The first day I started hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 1999, someone told me that the trail had ruined them. At the time, I thought it was a cute ...
Costa Rica
When does a trip begin? Is it the 4 am pickup from the airport shuttle? When you check your bags at the airport? When you get on the plane? When it ...
Afterthoughts
Does the trail ever end? People often ask me, "How was your trip?". I don't know what to tell them. "Great.", just isn't enough. It was more than one ...
Rainy Pass to Manning Park
Refreshed and ready for our final days on the PCT, we headed up the mountains north of Rainy Pass. The recent snow accented every rock and ridge on ...
Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass
The weather was still nice, but we knew it wasn't going to last. A giant cold front was headed our way from the Gulf of Alaska. There wasn't anything ...
Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass
For the first time in over 2000 miles, I was in somewhat familiar territory. I had hiked the start of section J twice before. Those had felt like ...
White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass
I was back in the woods again. The trail immediately north of White Pass was more "walking by the woods and next to mountain lakes". It was pretty, ...
Cascade Locks to White Pass
For 3 days I stared at the Bridge of the Gods - an old metal structure spanning the Columbia River at Cascade Locks. Washington was just a few steps ...
Barlow Pass to Cascade Locks
It was already late and I was tired. I found a little clearing in the forest and plopped down. It was another fiery sunset, but I could barely see it ...
McKenzie Pass to Barlow Pass
I'd walked on a lot of pumice fields already, but the pumice field north of McKenzie Pass was the bleakest one I'd seen. Hardly any life broke through ...