California
nature list #1
Nature list from day one. Please ID any of these in the comments? 1. Big whirring insects I thought (from the sound) might be rattlesnakes. One divebombed me and I...
Why the JMT? [mile -2,867/211]
As with all my barely-laid plans, I can't remember why I wanted to hike the JMT. I hiked and loved the Long Trail in 2012, and was aware of the...
The journey to PCT SOBO completion…
…and the journey wasn’t a straight line. Allow me to share what the past 7 months have been like. In Dec of 2021, I “completed” the bulk of my PCT...
Guess who’s back?
It’s me, Janine; Sofa Queen, if you’ve met me on the trail. I’m back! Apparently I couldn’t stay away. Last year, I set out to complete a SOBO thru-hike of...
Did I Really Do That?
It’s been a week since I ended my SOBO PCT thru-hike. I made it to Mexico! I touched the terminus. I walked from Canada! It’s surreal. I remember my last...
Winter in SoCal…
It’s here. The very end of my southbound thru-hike, less than 30 miles to go. The end has not been without its intense difficulties. I thought I had experienced all the...
Idyllwild – A Love Story
Under 200 miles to go on my SOBO thru-hike, and let me tell you, my body knows it. My sacrum “went out” and my low-back muscles started to seize and...
My Ode to the Desert
Dearest SoCal: I knew you were beautiful, but had no idea the true extent of your beauty. I knew you’d be hard, but didn’t grasp the extent of your difficulty....
Hiking Alone: Welcome or Avoided?
The California section of my SOBO thru-hike has been interesting, to say the least. Early on in Washington and Oregon, I had the pleasure of having people around, sometimes to...
How To Support Your Thru-Hiking Friend
If you know someone thru-hiking, you probably know that it is a major undertaking, not just of time, but resources. Not just money. It’s planning, coordinating; it can be a...