Paradise On The Ground

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 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 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. 

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.

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...

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.