Older and Slower: Perils and Pleasures on the PCT

This blog originally appeared on The Trek and you can read it here. As the dry spring advances into what will surely be a hot, dry summer in California, one of the greatest perils I’ve seen on this trail is the combination of hotter temperatures and a lack of natural water sources.  Day by day, …

24 Hours in the Life of an Older PCT Hiker

This Blog originally appeared on The Trek and you can read it here. For the first time in a long time, I’m living in the moment.  I don’t have to be anywhere but where I am, I don’t have to do anything but the hiking I’m doing, and I don’t have to think about anything except …

A Meandering Older Hiker Crosses The PCT Hundred Mile Mark: Firsts and Lessons Learned

This article originally appeared on The Trek and you can read it here. I passed the 100 mile mark on the PCT, and it was a real thrill! I was alone, so I danced and sang and celebrated this huge small victory. I took silly photos, and even made a video for my grandkids. I have …

SHAKEDOWN HIKE ON THE PCT

This article originally appeared on The Trek and you can read it here. I can't believe my PCT start date is less than one week away!  Hiking the PCT is a long-held bucket list event for me, many years in the making-a-dream-come-true department.  After years of planning, reading, and learning about thru hiking, and after …

ROAD TRIP TO THE SUN

Southern California in Bloom! The snow was still piled many feet high when I left New Hampshire for Southern California. After road tripping through 13 states, logging 3,173 miles of driving, and spending 43 hours behind the wheel of my Subaru, I'm finally in sunny (well really, a mix of sun and rain) San Diego!  …

LOOKING IN THE MIRROR…

I looked in the mirror this morning, pausing for the first time in a long time to see my 70 year-old self looking back at me. With the inevitable lines and wrinkles mapping out a life fully lived, gray-streaked hair which the pandemic's lack of salon access has forced into my consciousness, the visible scars from cancer, …

Spectacular Snow! A Training Hike on Mt. Pierce, NH

As I recover use of my damaged ankle and prepare for the PCT, I am doing easy re-conditioning hikes to some of my favorite mountains. I've now hiked Mt. Pierce (4,311 feet) 40 times, more than any other New Hampshire 4,000 footer. Because I was hiking solo, I was able to dawdle to my heart's …

The Adventure (Take Two) Continues 2021!

As some of you know, our planned 2020 PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) thru hike was derailed before it began. We (Bruce and I) went out to California in March last year so we could try out some new equipment, get used to the time and climate change--it was still winter in New Hampshire when we …

Maybe We’ll Make It

Maybe we’ll make it—Pacific Crest Trail version **(With thanks to Judith Viorst, Poet extrodinaire, for the original version of “Maybe we’ll make it”.) Having 13 hours in the car today as we drove west from New Hampshire toward California, my idle mind turned to a loved and remembered poem from many years ago--the original "Maybe …

Time is Passing

We're now about 25 days out from starting our 4/4/20 Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hike, and the fun is on! My partner and I are sampling freeze dried meals,  weighing items, discarding, adding, ordering and angsting over all the details of preparation for our FIRST EVER upcoming thru hike.   We decided to start thru hiking with …