Matt's PCT Trip

Started out with a veggie omelette, 3+ cups of coffee, and a huge plate of breakfast potatoes at the Seiad Valley Diner. Got on trail later than planned and the first 7 miles was all road 🥴 the first 2 were paved highway, next 4 paved county road, and last two gravel. I have been climbing non-stop all day, following a few rivers and streams back up into the mountains. Took a great swim under one of the many bridges across the river; the only relief from the 85 degrees heat so far today. As of 3:30 I've climbed 2935ft and looking at the map, I haven't reached the steep part yet. Ended up getting to camp right at 8pm. Final stats ended up being climbing 6027ft in 21.6 miles. This campsite is beautiful but there are 20 something deer that keep harassing me and the other hikers camping here. Did not end up with cell service once all day. 

Got my earliest start of the trip; on the trail by 7:33. 24 mi to seiad valley so I'm hoping to get in around 5:00 before the store closes at 7:00. Quick turnaround and then back on the trail either tonight or first thing in the morning tomorrow. So far today has been walking ridgelines, so glad to be out of the Oregon tunnel. No mosquitoes yet in California either. First thing this morning I'm walking on the left side of a ridge and the right side has cell service. Each time I peek over a pass, I get cell service for about 30 seconds and then I lose it. One of these times I need to stop and actually upload all my stuff from yesterday.

Got a late start again today, on the trail around 750. Little bit of metal walking and then it's been mostly ridgelines to the California border. Even saw a cooler of trail magic and had a lukewarm Sprite. Lots of water today, making for light carries. Saw some deer, hummingbirds, cows, and some poorly behaved unleashed dogs who pooped on the trail and the owner did not bother to pick it up. Reach the California border around 1:45, did some celebrating in the form of dancing and throwing water in the air. I have now officially walked the entire length of organ on the PCT. Continuing down from the border into a big valley with no cell service only to then climb out of that same valley on the other side over Big Ridge. I was making good Pace so I thought I could maybe make it to 50k, but the sun won this round. Ended up making 28.6 mi I believe. At one point I paused my watch and missed 0.5 mi of tracking but I'm hoping I can fix that in the TCX data when I have Wi-Fi and Seiad v...

Forgot to write a blog yesterday oops. Box arrived in Ashland around 11:30 and was able to get a ride up to the trailhead and start hiking around 1:00. A little over a mile into my hike I realized my water bottle with my water filter fell out of my bag and I then had to back Trace all the way to the highway where I found my bottle lying on the pavement. It must have fallen out of my bag when I got out of the car. Back on the trail I got to climb that hill again, and just keep on climbing the whole day. I ended up making it 12 mi before arriving at a good campsite around 6: 30 or 7. Great views of the sunset, and good cell service. 

Almost on the trail by 7:30; what a slacker. Right ankle is bothering me a lot again today I think I'm going to finally cave and switch to trail shoes in Ashland. I swear I'm the only PCT hiker in Boots. It's not even that the ankle itself hurts, it's the rubbing against the boot that is hurting. It was totally fine in flip-flops this morning. 

First half of the day was good old organ tunnel. Second half of the day has been super exposed Fields with sharp Bushes and blistering hot sun. I'm probably exaggerating the actual temperature but it feels hot when you haven't seen shade in over an hour. Took a nap near a dam with a waterfall to try and rest out the feet a bit today. Next water source had horses, not great for the purity of the water LOL. It's probably fine; I double filtered just to be safe I saw a couple huge jackrabbits, horses, a bunch of lizards, and a couple deer yesterday. Found an amazing campsite next to the best water source on the whole trail; it's a spring that's hooked up to a pipe that sprays so hard it's difficult to fill your bottle 😅 infinitely better than scummy horse pond. Probably my latest night to fall asleep but That's what happens when you are at a campsite with cell service 😂

Got an early start, took a quick hot shower at fish lake, and then got on the trail just a tad before 7:45. First 5-10 miles were all volcanic rock which was a pain to hike over. Did not hit my goal of 12 by 12:00 but I did hit 12.15 at 12:15. Speaking of which, there was a cool hiker cabin at mile 12 where I got to chat with a couple from Germany.  Second half of the day was classic Oregon tunnel; just hiking through trees with no views or ridges. I started looking for a campsite around mile 20 and none came up until 22.5ish so I'm sure my feet will make me pay the price tomorrow. 34 miles from Ashland and next resupply. I'm going to aim for another 20 tomorrow so I can cruise into town in the early afternoon Sunday. 

Minimal cell service. Eventually made it into Fish Lake around 1pm Wednesday. Made some friends with a few other hikers here and had a great time talking about the trail.Unfortunately when jumping in the lake I scraped open a blister so I decided to take a rest day here in Fish Lake. I'm going to try and get back on the trail first thing in the morning Friday; I have 56 miles into Ashland that I'm aiming to do over 3 days, two nights. 

I typed a whole long thing out but it got erased somehow. Good hike though I do have some blisters for me on my feet. Starting with 24 mi probably wasn't the best idea but didn't have much of a choice given Crater Lake's reluctance to let PCT hikers camp in park boundaries. Found a good campsite and was only kind of terrorized by deer and a bear but only via sound.

Back on the trail; man, it feels good to be back! I am currently sitting in my tent waiting to fall asleep so I start hiking again first thing in the morning. Fairly easy flight + bus + hitchhike to get here and tomorrow I'll be entering crater Lake National Park and hike 10-20 miles depending on how I'm feeling. Excited to keep you all updated. 

Test post, please ignore 😉

To all my loyal readers: thanks for following along over the last month! I am back home in Seattle writing this from my desk with Milly watching over my every move. I ended up hiking 481 official trail miles in 29 days (with one zero day in Cascade Locks) and 515 miles total. I'm happy to be home but also very sad to be off the trail. I remember at the beginning of the trip when I was struggling to hike 15-18 miles a day but I would talk to northbounders who started in Mexico and they were knocking out 25-35 mile days. By the end of the trip 22 miles felt easy so I got in shape just in time to be unable to take advantage of all the progress 😆. It's crazy to think that after a month I STILL have about 2200 miles left to complete. Hopefully I'll be able to knock out some of the remaining Oregon sections on long weekends but California will be a 1,700 mi beast to tackle one of these days. Averaging 18 miles a day, California will take around 3 months so we'll see when I c...

Done

AM Update: I can't believe it's my last morning. After a month of hiking every day, I have less than 7 miles to go. I was able to arrange a ride with a trail angel who will give me a ride to Bend where I'll meet my mom.                ----------           I got a notification that mapshare may not be working. Looks like Garmin needs me to accept new terms and conditions; sorry about that. 

AM Update: great quiet night and a pretty good sunrise too. I'm 20 miles from a quick stop for laundry and shower at a summer camp with a PCT hiker lounge then just 10 more miles to the finish!            ----------           PM Update: did laundry, showered, and set up camp for the night. Only 8 miles left on this summer's journey.  

AM Update: Last night was super windy; kept waking up in the middle of the night from my tent being blown around. This morning has been really windy as well; my Garmin says today will be 15-20mph winds. Fortunately I got a break from the blaze and some amazing views of Mt. Jefferson. Linking photos below.           ----------           PM Update: continued to be windy throughout most of the day but I found the most beautiful campsite on a lake tucked in between some strong trees and it appears to be all but completely protected from the wind. I was going to hike another 4 miles but I couldn't say no to this camp site on my second to last night. 

AM Update: had a good night sleep and had fun helping out with packet pickup at the race this morning. Kjersti is on her way with my resupply box and a new set or trekking poles!          ----------           PM Update: Made it about 9 miles before setting up camp next to a lake; today was a slog through a previous wild fire. Looks like it's going to be a windy night.

Friday Update: Made it to Ollallie Lake Resort and finished off my hot meals. The Mountain Lakes 100 Ultramarathon happens to also be going on right now so I'm helping out where I can. I'm going to volunteer with the race in morning while waiting for KJ.

AM Update: trucks from the nearby road were a bit annoying but it was a clear night and I saw a bunch of shooting starts and satttelites. ✨            ----------           Afternoon Update: Unfortunately someone decided to steal my trekking poles while I briefly stepped off trail to pee and take some photos of Timothy Lake. I'm guessing they assumed someone left them behind and thought they were being helpful by bringing them to a trailhead. I ran into some course markers for the Mountain Lakes 100 and they said they'll bring the poles to the start line at Ollallie Lake Saturday if they find them at a trailhead or someone with a suspicious extra pair of poles. Annoying, but hopefully won't need them until I see Kjersti Saturday.           ----------           PM Update: pretty good day other than the poles. I'm 18ish miles from Ollallie Lake where there's a little stor...

Post office doesn't open until noon so I'm going to get a late start today.           -----------           1:15 update: back on the trail        -----------           PM Update: got about 11 miles in today. Looking forward to fill day of hiking tomorrow.