6 April 2023 Live Oak Spring Trail to Palm Springs (13 miles, +300/-4,000 feet). What a great day! It started with a spectacular sunrise. I was a little worried about finding my way down to Palm Canyon. There is absolutely no trail here, but bare patches of ground started to come more and more frequently,…

5 April 2023 Cistern at PCT Mile 140 to Live Oak Spring (PCT Mile 158). There was a lot of variety today! It started with an astronomical wonder: At my usual first light I packed my things, gulped down a pint of cold-soaked oatmeal and dried fruit, and then started walking. The flowers were the…

4 April 2023 Warner Springs (PCT Mile 110) to cistern at PCT Mile 140 I’m back on trail! Today was a long day and I got my first up-close views of San Jacinto. There is a lot of snow up there! I started with an Uber ride to the gas station in Warner Springs. To…

18 March 2023 Eagle Rock (PCT Mile 106) to Warner Springs (PCT Mile 110) Today was a short day because I did some math. I don’t think I can make it down to Palm Springs before the next atmospheric river hits. Fifty mile an hour winds. Two inches of rain down low and two feet…

17 March 2023 Banner to Eagle Rock, PCT Mile 106 I slept really well in my tiny house at Banner Ranch. I was the only hiker that showed up, so I had the whole place to myself. It was easy to repack and get going at first light. The first mile or two were a…

16 March 2023 PCT Mile 42 Mount Laguna to Banner I’m back on trail! But this time there’s no postholing! The snow is almost completely gone from the Mt Laguna area. This morning I got an Uber back to the Laguna Mountain Lodge and then started walking again. I took the Los Huecos forest road…

3 March 2023 PCT Mile 23 to 42 I slept great last night. It was cold but calm. I awoke to a frosty interior. It felt good to get moving. Lake Morena was putting on a show, wrapping itself in a low fog. At Cottonwood Creek I didn’t (yet) want to get my feet wet,…

2 March 2023 PCT Mile 0 to 23 Today was the day! Double Down drove me to the terminus to start my 2023 PCT thru-hike attempt this morning. Living in San Diego, I’ve been here before, but I’ve never seen snow at the border. Double Down said “Look! Snow in Mexico!” And I said “Hey!…

You would think I learned my lesson. After failing to complete the Tahoe Rim Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Arizona Trail, and the Tahoe Yosemite Trail, you would think I could come to terms with the fact that I am not a thru-hiker. You would think. But this year I have fallen ass-backwards into…