7/11 - Day 71 Miles 1092 - 1118 26 Hiked

We left the hotel early for a quiet drive back to the trail. I said an emotional goodbye to my Dad and sister. I think they knew I had my eyes set on Canada and wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon.

Rock, Traps, and I pushed around Echo lake and back up into the mountains. I got ahead and stopped to swim in Aloha lake with Herbivore and Scratch who I hadn’t seen since the first day of the Sierra. I hiked with them for a bit until I stopped for some lunch and to wait for Traps and Rock

I had been doing some math and knew that I really had to ramp up the pace to finish on time. I had known for a while but it was tough to tell Rock and Traps that I was going to push a big day and start doing upper 20’s going forward. That made for the second emotional goodbye of the day as I pushed up over the pass. Traps was going to go hike the TRT and Rock’s plan was to slow down to wait for BABS and Pitch who were just a few days behind us.

I caught back up to herbivore and Scratch to swim in another lake and push on to camp with a larger group of PCT hikers and Tahoe Rim trail hikers on the shores of a pond. Bourbon was shared and I retreated to my tent for the night.

7/12 - Day 72 Miles 1118 - 1146 28 Hiked

I did the first 17 miles of the day by myself. the longest I had done solo in a long time. The first part of the day was along the ridges overlooking the northern edge of lake Tahoe. Lots of these areas had ski lifts and it was impossible to imagine how much snow must come through here in the winter to hide the boulders that we walked through.

I made it to a little stream for Lunch and was passed by Herbivore and Scratch as well as a new hiker named Balloons. Balloons had been hiking on San Jacinto in the desert when a bunch of stray balloons floated onto the mountainside. He had stuck as many as he could to his pack in order to get the trash out of the wilderness and that’s how he got his trail name.

I caught back up to Herb and Scratch later in the day and played leapfrog up some tough, hot climbs before going over Tinker knob and on to camp up on an exposed ridge. I facetimed my good friend, Austin, and caught up on everything that was happening back home. It was nice to catch up with an old friend since I had been without my original hiking group for the first time on trail.

7/14 - Day 74 Miles 1175 - 1195 20 Hiked

I had 20 miles to make it to Sierra City today. I woke up early and hauled ass in the hopes of making it to town in time for lunch and a relaxing afternoon at the inn. I climbed over some shrubby hilltops and down some switchbacks into the valley that would take me north to the road. I saw very few hikers today and focused on each step while I listened to music.

I jogged the last few miles in my attempt to make 20 miles before noon. I made it to the road and was interviewed by a few forestry service rangers for a documentary that they were making. I caught a lucky hitch into town with a woman who had never picked up a hitch hiker before. we made a pact not to murder each other and she dropped me at the general store across from my inn for the night. I picked up a package that I had sent ahead from South Lake Tahoe and loitered on the porch with a Pacifico for a few hours until my room was ready.

Some familiar hikers were around and I socialized for a bit before checking in and grabbing a shower. I ran into Kale for the first time in a while as well as my friends Balloons and Beekeeper.

I organized my resupply of food for the next stretch and watched movies on my phone before falling asleep in my well earned bed.

7/15 - Day 75 Miles 1195 - 1219 24 Hiked

I left the hotel at 4:30 and was the last hiker out. We had a 1.5 mile road walk back to the trail to start a comically steep climb out of the valley back onto the ridge. I felt strong and caught up to Kale in time to pass the 1200 mile mark together.

We made it to the top of the climb and got news on a satellite device that a new fire had sprung up just north of us. I sent word to my parents that I was aware of it and would play it safe. Most of us took an alternate route which cut off a few miles of PCT but saved a steep descent just to climb back up to the trail. I stopped for lunch with a group of hikers before pushing on to camp at A-Tree spring with kale.

7/16 - Day 76 Miles 1219 - 1249 30 Hiked

Kale beat me out of camp and I slowed down a bit when i got reception to send out a plea for help on Instagram. The Dixie fire had grown and had cut off the trail near Belden. A follower of mine, Aaron Harmon, offered to help me get around the fire closure and I caught up to Kale to let her know we were in business. We planned on getting to Belden before Aaron would pick us up and drive us to where the trail picks back up near Chester.

I broke away from Kale and hiked through some burn zones and got my first view of the fire growing in the distance. I didn’t see a single hiker until I ran into a man named re-awakening as we started descending down into a valley later in the afternoon. word of the fire had spread and most people were exiting at Sierra city or were already ahead of us so our campsite was a ghost town. Kale joined us some time later and the three of us camped down near the river

7/17 - Day 77 Miles 1249 - 1331 20 Hiked*

I shockingly beat Kale out of camp and hiked with reawakening for most of the climb back up and out of the valley. I felt strong at this point and not even the steep hills could do much to impact my normal hiking speed. It felt good. I made it to the top and got another glimpse of the fire growing in the distance. I got in touch with Aaron who informed me that Belden was about to evacuate and that we should adjust our plan for a pickup form Bucks lake. I made it the final few miles to the road into Bucks and caught a hitch in the back of a pickup straight to the lodge in town.

The fire raged beyond the mountains to our west as I enjoyed an afternoon on the lakeshore with a young family who bought me beer and even gave me some money for dinner. Jessica and Eric, thank you guys so much! Kale had caught a hitch into Quincy so I waited for Aaron to pick me up before we would scoop Kale on our way north. Aaron arrived around 8 and we had a few hours of driving to make it to our destination. I dint know this guy at all and I couldn’t be more grateful for the help. We picked up kale and drove into the dark smoky night up to just south of Lassen National Park where Kale and I camped just off of the dirt road that served as our drop-off point.

I was upset that my continuous footpath had been broken. Over 1200 miles in a continuous footpath all the way from Mexico to Northern California was great but I had hoped to keep it together all the way north. Fire closures are part of every hiking season and, in hindsight, I was very lucky to have only missed about 60 for this closure.

7/18 - Day 78 Miles 1331 - 1365 34 Hiked

Kale and I packed down camp at our little dirt road and headed north into Lassen Volcanic National Park. We had just missed out on the official halfway point on the trail so we made our own and took some pictures.

You technically need a bear can to camp in Lassen and I had sent mine home from Kennedy meadows North (as did most hikers) so I had a 34 mile day ahead of me to make it out of the park and avoid any potential trouble. Smoke set in through the morning and marred some of the scenery that Lassen has to offer.

I made it a strong 20 miles to a solo lunch break near Drakesbad ranch. Most hikers stop here for at least one meal but I had a big day and kept pushing. I followed the trail through a front country campsite where some families were in for the weekend. shortly after exiting I heard a noise to my right and turned to find a momma bear with her two cubs sniffing around some logs looking for food. I stopped to take some pictures and alerted some folks at the campsite before pushing up onto a ridge.

I still had some miles to push but stopped for a break at a lake where I met a super nice group of thru hikers; Stretch, Sway, Baby Tummy, Extra, and Smiles. I pushed on out of there and flew the last 6 or so miles into camp just feet north of the end of the National park. The group I met earlier joined me which I was super grateful for given the bear encounter earlier in the day.

7/10 - Day 79 Miles 1365 - 1393 28 Hiked

The group I camped with moved quick in the morning. they were all up and enjoying breakfast while I was still packing down my tent. I beat them out of camp but was quickly caught by Sway. She can shift when she wants to. We all stopped at JJs diner for breakfast before hiking through to the Lava Tube caves that were just off the trail. From there, I pushed up solo onto Hat Creek Rim. A long, exposed section of trail following the edge of a cliff for miles and miles. The smoke obstructed what we were told would be incredible views of Mt Shasta in the distance.

I made it to a water source down a steep canyon side trail with our friend Flavortown, Drip and Drop, and Balloons before pushing on another 8 miles to camp at a water cache. It looked like a clear night so I didn’t put my rain fly on my tent. That turned out to be a mistake when some showers rolled through near midnight forcing me to make some adjustments.

7/20 - Day 80 Miles 1393 - 1411 18 Hiked

The whole group was moving early and we had just a few miles further on the ridge before dropping to the valley floor and passing the 1400 mile marker which was made out of bone. We stopped for a quick swim in a reservoir and took our time since we would be getting into the town of Burney that day. I hiked for a bit with Brightside, a hiker my age from Michigan who knew some of the guys that I played hockey with in college. When we got to the road Stretch had already secured a hitch into town which I was very happy to join.

Most of the group was staying at a local church which was friendly to hikers while I had opted to grab a room at the motel. I checked in and showered before grabbing dinner at the Steakhouse next door. I watched the Bucks win the championship and suddenly felt like shit. I was shivering cold and sweating. I tried taking a shower to warm up and vommitted as soon as I stepped out. I called my friend Allison who confirmed that I probably had food poisoning. I forced down a vitamin water and laid in bed for hours before sleep eventually took me.

7/21-22 - Days 81-82 Burney double zero

I woke up in a cold sweat a few times through the night but didn’t get sick any more. I woke up in the morning feeling nauseous as hell but managed to walk to the motel office to extend my stay for another day before getting some provisions from the Walgreens across the street. I slept for most of the day and watched a few movies before getting a subway sandwich for dinner.

The next day I felt strong enough to get my resupply done at the local grocery store and rest up a bit more before leaving the following morning. Over my double zero I managed to watch all of the following movies on TV

1. Shawshank Redemption

2. Transformers 1

3. The great outdoors

4. Uncle Buck

5. Tommy Boy

7/23 Day 83 Miles 1411 - 1443 32 Hiked

I took my time packing up my little room at the Inn and grabbed a quick shower before heading outside. The smoke had really closed in overnight and I knew it would be chasing me for the rest of the day. I got a lucky hitch back to the trail and had a few miles in to Burney falls. The falls were incredible and I took some time to admire them early in the morning before the crowds would eventually show up.

I had some lonely miles through a changing forest environment and stopped for lunch with a group of hiker that I hadn’t met before. I got some weird vibes from this group and pushed on solo up onto a ridge that claimed to have great views of Shasta. All that I got was a hazy sunset. I camped alone for the first time in a while, happy to be back on the trail.

7/24 - Day 84 Miles 1443 - 1471 28 Hiked

I slept in a bit the next morning. The smoke had kept me up and i didnt feel back in the groove of hiking after my few days in Burney. I packed down camp and made it a slow 4 miles to fill up on Water. It was a crazy warm day and it would become a pattern to find clumps of hikers at the water sources through the rest of the afternoon. I stopped for lunch at a creek that was swarming with Bees with Drip and Drop, Big Red, and a few other new friends.

From there, I pushed a fast 10 miles down a valley to the campground at Centipede Gulch. This was a front country site that would normally be accessible to cars if not for the road being washed out. There was a pit toilet building with “Bat Shit Crazy House” written in white chalk on the door. I chuckled and opened the door only to have something squeak at me. there were about 10 little bats hanging from the roof. Their shit had covered the floor and it might have been the only thing that smelled worse than me. The woods would be good enough.

I swam in the river as other hikers rolled in. The group i got weird vibes from the day before came in after dark and set up camp immediately around my tent. The campsite was vast, they could have gone so many other places. I made my peace with it as I tried to fall asleep around 8. They continued to talk until 10:30 at night, right across my tent. It was incredible to me that other Thru Hikers could be that annoying on trail.

7/25 - Day 85 Miles 1471 - 1502 31 Hiked

Spurred on by my dislike of that group, I packed my shit early in the morning, not paying much mind at all to how much noise I was making, and hit the trail. I had 31 miles to make it into Castella to pick up a package and I was game for making it a longer day. I hit the first climb hard and made it 13 miles to fill up on water at a nice canyon creek that had a bridge over it. It got very hot very fast. I made it to lunch on a ridge where I met a hiker named Tidbits. He was my age and we had very similar philosophies on the trail and life in general. We hiked for a few miles together before I took an alternate route to get a better view of the Castle Crags that were starting to appear in the smoke.

I made it past the 1500 mile mark and down to the Castella campground where I made camp and walked down a side trail to the little market where I was expecting a package. The package wasn’t there yet so I grabbed some snacks, white claws, and a sandwich for dinner before heading back to my campground to find that Stretch, Sway, and the rest of that group had rolled in. I traded some claws for pizza before heading to bed early.

7/26 - Day 86 Castella Zero

I packed down camp and walked with my gear back to the market and Post Office to wait for my package. When the PO opened at 11 they told me that it hadn’t arrived yet and it wouldn’t get there until tomorrow. A little bummed I grabbed a beer from the market and hung out in the parking lot with other hikers while they resupplied. My frustration was compounded by seeing groups of hikers get dropped off in cars that had skipped up from Yosemite. They had skipped 500 miles of trail for the “smoke” it made me question why the hell I was killing myself to push these big miles to stay ahead of it when others were just skirting around it. Feeling pretty down, I wandered back to the campground and settled in for another night.

7/27 - Day 87 Miles 1502 - 1519 17 Hiked

I moved slow out of camp. the PO didn’t open until 11 so I knew I had some loitering to do before I could hit the trail. I broke the tip of my trekking pole on my way in and the mechanic at the chevron was nice enough to fix it with a screw and glue. he wouldn’t take any money or the case of beer I offered to buy for him in return. Thanks Nick!

My package mercifully arrived at around 11 and I just dumped the whole box into my pack before sprinting out of there. I rejoined the PCT after a taking a small side trail and made it up onto the ridge above the clouds forming in the valley below. I had some rainy miles before filling up on water at a small spring and finding a campsite on a ridge with an incredible view of Shasta and the castle crags below me. I had a white claw that I had packed out with dinner and went to bed happy to be back on the trail.

7/28 - Day 88 Miles 1519 - 1560.7 41.3 Hiked

I woke up feeling dangerous. I had an incredible sunrise coming up behind Mt Shasta and I knew I was going to push a big day. I made it out of camp early and pushed a fast 20 miles to lunch at a trailhead with Bluegrass, a thruhiker with giant calves and who ripped cigs. He was great. We got some light trail magic from a fellow hiker and both targeted the campground at a road another 21 miles away. It was getting hot and water stops were frequent but I was hiking fast.

I had some reception through the afternoon and made some phone calls which helped to pass the time. I was feeling the fatigue by the end of the day but the Sour Patch kids propelled me the final few miles to the road where my friend Flavortown offered me half of a beer as a reward for my 41.3 mile day. We camped in a nice little grove that had access to a pit toilet and I had two mountain house meals for dinner.

7/29 - Day 89 Miles 1560 - 1586 26 Hiked

I felt sore as hell this morning from the big day yesterday. I still made it out of camp at a decent time and leapfrogged with some of the new hikers before stopping for a solo lunch overlooking a valley. I got some rare reception in the afternoon and was able to facetime with my mom and sister before hitting the final stretch of the day.

Storm clouds loomed and I made it up and over the last climb of the day before finding a large camp spot in a saddle. My friends SoHo and Lost and Found joined me shortly after and we settled in for the night as the rain started to fall.

7/30 - Day 90 Miles 1586 - 1599 13 Hiked

The first few miles out of camp were along the side of a valley. A near straight line hugging the slope for 4 miles as we crossed over countless little streams. Forest fire scars from previous years were all over the hills below and ahead of us.

The views got better as we got closer to the trailhead. I ran into my friend Ditto who I hadn’t seen since Forester pass in the Sierras. We made it down to the trailhead at a remote road that led into Etna and got a lucky hitch with a local who was dropping some hikers off. We grabbed lunch at the shockingly chic restaurant in town before I went out on my own to resupply at the local outfitter and grocery store before hitting the laundromat and then the public pool to take a shower. When my chores were done I went back to the same restaurant with Ditto and his girlfriend who had come to pick him up. We made our way down the happy hour menu and I retreated to the city park to camp for the night.

7/31 - Day 91 Miles 1599 - 1629 30 Hiked

At the restaurant the night before, I had made plans with Tissue and Sam to get out of town early the next morning. Our scheduled ride bailed last minute but a local saw us wandering the streets trying to hitchhike at 6 am and offered us a ride up in the back of his truck. As we got back on trail Cal Fire showed up with a whole fleet of vehicles and crew. they had responded to some fires that popped up in the thunderstorm that had come through the previous night.

We passed the 1600 mile mark and Sam decided to jog back to the road because he forgot to connect his footpath from the other side of the road. The guy was committed to keeping that line in tact all the way from Mexico to Canada. He had even done a massive road walk around the Dixie fire to avoid breaking his line. It was impressive.

There were some tough climbs just after lunch and it took a lot to piece together the 31 mile day with a heavy pack. I made it to a lake for camp with Ladyscout and a hiker named Espresso that I had met that afternoon. The lake water was warm and full of massive salamanders but I was happy to have made it there before the rain rolled in.

8/1 - Day 92 Miles 1629 - 1656 27 Hiked

I left camp at the same time as ladyscout and we played leapfrog all morning as we hit a quick climb and then some downhill miles through a burn area. The gentle slope was nullified by the countless fallen trees and overgrown brush invading the trail. I cut my leg a few times trying to maneuver over logs. The temperature climbed as we lost elevation and it was near 100 by the time i made it to the valley floor to hike the last few road miles into the town of Saied valley.

I passed the 1000 mile to go mark and made it the last stretch into the general store which was next door to the worst trailer park I had ever seen. I grabbed some beers and ice cream before setting up my tent on the trailer park lawn and grabbing a shower. I then joined the 7 or so other hikers who were watching Tv in the park office on a collection of couches and futons. The owner was nice enough but some of the locals were concerning. One of them asked to borrow someone’s phone since her boyfriend had hit her in the head with his gun and she wanted to call the police.

Espresso walked into the park just before dark and it looked like he had thrown his sun hoodie into a blender. he explained that the night before a deer had stolen it from its drying place on top of his tent and had taken it into the lake to chew away at the sweat on it. Espresso managed to get it back but it was completely chewed through.

Tissue rolled in later and we planned to hit the climb out of the valley early the next morning together.

8/2 - Day 93 Miles 1656 - 1685 29 Hiked

Tissue and I were hiking around 6. we had opted to take a dirt road alternate up out of the valley to avoid some of the overgrown trail and poison oak. We were slowed down by some wild blackberries which were just too tempting to pass and made good progress up the forestry service road. We ran into a tramily of Dunk, Clyde, Zippy, Biggie, and Navi. they had been together for a while and it made me miss the group that I had hiked with for the first 1000 miles or so. They were a lot of fun to hangout with and we finished the climb back to the trail together where I ran into Papi, Lighthouse, Captain, and Hopscotch who I hadn’t seen since the desert!

We noticed smoke starting to roll in from the south and it eventually blanketed the whole sky. It was dry hot hiking for the rest of the day before making it to camp on a ridge littered with shotgun shell casings. The tramily camped with tissue and I and an off road buggy came through sometime later to camp where they had parked a truck nearby. I was elected as a team representative to go and attempt to negotiate our way into some beers. This is an art form known as “Yogie-ing” in the hiking community. The guys thought that what we were doing was awesome and after a quick catchup they sent me back to the group with 7 Coors lights and a big pull of bourbon for myself. I felt like a hero.

8/3 - Day 94 Miles 1685 - 1711 26 Hiked

The sun was blocked out by more smoke that had rolled in overnight. I was out of camp early again with tissue and we hiked the first stretch of the day together. We passed the group of Captain, Lighthouse, and Hopscotch who had camped a bit further on. We were so close to the Oregon border and the last few miles seemed to stretch for forever. I finally made it there ahead of the group and had some nice quiet time to enjoy the moment. I sent a GPS ping to my parents to let them know I was out of California after 94 days of hiking.

Other hikers started to roll in and we shared beers and bourbon to celebrate. The smoke continued to pour in and I got moving. Our family friends in Medford Oregon had offered to host me for a few days and I was meeting Jackie at a road in another 18 or so miles. The smoke didn’t let up and ash continued to fall as I made my way through some quiet miles and eventually to the road.

Jackie picked me up and had a Jim Beam and ginger ale waiting for me. This was the first time I had met her and we talked about our shared family connections back in Akron Ohio. Jackie and her Husband lived up on a hill overlooking the valley which was also clouded in with smoke. I grabbed a shower and got into some borrowed clothes before an incredible steak dinner and viewing of the ladies Olympic golf that was on. It was great. This would be my first time sleeping in a bed since Burney, CA. more than 300 miles ago.

8/4 - Day 95 Medford Zero

It was Jackie’s birthday but she still helped me run a few errands and even booked me a massage at a place that she had a friend at. I relaxed through the afternoon while her and Jim ran around and then played some pool basketball with two of their sons. Dominic and Vincent smoked me.

We had a nice dinner and drank beers outside while watching some more Olympic golf. I turned in earlier than the rest looking forward to getting back on trail and making more progress north.

Jim and Jackie, I cant thank you guys enough for having me! my first real break in over 300 miles could not have been any more comfortable. I owe you guys!