

DAY 19 - Snoqualmie Pass to Twilight Lake Girl, put your records on. I had a zero day in Snoqualmie, but ideally hit back on the trail today doing roughly 16kms. I left Snoqualmie around 3pm and arrived at camp around 7.20pm. Snoqualimie Pass is another gorgeous slice of America. I fall more and more in love with these towns and these incredible houses. It astounds me how much real estate in other countries really floats my boat. 

Day 18 - Campsite 400.8km to Snoqualmie Pass Living ultralife After yesterday's incredible hike, it would've been hard to top it, but for some reason, I'm on a roll. 

DAY 14 - Skykomish to tensite 308.9 km Like a good book Almost a Nero day... nearly a zero. Leaving town is hard. Damn hard. You wake up to a deflated ego. Your dream day yesterday is a distant memory, and that ruck sack sitting by the door needs to be repacked and thrown back on your shoulders and hips to attempt to hike another 3975km to Mexico!

ZERO DAY - Skykomish Ideally an uneventful day. That's what I wanted. I awoke around 8:30 (strangely the body tried 5:30, I told it to grow up and go back to sleep). Started the day with essential laundry. Keyword ESSENTIAL. Along with the beloved shower, laundromat is a hikers best friend. Get yo ass quickly to that part of town and start washing! Do not skip the detergent.

DAY 13 - Peach lake campsite to Skykomish Like sleeping with the lights on Town day. You know when you have something really exciting or important on tomorrow and for some reason your body is so happy to keep you awake or restless? It's almost as if you are attempting to shut eye with every light in the room left on. That's what hiking 'town day' feels like!! It's the best and worst mental state to begin your day at! Haha! Town day is the final day of the last stretch, which means you will be in a town by the end of the day to pick up your resupply. (AND SHOWER!! SOAP!! SHAMPOO!!)

Tonight, I looked up. I've noticed myself looking upwards these days. Appreciating what's above. We spend so much time looking down; at the ground, where we are stepping, on our phones, on our computers, reading, writing (see, not all terrible examples)! But today I walked downtown Seattle city and just looked up. When I came home to my co-hikers place, I went to the bathroom and looked up...

So I'm meant to be up in 4 hours for a mountaineering course, but my head has been bagging my resupplies and trying to work out everything I require before leaving on Wednesday. So I'm here with resupply-brain, but my head has been circling around the concept of what brings us to these moments in life. Whatever journey that may be for us all; what actually lead us to make these choices?

After 3 hours sleep, I made it to the airport not feeling anywhere near as worried as I was last night. I am exhausted, but that's my own fault. Aside from a severe difficulty to sleep on planes, the fault lies in me for packing my backpack at the last minute (you'd think after all these years of touring, I'd be able to pack a suitcase at least a few days prior to departure)! I know why I procrastinate with packing. I never procrastinate on anything else in life. I make fast decisions (like this GREAT idea of hiking the PCT) and I am generally a good go-to option/opinion for those who require help in making decisions. Just ask Jack Chambers! Haha

My final night in Australia. It's been one crazy busy day, running around like a complete headless chook trying to stock up on everything last minute; and when you think of one thing, for some reason, it triggers another thought of something else you need. It's like chasing your own tail. My life has significantly been reduced down to a backpack, 2 shirts, 2 pants, a tent, mattress, sleeping bag and all the other goodies that will get me through these next 6 months. A bit different to touring with 6 suitcases of luggage, makeup, juicers, blenders, humidifiers and nonstick frypans. It immediately puts that into perspective.

2017 PCT SOBO RESUPPLY LOCATIONS I have had to sit down and work out the opening and closing times of these locations, along with the days they are open, so as not to arrive in the location and not being able to actually collect my supply. And also, not waste days waiting for the Post Offices or locations to actually open. I'll keep an electronic version of these on me and am posting them here in case people need to send me any letters, equipment or just plain LOVE along the trail. haha!! 

I'll continue to update/edit/delete/add to this list as I pack my bag this week. Items in blue are being shipped out to further places along the trail (Sierras etc) after their first use or being shipped to the Bro. I haven't added total weights yet. I will do that when I have final numbers.

Pacific Crest Trail What? Where? When? Why? I can hear the questions already. Why not? I believe everything happens for a reason and sometimes things don't require an explanation right now. The PCT calls for different reasons for each individual. I like a challenge. I love the outdoors. I love to travel. I love to explore. And more than anything, I'm on a new journey. This is just an extreme start.

Sometimes bodies just don't. They don't do what they are supposed to. They don't love you no matter how good you are to it. They don't respond the way they should. My health has been on a decline for some time now and after seeking even higher professional testing (with doctor number 6) and a long, long journey of struggle for 2 years, I have been finally been given a diagnosis. I'm not going into detail because this blog is not about that. So after making some incredibly difficult career and medical decisions, I have decided to take the next 6-12 months to allow my body to fully recuperate and get myself back to good health.

Tomorrow is a whole new adventure. New people. New explorations. New beginnings. It's strange how excited I have been for this step, yet I sit here typing this with trepidation. This last week has been chaotic, which has definitely helped with time flying; but as the hours now slowly pass until my flight out, I feel a little flighty - no pun. A little butterfly-like. I know this will ignite a sense of discovery in myself and come the end of the adventure, I will know more about myself then I have before. And that's the point, right? "Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better." A quote for the road... Thanks Einstein. Nature. They say it's cheaper than therapy. I grew up surrounded by it; let's go back to it. See you on the flip side. Gx

The Couranga track was described as a 'pleasant' walk and that the entire track requires no previous bush walking experience. I'm going to say that's not the best way to describe this track - it's quite intense and a definite 'bush walk'. Uloola Falls entrance signage for Couranga Track Spider webs, snakes, fallen trees, obstacles, overgrown trees and bushes... Don't get me wrong, it was awesome fun, but definitely full on. The beginning of the track starts from South Sydney's Waterfall Train station, follows the Uloola Falls track signage which goes down the Service road until the Couranga sign appears, which follows into the bush. Service Road pre-Couranga Terrain Couranga Track Clearly no one had walked this track this day in late October, or recently for that matter, as majority of the track was connected by webs. Unfortunately, the track trees where in need of spider web wreckage in order to pass. I set out to hike i...

Panorama of the Karloo Pools Starting at Heathcote Railway Station, south of Sydney, the 5.6km return Karloo track makes its way to the Karloo Pools in roughly 3 hours. I did this hike in late October roughly 2.15 hours with a stop at Karloo Pools to have a quick bite and set back on foot. Early stages of the Karloo track It's a moderate level hike, however the return hike is definitely filled with short steep hills. I really enjoyed the terrain and setting of the track. It's well formed and quite a common area for people to take a daily hike. There were a bunch of people and families down at the water, sun baking, enjoying their lunch, taking a swim etc. Aside from the main directional sign at the entrance point, the track doesn't have any signage throughout. It's quite easy to stick to the main track, as it is worn and obviously a popular track. No fencing on cliff edges Karloo Pools There are some cliffs wit...

It's come to a time in my life where I am setting out to find myself; find what makes me happy. Call it saturn's return, or whatever you like, but we can all get sucked in to the environments and people around us, and find ourselves stuck with what's next. I've been so dependent on others in the last 6 years of my life, that it's time to take care of myself, first and foremost. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I have nothing to complain about with my career - I am most grateful. However, considering I have this time before I start my next tour, I am setting myself 'me' projects. I will write more songs, I will travel more, explore my surroundings more, open my eyes more and be me. I'm not searching for anything in particular, but that's the best way to be. A little about me: I'm not the most social person - don't get me wrong, I can be social, but there's nothing I enjoy more than sitting at home, playing the piano, guit...