PCT Day 124 – PCT Mile 2109.5 to Indian Springs Trailhead (2130.7)
August 7, 2026
Total PCT miles: 21.3
Non PCT miles: 1.0
Total: 22.3 miles / 35.9 km
Total elevation gain: 4606 ft
Total elevation loss: 3793 ft
Steps: 51505
Remaining Distance: 524.2 miles
I slept through my alarm this morning. I’ve never done that on trail. I’m almost always the first one up and almost always pass other hikers still asleep in their tents. I suppose that most people know me as a night owl and lover of night shifts might find that surprising. After 124 days, my body has become pretty well programmed to wake up and start walking. Maybe this morning it was trying to tell me something.
Eventually I packed everything up and started north. Early in the day I took the Ramona Falls Alternate, a short detour from the PCT that passes directly by Ramona Falls. I’m certainly glad I did. The water cascades almost 120 feet down a wall of columnar basalt, spreading into countless little streams as it tumbles over the rock. It was an impressive sight and another reminder that, despite how I’ve been feeling lately, this trail can still surprise me with something beautiful.
As I continued north, the trail opened up to some great views back toward Mount Hood. Unfortunately, the wildfires burning in the distance were an increasingly obvious presence on the horizon. It seems like every day brings news of another fire somewhere along the PCT.
Things aren’t looking much better ahead of me either. The wildfire situation in Washington continues to deteriorate and there is now another section of the PCT closed because of the Three Queens Fire. With the northern terminus already inaccessible, the path through Washington is becoming increasingly complicated.
But if I’m being truthful with myself, the fires aren’t why I’ve decided to stop.
Today I hurt.
My ankles hurt. My Achilles hurt. My legs hurt. My back hurt. The sciatica that has been bothering me was there again. The skin on my hips is raw. I’ve had to stop almost every 2 miles because of the pain to rest. None of these things are particularly new. I’ve been hiking with pain for hundreds of miles and, for a long time, I accepted it as simply another part of this journey. I’ve spent four months telling myself to embrace the suck.
Keep walking.
Get over the next mountain. Make it to the next town. Get some food. Take a zero. Maybe tomorrow will feel better.
And for a long time, that worked.
There was always something on the other side of the suffering that made me want to continue. An incredible view. A milestone I’d been dreaming about. A ridiculous conversation with another hiker. A trail angel appearing exactly when I needed one. Or sometimes just the satisfaction of knowing I’d pushed through another hard day.
Somewhere along the way, that changed. I’m still capable of putting in the miles. I hiked more than 22 pain filled miles today with over 4,600 feet of climbing. A few days ago I hiked almost 33 miles in a single day. Physically, I could force myself to keep going regardless of the consequences to my own health.
But I’m not enjoying it anymore.
That’s much harder for me to admit. Embracing the suck isn’t suppose to mean indefinitely enduring something you’ve lost the joy in doing.
At some point during the day, I did it.
I called Mel. I told her I was done.
Saying the words out loud made the decision suddenly very real. After more than a decade of dreaming about reaching the Northern Terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail and 124 days of organizing my life around one simple objective, keep walking north, I had finally decided that I didn’t want to do it anymore.
There are 524.2 miles of the PCT remaining.
That number is difficult to look at. Part of me desperately wants to finish what I started. I’m close enough now that I know I could grit my teeth, swallow some more ibuprofen, ignore the pain and drag myself north for another few weeks.
But what would I be trying to prove?
I don’t want the final memories of something I’ve dreamed about for so long to simply be how badly everything hurt and how desperately I wanted it to be over.
So I’ve made my decision. I’m going to keep hiking tomorrow, but I’m no longer hiking toward Canada.
I’m hiking toward the Bridge of the Gods.
I started this journey in what feels like forever ago and yesterday at the same time. Tomorrow I’ll step into Washington, finish my hike, and walk away from the PCT on my own terms.
Tonight I’m camped knowing that tomorrow morning I’ll put my pack on and start walking just like I’ve done almost every morning for the last four months.
Except tomorrow, for the first time in 124 days, I know exactly where my last mile will be.
Huge thanks to Sonja for the ride to the trail head.
PCT Day 87 & 88 – Zero in South Lake Tahoe to PCT Mile 1108.5
June 30 & July 1, 2026
Total PCT miles: 15.1
Non PCT miles: 0.0
Total: 15.1 miles / 24.3 km
Total elevation gain: 3412 ft
Total elevation loss: 2372 ft
Steps: 37490
Zero Day in Tahoe
I would say I had a very successful zero day in Tahoe. I completed all my town chores and resupply before noon and had the rest of the day to relax. I purchased a replacement CNOC bag which I use to collect water for filtering as my previous one has developed a small hole. I also got a CNOC water bottle because you can’t buy a one liter smart water bottle in Tahoe. There are sections of Northern California that are drier so I wanted a little more water carrying capacity.
I spend the afternoon in and out of the hot tub at my hotel, finding a ride from a trail angle back to trail tomorrow and eating. I even ate an entire bag of fried chicken. It was delicious but man my stomach was not happy with me. It was nice to be in my own space for the two days especially because I don’t think I’ll have many zero days moving forward.
July 1st – Back on Trail
It’s weird not to be working today. I think I have worked every Canada Day since becoming a paramedic 16 years ago. I find myself missing work lately and wondering what I will return to when my sabbatical year is over. There was a crazy storm that hit Ottawa today that cancelled a lot of the celebrations. I’m sure it caused some chaos.
I was picked up from my hotel at 10:30 by Sonja a wonderful amazing trail angle that spends her summers up in South Lake Tahoe. It took about 30 mins to reach Echo Lake where I would start back on trail. I really enjoyed the conversation on the way and am very grateful for the lift!
Echo Lake
I was back on Trail at 11:15 after a quick prepackaged sandwich from the Echo Lake Chalet. The first few miles around Echo lake was very busy with day hikers. There was also a kids summer camp walking along the trail. One of the kids asked if I was hiking the PCT and when I responded that I was they all started cheering for me.
After waking around Echo Lake I entered Desolation Wilderness. After a short climb and a couple of miles I came to Aloha Lake. This is certainly the most beautiful lake I’m seen thus far on trail. Literally from here and all the way up Dicks Lake Pass was mind blowing beautiful. I tried to find a flat spot for my tent along the ridge leading up to the pass that had the best view but there were none to be found. Dicks Lake Pass is at 9400 ft and is the last time I will be above 9000 ft on the trail.
I also passed the 1100 mile marker
on the PCT – only 1550 to go… ugh
I think my only complaint from the day is that almost the entire trail today was hiking on rocks of various shapes and sizes and that really slowed me down. I finished a bit later than usual today. Normally I like to be at camp around 1800 but I ended at 1930 tonight and finished dinner just as the sun set.
PCT Day 42 – PCT mile 587.5 to Landers Meadow Camp (Mile 610.1)
May 16, 2026
Total PCT miles: 22.6
Non PCT miles: 0.6
Total: 23.4 miles / 37.7 km
Total elevation gain: 5699 ft
Total elevation loss: 4190 ft
Steps: 52973
The new air mattress is amazing. Not waking up in the middle of the night to a semi deflated bed really helps improve one’s sleep. Over all I slept well due to being sheltered from the wind but the sounds of whirling wind turbines were certainly abundant throughout the night. I think today was the first time I hit snooze multiple times on this hike. My first alarm went off around 0430 but I didn’t start to get ready until closer to 0530. I probably could have slept for a few more hours which leads me to believe I likely should have taken a second zero in Tehachapi.
I made good time on the first miles of the day hiking 10 miles by 10:30. The landscape slowly changed from desert chaparral to pine forest. The winds still gusted but as I moved in the forest I was generally well protected from them. I think I’ve seen the last view down to the desert valley and they windmills they contain. From 10 miles onwards I struggled as my body protested and demanded more sleep. I took lots of small breaks and consumed more caffeine.
I finally reached Robin Bird Spring at 1300 thus ending my 20 mile water carry. For the next fee miles there are water sources. After that there are 2 water caches. Without those caches it would be over 30 miles until the next source in trail. Other than that the day was what it was. One foot in front of the other and try not to die.
Shortly after I passed the 600 mile mark on the PCT – that’s almost 1000 kms and nearing a quarter of the trail completed!
I ended my day at Landers Meadow Camp a few miles short of my goal. Here I met two hikers from Quebec and two from Oregon. This camp is accessible by vehicles and there were a significant number of them here. A large group was having their annual retreat. I was just about to start cooking a camp meal when one of them come over and offered me and the other hikers here the left overs. Burgers With all the fixings, chilli, watermelon, and cookies. They come here once a year and alway offer up what’s left to PCT hikers. I am grateful I got to partake this year hopefully they are not to loud tho.
I mean why wouldn’t there be a 10 commandments poster in the middle of nowhere. Delicious!
Walking up to a semi inflated air mattress is not my or anyone’s idea of a good time. But fortunately for some reason it never completely deflates and does maintain some semblance of comfort. Or maybe I’m just otherwise so generally sore I don’t notice the specific discomfort it causes me.
View from my tent this morning.
It was a later start today as I was hoping to give the rest of the group a chance to catch up. As a result I was treated to a magnificent sun rise view from my tent. I wasn’t looking to do too many miles today, just position myself close enough to Hikertown that I could do a quick resupply, have an afternoon siesta the start on the aqueduct section as the day gets cooler. The desert valley will be in excess of 35 C the next two days and no reasonable person wants to hike in that.
There are certain milestones on the Pacific Crest Trail that feel bigger than the number itself. The 500 mile mark is one of them. Not because it means you’re anywhere close to finished. Canada still feels impossibly far away but because somewhere along those first 500 miles, trail life starts to feel normal.
I reached the 500 mile marker just after 0800, only about 30 minutes after starting the day’s hike. I arrived alone, listening to I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers and, naturally, dancing my way down the trail. Honestly, there was no other acceptable way to cross that milestone.
A little while later Ness arrived, and the two of us ended up having a full-on dance party at the marker while The Proclaimers echoed through the desert. It was one of those ridiculous, joyful trail moments that probably makes absolutely no sense to anyone not out here, and somehow makes perfect sense to everyone who is.
I stayed there waiting for the rest of our group to arrive, hoping we could all celebrate the milestone together. By around 1030 though, the shade had disappeared, my water supply was getting lower than I was comfortable with, and the desert sun was quickly reminding me who was in charge. Eventually I packed up and continued north, leaving the others to hopefully catch up later down the trail
Five hundred miles down. Countless memories already made. And somehow, despite the exhaustion, sore feet, heat, cold, injuries and endless climbs… I’m still smiling while walking north.
I took my time the rest of the day going from shady spot to shady spot filling up water from a cement cistern in the desert. I am always completely amazed how quick the scenery turns from Chappell to pine forest to burned scared area. All day long I was accompanied by views of the desert valley below and it looks real hot down there.
I had to paramedic today and was able to help a fellow thru hiker who found themselves in a difficult situation. I stayed with them until they were later picked up by a trail angel. I’m confident they will be back on trail soon. The trail angel offered me a place to stay tonight but I declined opting instead to stick to the original plan. But I won’t lie it was hard to turn down the promise of a shower and cold drinks.
I was able to make it to the planned camp site – our group still split. Early morning scheduled tomorrow to beat the heat and hopefully enjoy some cold cola!
Mmmmm water – better believe I double treated this.
Today’s plan called for less mileage, a resupply and some town food. A pretty solid plan! I was treated to a brisk morning and beautiful colorful sunrise over Warner Springs Meadow as I walked towards town. This really is a beautiful part of the PCT.
The first quick stop was Eagle Rock. So named because of its very close resemblance to an Eagle. I arrived just as the morning sun started to shine on it and was otherwise alone. This is a popular day hike and as I walked to town I was passed by about 80 of them hiking towards Eagle Rock. They were part of a group doing a fundraiser event for Children’s Make A Wish. They all smelled so clean.
Warner Springs gas station!
There isn’t much in Warner Springs. A post office, a gas station and a community center that has almost everything a hiker needs. Back in 2018 you could camp at the community center but that is no longer aloud. The post office and gas station are about 2 miles from the community center. I started at the gas station by devouring 3 hot dogs and some cola. Judy is a Saint and even though it was 8am was more than happy to whip them up for me. I picked up my resupply from the post office and bought a few more things from the gas station and made my way to the community center.
Sorting out my resupply! Food for the next 4ish days.
The community center has almost everything a hiker needs. They have a small store, showers, bucket laundry, charging stations and washrooms. I had my first shower in a week and it was glorious. Until this year they were bucket showers but they just had shower heads installed with nice hot water. I did my laundry and hung it on the fence and passed time chatting with other hikers waiting for everything to dry and stretching.
I left in the mid afternoon and did another 5 miles, finishing the meadows and starting the next climb. Technically today was not a nearo (day with less than 10 miles hiked normally as a result of spending time in town) but I’ll probably count it as one.
The weather is suppose to be cooler the next few days with a chance of light rain tomorrow and Monday. I’m looking forward to the cooler weather (not the low single degree mornings that come with it) and rain would certainly be appreciated by Californians.
When doing laundry a thru hiker typically wears their rain gear as everything else is getting cleaned.
