Speedy Pinecone

Hi, I’m Maja - or speedy Pinecone on the trail. After training hikes in Scandinavia (Kungsleden, Bohusleden, Grensesommen) and South America (TDP O Trek, Huayhuash, Tierra del Fuego, Huemul Circuit, Refugio Grey) I was finally ready for the big ones: PCT 23 & CDT 24.

Posts

CDT sidequest El Dorado: Argentine Spine to Mount Elbert

CDT sidequest El Dorado: Argentine Spine to Mount Elbert

Slowly, I make my way up through the dark forest before the trail climbs above tree line. A faint violet shimmer on the horizon, sunrise. There’s no one else around, it’s a Thursday, I think. 1.5 miles before the summit, it starts hailing. I sigh, thinking „classic Colorado“ and pull the hood of my rain jacket closer around my face. The ascend to Mount Elbert isn’t steep or technical, it’s just very long. I stop and turn around but instead of a dramatic sunrise in vibrant colors, I look down on a bed of clouds.

Dec 11, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
Day 67 – 72: Colorado, it’s a crowd out here

Day 67 – 72: Colorado, it’s a crowd out here

The surrounding peaks, once towering and majestic, now looked like humbled giants from here. Colorado has become a playground. The world beneath folding into a patchwork of valleys and rocks, all bathed in the fleeting glow of the sunset. It was painfully beautiful—so vast, so indifferent, it made my heart ache. I stopped for a moment, while the wind howls around me. The kind of view that made you feel both infinite and insignificant.

Dec 9, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
Colorado welcome committee: we hope you like hail

Colorado welcome committee: we hope you like hail

CDT Sobo, days 61 - 66, entering Colorado Day 61 - 0 miles The bed is empty when I wake up. 6 am. As silently as possible I make my way down to

Oct 26, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
CDT days 58 – 60: Six hikers walk into a church. Wyoming? That’s a wrap!

CDT days 58 – 60: Six hikers walk into a church. Wyoming? That’s a wrap!

After the 100 mile challenge, we’re wrapping up CDT Wyoming. Being sent off with trail magic, old friends and an unusual church visit.

Oct 24, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
CDT Sobo – Why hike 100 miles and hallucinate in the basin?

CDT Sobo – Why hike 100 miles and hallucinate in the basin?

„Do you wanna do something crazy in the basin?“ That’s how it started. Mosey and I hadn’t seen each other since early June in Glacier national park.

Oct 19, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
End of the Teton alternate, the Winds and Cowboy Wisdom

End of the Teton alternate, the Winds and Cowboy Wisdom

  The Winds - finally the trail enters the section considered the “most beautiful” of the whole Continental Divide Trail. Green alpine

Sep 21, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
Getting bored of hiking on the Teton alternate

Getting bored of hiking on the Teton alternate

Day 43, Teton NP to Jackson I am done with hiking. I’m bored by it. Fuck it. I’ll take the cut off. Yeah, this park is beautiful but I just don’t

Aug 21, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
1000 miles and leaving Yellowstone for another National Park

1000 miles and leaving Yellowstone for another National Park

Just before Heart Lake in Yellowstone National Park I exited the park and the CDT to embark on a side quest: the Teton alternate. Crossing through

Aug 16, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
CDT mile 927 – 941 Yellowstone

CDT mile 927 – 941 Yellowstone

A huge CDT Sobo milestone: the end of Montana-Idaho. And while walking right into Yellowstone National Park, we enter a new state: Wyoming. Geysers, Bisons and Bacon.

Aug 13, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone
CDT day 32 – 35: leaving Lima

CDT day 32 – 35: leaving Lima

Totally into Tetons? A famous alternate begs planning and decision making. Day 32 Fred and I are sitting in front of the laundry room which has

Aug 9, 2024 : Speedy Pinecone