My thru-hikes include the Colorado Trail in 2019, the AT in 2022, the Pacific Crest Trail in 2023, the South Dakota Centennial Trail, and the Foothills Trail. This summer, as a ridgerunner in Shenandoah National Park and Michaux State Forest, I saw the trail from a different perspective. It was fun to backpack five days a week and have the other two for hobbies like yoga and board games.
Posts
Ridgerunner Life
If you followed my blog in the past, you may have wondered about my silence this summer. Well, instead of thru hiking, I got a ridgerunner job on the
Final Days
Around 1 pm, we reached Walker Pass, our PCT terminus! Wow, what a feeling of accomplishment to have walked all the way from Mexico to Canada on this 2,650 mile trail!
Forester, Mt. Whitney, and KMS
The ascent of Forester Pass was gradual. I soon passed Hobble-it and saw no one else, enjoying the discovery of the trail’s twisting route.
Six Passes plus Kearsarge
At the top of the pass, there was a patch of snow with a good boot track. Soon I saw Silver Lake in the distance, living up to its color in the early evening light.
First Taste of the Sierra
At the top of Dorothy Pass, before dropping down to the lake, I entered the Yosemite Wilderness. Dorothy was a busy lake, with an elaborate tent camp and a couple fishermen.
To Kennedy Meadows North
Eager to get back on trail, I was up early. A local on his way to a construction site gave me a ride to the Meyers roundabout.
Chasing a Black Bear
I jumped out of the tent and grabbed my trekking poles. Waving a trekking pole in each hand to make myself look bigger, I charged the black bear. It ran off.
Sierra City to Echo Lake
It was as I wound along the shore of Fontanillis Lake that the Desolation Wilderness first stunned me with its beauty.
Southbound from Chester
From the airport, we took a Lyft to Susanville then caught the local bus to Chester. At 2:15 pm, we were back on trail, headed south.
Cheering for Canada!
Wow, I did it, I reached the Canadian border! Hobble-it and I hiked ~2,000 miles to get there.