Pacific Crest Trail California Section

The PCT in California traverses through the desert, fields of wind turbines, snow-covered mountains and some of the best scenery in America! It’s beauty is sublime, even while the trail’s never-ending ups and downs bring even the best hikers to their knees at times.  We love this trail and keep going back to it.  Here’s a look at our 2019 thru hike adventure.  California was good to us and at the same time, she challenged us.

The PCT California begins near the town of Campo, right at the border of Mexico.  It climbs the Laguna & San Jacinto Mountains before dropping back down to cross under the I10 freeway.   A highlight is walking along the LA aqueduct, something that many hikers do at night in order to beat the heat of the day.  We saw more cactus and wind turbines than you can imagine.  And every kind of desert flower, during the year’s super bloom.  The Sierras, the Trinity Alps, Mt Shasta.  There are just too many beautiful and rugged areas to tell about here.  You can check out the PCTA’s pages for lots of section detail or you can just start below.  See where our journey took us.  Hopefully it’ll inspire you to take your own trail journey, by day or section or backpacking the whole dang thing!  Let’s get hiking!

PCT: VLOG: Episode 12

PCT: VLOG: Episode 12

This week we continue our northbound trek and head for Kenney Meadows. Kennedy Meadows signifies the end of the desert hiking and the beginning of the Sierra Mountain range. PCT Episode 12

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PCT: VLOG Episode 11

PCT: VLOG Episode 11

Episode 11 Episode 11 with commentary This week we channel our inner Don Quixote's as we night hike, encounter high desert temperatures and try to find shade in the withering heat.

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PCT SoBo: and so it goes…

PCT SoBo: and so it goes…

Noelle here: Steve and I ambled along, making our way back to the van. He read the group texts from his siblings and the individual texts I had with them separately. I told him about the hikers who'd ended their hike that day due to weather. We hiked along. I could...

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PCT: Day 192: In it to win it! Part 2

PCT: Day 192: In it to win it! Part 2

Miles today: 20Trail miles sum: 2016.8SOBO Trail location: 1322.8Elevation: 5051Spinning on the turntable: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466. Seong-Jin Cho While I was hiking in the afternoon I had cell reception for a few moments. River crossings I saw...

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PCT: Day 192: In it to win it! Part 1

PCT: Day 192: In it to win it! Part 1

Miles today: 20Trail miles sum: 2016.8SOBO Trail location: 1322.8Elevation: 5051Spinning on the turntable: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466. Seong-Jin Cho It was 26 degrees this morning when I started hiking. Just a tiny bit nippy! Early morning hiking...

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PCT SoBo: Old Station to Chester

PCT SoBo: Old Station to Chester

Noelle here: It's cold. Holy smokes, it's cold! This morning was supposed to get down to 26. I believe that's probably true. Steve just left the van for day 2. Yesterday he did 27 miles and today will be shorter around 20. I hiked a bit over six miles and realized two...

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PCT: Day 191: Going for broke

PCT: Day 191: Going for broke

Miles today: 27Trail miles sum: 1997.8SOBO Trail location: 1302.8Elevation: 5651Spinning on the turntable: U2: The Joshua Tree Wooded trail It’s so good to be back on the trail! The air is crisp and clear. When we bumped north from Kennedy Meadows to Old Station in...

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PCT Southbound: Old Station

PCT Southbound: Old Station

Noelle here: Well, we did it! We started our journey back to the trail. While my sister, brother-in-law and I were at the hospital, busting Dad out, Steve was packing up the van. He met us and we all made a little parade down the hospital corridor and to the front...

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PCT: VLOG: Episode 9

PCT: VLOG: Episode 9

PCT Episode 9 PCT Episode 9 with commentary  This week we return to the trail with a new camper van and hike through Vasquez Rocks.

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PCT: VLOG Episode 7

PCT: VLOG Episode 7

PCT Episode 7 PCT Episode 7 With commentary This week we hike from Cajon Pass and summit Mt. Baden-Powell encountering fallen logs, rain, snow and hail.

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PCT: VLOG Episode 6

PCT: VLOG Episode 6

PCT Episode 6 PCT Episode 6 with commentary This week we continue our thru-hike attempt and soak away our aches at Deep Creek Hot Springs in San Bernadino.

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PCT: VLOG: Episode 5

PCT: VLOG: Episode 5

PCT Episode 5 PCT Episode 5 with commentary This week we start getting our feet wet with mulitple river crossings.

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PCT: VLOG Episode 4

PCT: VLOG Episode 4

PCT Episode 4 PCT Episode 4 with commentary This week we begin to encounter snow, sleet, ice and extreme heat.

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PCT: Day 113

PCT: Day 113

Miles today: 24 Trail miles sum: 974.4 Trail location: 1649.5 Elevation: 1718 Spinning on the turntable: Andrea Bochelli: Si' My camp site from last night was close to a snow field and my tent fly was soaked today. The sleeping bag was moist as well. I camped next to...

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PCT: Day 112

PCT: Day 112

Miles today: 25.7 Trail miles sum: 950.4 Trail location: 1625.5 Elevation: 6551 Spinning on the turntable: Waren Zevon: The wind This day was guaranteed to be a long hike right out of the gate. I want to bump up my daily miles and the only way to do that is to hike...

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PCT:  Day Hiking

PCT: Day Hiking

Noelle here: I either hike out with Steve in the mornings if it's a "travel" day for me or I hike out to meet him in the afternoons to come back to the van together. In this particular stretch, if he did 20 miles a day, I got to see him for four days in a row. How...

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PCT: Day 111

PCT: Day 111

Miles today: 19.7 Trail miles sum: 924.6 Trail location: 1599.8 Elevation: 5977 Spinning on the turntable: Boston: Boston The past few days I've been ricocheted up and down the mountains and today was no different. I started the morning with a sharp climb right out of...

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PCT: Day 110

PCT: Day 110

Miles today: 20.0 Trail miles sum: 904.0 Trail location: 1580 Elevation: 6188 Spinning on the turntable: Fitz and the Tantrums: More than just a dream This sign was about ten feet off the ground. I guess big signs equal better target practice? I have noticed several...

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PCT: Day 109

PCT: Day 109

Miles today: 20.3 Trail miles sum: 884.9 Trail location: 1560 Elevation: 6860 Spinning on the turntable: INXS: The very best I started the day on a spicy note. A benefit of the camper van is the refrigerator. I keep a few yogurts handy and eat a banana and yogurt for...

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PCT:  Trinity Alps

PCT: Trinity Alps

Noelle here: This last week has been so beautiful. Steve is trekking through the Trinity Alps. Oh my goodness, the views, the trail, the sunrises & sunsets and the hikers! It's been a good time. I met Bull and Bull Rider as I was meeting Steve to go into Mt...

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PCT: blog posts and you! June

PCT: blog posts and you! June

Hi Readers! We've been so busy hiking that we forgot to post our website June statistics. After a pronounced absence the Greeks are in the house! (I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!) We're hopeful that our friends Gregory and Kathleen will...

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PCT: Day 108

PCT: Day 108

Miles today: 18.6 Trail miles sum: 864.6 Trail location: 1539.7 Elevation: 6860 Spinning on the turntable: Audio book: The other side of history: Daily life in the ancient world Nice view to start the day huh? That's Mt. Shasta peeking over the rim. ("Shasta, Shasta,...

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PCT: Day 107

PCT: Day 107

Miles today: 19.9 Trail miles sum: 846 Trail location: 1521.1 Elevation: 6496 Spinning on the turntable: Coldplay: Parachutes Over 4000ft elevation gain today. Let me say that again....4000ft....up... I started at mile 1501 and worked my way to 1520. Woof. I must...

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PCT Van Life: BBQ at the Dam

PCT Van Life: BBQ at the Dam

Noelle here: I met Steve at Centipede Gulch Trailhead yesterday. It was only a short walk from the van and I spent the afternoon relaxed and at peace. We were planning to van camp but it turns out the road is now closed and has been turned back over to Mother Nature....

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PCT: Day 104

PCT: Day 104

Miles today: 16.6 Trail miles sum: 826.1 Trail location: 1501.2 Elevation: 2102 Spinning on the turntable: Coldplay: Parachutes ...and another climb to start the day today! Both yesterday and today I've been able to find a relaxed mentality for hiking. It may be that...

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PCT: Day 103

PCT: Day 103

Miles today: 13.7 Trail miles sum: 809.5 Trail location: 1484.6 Elevation: 2653 Spinning on the turntable: nothing So the poop lab tests indicate that I have c-diff colitis but not giardia. Yeah for me! I'm now taking antibiotics for a week. Yesterday I (yet again)...

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PCT: Day 101

PCT: Day 101

Miles today: 23.9 Trail miles sum: 795 Trail location: 1470.9 Elevation: 2380 Spinning on the turntable: Audio book: The other side of history: Daily life in the ancient world The day began with a climb at 6AM. Early morning climbs are good and bad. Good to get it out...

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PCT: Day 100

PCT: Day 100

Miles today: 18.8 Trail miles sum: 771.7 Trail location: 1447.7 Elevation: 5426 Spinning on the turntable: Audio book: The other side of history: Daily life in the ancient world Have I mentioned that the flowers are magnificent? I found this single bloom down a hill...

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PCT: Day 99

PCT: Day 99

Miles today: 10.8 Trail miles sum: 760 Trail location: 1428.8 Elevation: 2994 Spinning on the turntable: Beach Boys: Pet Sounds We spent last night at a campground. It's a festival atmosphere with everyone flocking in for the 4th of July holiday. After the backwoods...

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PCT: Burney Falls

PCT: Burney Falls

Noelle here. It's July 3rd right now and I'm at Burney Falls State Park. Steve got here yesterday and this morning we viewed the Falls. So I'm a Northwest girl, through and through. I may have been born in the South but my heart definitely belongs in the Pacific NW! I...

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PCT Hat Creek Rim

PCT Hat Creek Rim

Noelle here: We started out early today. It was a cool evening which is great for sleep. Our goal was ambitious for me but the terrain looked doable. And it was so nice out. The Hat Creek Overlook was beautiful. We could see Mt Shasta towards the North. Burney...

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PCT: Day 98

PCT: Day 98

Miles today: 20.8 Trail miles sum: 749.2 Trail location: 1418 Elevation: 2994 Spinning on the turntable: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Best of everything I started hiking at 6AM this morning with "Free falling" in my earbuds. Iconic music with spectacular views...

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PCT: Day 97

PCT: Day 97

Miles today: 19.9 Trail miles sum: 722.1 Trail location: 1397.2 Elevation: 3946 Spinning on the turntable: Sinead O'Connor: I'm not bossy, I'm the boss This is the view out of my tent as I write this today. view from tent Today we started hiking the Hat Creek Rim area...

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PCT: So close to Old Station…but so far away

PCT: So close to Old Station…but so far away

Well...The vans drive shaft is now repaired but I'm a bit sick. Unbelievable. I had a week to be leisurely sick while the van was being repaired and I'm lucky enough to get sick right about the time we'd be returning to trail. I'd been feeling a bit of stomach...

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Van Life: Drive Line

Van Life: Drive Line

Noelle here: Transmission fixed! Woo hoo! Bob at Bob's Red Bluff Transmission was awesome and took great care of us.  He's a great guy with a very clean and actually beautiful shop! We packed up and were ready to go the next morning. Went a mile down the freeway and...

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Van life. Transmission 2

Van life. Transmission 2

Noelle here: We were both feeling so excited. Steve even said he felt giddy with excitement! We figured out a plan to go around the Sierras and get back on to the Pacific Crest Trail. We drove from Kennedy Meadows to Bakersfield and spent a night in a hotel for Fathers Day. We both got […]

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PCT: Day 81: Kennedy Meadows

PCT: Day 81: Kennedy Meadows

Miles today: 8.7 Trail miles: 702.2 Elevation: 6006 Spinning on the turntable: Melissa Etheridge: Fearless love I slept in until 5AM this morning and started hiking at 6AM. The miles would be small today, but I really wanted to beat the heat, so I still started early....

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PCT: Kennedy Meadows

PCT: Kennedy Meadows

Noelle here: I'm sitting on the porch at Kennedy Meadows waiting for Steve to get here. He should be here soon. It's a huge milestone out here. The hikers waiting on the porch clap for the arriving hikers. It was one of the stops I was looking forward to the most, so...

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PCT: Day 80

PCT: Day 80

Miles today: 20.7 Trail miles: 693.5 Elevation: 5846 Spinning on the turntable: Grouplove: Never trust a happy song Up at 4AM and out hiking by 5AM today. When I set up camp last night I was alone, but when I left this morning there were four or five other tents. It...

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PCT: Day 79

PCT: Day 79

Miles today: 21.5 Trail miles: 672.8 Elevation: 6739 Spinning on the turntable: DMB: Away from the world I hit the trail at 5AM this morning after enjoying overnight oats and Noosa yogurt. That yogurt is crazy delicious (www.noosayoghurt.com) but a little higher in...

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PCT: Day 78

PCT: Day 78

Miles today: 16 Trail miles: 651.3 Elevation: 4980 Spinning on the turntable: The Alarm: The best of the Alarm That's my view from my tent this morning while I was eating breakfast. Not a bad way to start the day! I knew that today was going to be another hot one and...

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PCT: Day 77

PCT: Day 77

Miles today: 19.4 Trail miles: 635.3 Elevation: 6705 Spinning on the turntable: The Cranberries: In the end I woke at 4AM today and started hiking by 5AM to get a jump on the heat. The weather forecast just looked unpleasant. The early morning hike was quite nice...

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PCT: Day 76

PCT: Day 76

Miles today: 12.1 Trail miles: 615.9 Elevation: 4959 Spinning on the turntable: Lissie: When I'm alone: The piano retrospective Today was scheduled to be an easy day. Hiking down 12 easy miles to meet up with Noelle. I awoke at 5AM and managed to eat and break camp by...

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PCT day hike Near  Walker’s Pass

PCT day hike Near Walker’s Pass

Noelle here: My plan for the day was to hike about four miles up the PCT to meet Steve. Turns out it's super hot by 10:00am and I don't really care for the uphill with no shade. I looked ahead, saw no cover, so I'm currently sitting down in what looks like the last...

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PCT: Rocket’s party at Walker Pass Campground

PCT: Rocket’s party at Walker Pass Campground

Noelle here: We had a great campsite on the side of the road last night! Steve started hiking before 5am today, and I may have fallen back asleep for a while after he left. At some point I headed down the road to the next meeting point at Walker Pass Campground....

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PCT Roadie life

PCT Roadie life

Noelle here: I'm feeling disappointed today. There just isn't a way to get to Steve as often as I'd like. We look at maps and Guthook and try to make a good plan. It simply doesn't work sometimes. The trail is in the wilderness. Most roads in the wilderness are dirt....

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PCT: Day 74

PCT: Day 74

Miles today: 20.7 Trail miles: 587.2 Elevation: 4730 Spinning on the turntable: Sammy Hagar & The Circle: At Your Service The day started with a nice little hill climb to limber up my joints. I hit the top of this hill within a few hours. I liked this drain hole...

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Lunch & Dinner with Rosie’s

Lunch & Dinner with Rosie’s

Noelle here: I had lunch with Rosie today. She's been following our blog and I'm so glad we were able to meet! What a wonderful thing when two strangers can become a part of one another's lives. We met for Mexican food, because well, margaritas and tacos. What a...

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PCT: Day 71

PCT: Day 71

Miles today: 17.5 Trail miles: 566.5 Elevation: 3844 Spinning on the turntable: Pearl Jam: 20 I awoke with the alarm at 5AM. The darkness was just beginning to give way to daylight. I ate my overnight soaking oaks (thanks Donna!) and decided that I liked them. I'll...

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PCT: Day 70

PCT: Day 70

Miles today: 13.9 Trail miles: 549 Elevation: 6240 Spinning on the turntable: Billie Ellish: When we all fall asleep, where do we go? Hot is the theme today. Hot like crazy hot temperatures. I'm guessing mid to upper 80's. The temperature is forecasted to go up into...

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PCT: Day 69: LA aqueduct: Part 2: 6:30PM-11:00P

PCT: Day 69: LA aqueduct: Part 2: 6:30PM-11:00P

Miles today: 8.6 Trail miles: 535.1 Elevation: 3122 Spinning on the turntable: None I started hiking around 7:30 after resting in the van during the heat of the day. In this case resting means reading a book. I should have taken a nap. I skipped the tunes and listened...

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PCT Roadie along the Aqueduct

PCT Roadie along the Aqueduct

Noelle here: I'm enjoying being Steve's roadie! It's an interesting perspective. After Steve left Hiker Town the other day, I went back to the Neenach Market to get propane and gas. Also I spun the Pokémon Stop to get a "gift" for my sister, Trish. We trade Poke gifts...

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PCT: Day 69: LA aqueduct: Part 1: 6AM-10:30AM

PCT: Day 69: LA aqueduct: Part 1: 6AM-10:30AM

Miles today: 8.9 Trail miles: 526.5 Elevation: 2800 Spinning on the turntable: Katy Perry: Teenage Dream Today was split into two sections; a morning hike of about ten miles and a evening hike of about nine miles. It's too hot to try to tackle the whole section in one...

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PCT: Hiker Trash & Hiker Town

PCT: Hiker Trash & Hiker Town

Noelle here: I now seem to be collecting trash from hikers. It takes the term Hiker trash to a brand new level. 🤣 I met a couple German women yesterday, who I shared some of Donna's hard boiled eggs with! And I ended up taking their garbage. It's the small things that...

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PCT: Day 68: 500 miles

PCT: Day 68: 500 miles

Miles today: 19.6 Trail miles: 517.6 (Hiker town) Elevation: 3053 Spinning on the turntable: U2: Songs of innocence Hitting the 500 mile mark was rather anticlimactic. The camp was abuzz with excitement last night over the impending mile stone. Excitement like folks...

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PCT Section Hiking in SoCal

PCT Section Hiking in SoCal

Lemonade here: Thanks for the trail name, Deb! I think this one is a keeper. I tried out "Little Engine" for a bit, but last night I introduced myself at camp as Lemonade and its a winner! It fits for the reason you said, "life hands you lemons...", but also because...

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PCT: Day 67

PCT: Day 67

Miles today: 12.4 Trail miles: 498.2 Elevation: 5009 Spinning on the turntable: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: The best of everything Today I hiked north and Noelle hiked south! Noelle went up the trail about 25 miles, left the van, and hiked south about 12 miles. I...

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PCT: Trail town vs Regular town

PCT: Trail town vs Regular town

Noelle here: Sending hiker resupply boxes to trail towns is so easy. The post offices get it. There are hundreds of other boxes, so they have good systems. Having one of those trail towns send a box backwards to a regular town is not so great. Because I've slowed us...

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Visiting friends!

Visiting friends!

Noelle here: we came off trail for a couple days to visit friends and get the van's generator fixed. What a treat! Warm showers, clean clothes, great food and fellowship, horses, chickens, a dog & cat, a game of "Life" with their grandkids AND scotch and bourbon...

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PCT: blog posts and you! May

PCT: blog posts and you! May

Hi readers! Our second full month of PCT hiking is now completed! We really enjoy publishing our daily blog for you to read. It's fun to see your comments as you're journeying along with us. Below is the country break down of who visited our web page during the month...

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PCT: Day 62

PCT: Day 62

Miles today: 20.3 Trail miles: 485.8 Elevation: 3067 Spinning on the turntable: The Cranberries: In the End Yesterday it was raining cats and dogs so I opted to sit it out in the van and not hike. We had a big lunch at a salad buffet and then hung out at Starbucks...

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PCT: Van life

PCT: Van life

Noelle here: Well the nice thing about the van is that I can stay inside when the weather is cold and rainy. 😏 Steve's has some crazy rain-filled days. I saw this group of hikers one afternoon, so darn cold out! I've almost finished my third book this week! I've...

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PCT: Day 59

PCT: Day 59

Miles today: 16.8 Trail miles: 452.9 Elevation: 2482 Spinning on the turntable: The Cranberries: Stars The morning started with clear skies and sunshine. It was a nice change from yesterday! I ditched my jacket and pants within a half hour of starting to hike and...

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PCT: Day 58

PCT: Day 58

Miles today: 17.5 Trail miles: 436.1 Elevation: 4169 Spinning on the turntable: David Gray: A new day at midnight Today was a long, wet, cold hike. When we woke the rain was falling and it really didn't look that inviting outside. Noelle was planning to hike a few...

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PCT: Day 57

PCT: Day 57

Miles today: 15.6 Trail miles: 418.6 Elevation: 4915 Spinning on the turntable: Lizzie: Back to forever With mutual assurances that we wouldn't get ourselves killed today, Noelle and I split up after breakfast. I had a nice relaxing five mile downhill hike. I really...

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PCT: first day back on trail

PCT: first day back on trail

Noelle here: This morning we woke up and were freezing, so we turned on the heater. What a crazy thing! Steve made us some coffee and oatmeal. It was a great start to the day. We drove down to the trailhead, and started out. We returned to where we left off last week,...

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PCT: Day 56: Hiking

PCT: Day 56: Hiking

Miles today: 13.2 Trail miles: 403.0 Elevation: 5867 Spinning on the turntable: Derek and the Dominoes Together we hiked a side trail up to the PCT after a long week's absence from hiking. We parted company at the trail junction with mutual assurances of not getting...

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PCT: Hiking again

PCT: Hiking again

Noelle here: Today we head back up to the mountains and the trail! Last night we stayed in a hotel to watch the finale of Game of Thrones. We may have had time recently to binge this season and catch up. 🤣🤣🤣 A park near us is gearing up for Memorial Day. It was a...

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PCT: Day 56

PCT: Day 56

I camped on and off during my early twenties with my friend Tim. We drank far more than we camped. Fortunately there aren't any pictures to document those expeditions! After camping with Tim I took a few years off from camping to allow my liver to recover before...

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PCT: the smell of wet dogs

PCT: the smell of wet dogs

Noelle here: We woke up at our mostly normal time between 5:30 and 6. The rain was still pouring so we closed our eyes again. Around 9, it seemed dry enough to start packing up. We donned our wet clothes from yesterday amid a fair amount of squeals and laughter from...

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PCT: Day of Reckoning

PCT: Day of Reckoning

Noelle here: I woke up sore from all the falls and sliding yesterday. My shoulder is super stressed. It was a beautiful morning though as we were above the clouds. As we descended, we were in them. I could smell them. Kind of like the smell of rain. Soon it turned to...

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PCT: fav trail town: Wrightwood

PCT: fav trail town: Wrightwood

Noelle here: So admittedly I came here by Uber, bypassing the two-day uphill grind. That already had me feeling relaxed. But this town!!! Everyone asks about our hike, if we have a place to stay and if we need a ride. They really seem to love hikers. 💕 You come to...

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PCT: Day 42

PCT: Day 42

Miles today: 12.2 Trail miles: 369.2 Elevation: 8400'ish Spinning on the turntable: David Guetta: Nothing but the beat Another slog of a day, hiking up, up and up. My ankles are still sore from yesterday. Thankfully my camp mates departed at 6AM and missed the...

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PCT: Day 41

PCT: Day 41

Miles today: 15.3 Trail miles: 357.2 Elevation: 6467 Spinning on the turntable: DMB: Away from the world A very long day of hiking and elevation gain. Gaining 3500 feet over 15 miles hurts my body. I ache tonight. I carried five liters of water to start, and then...

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PCT day 41: Hiking, then not

PCT day 41: Hiking, then not

Noelle here: After a few days of recovery, we started out again this morning. I was excited to get going and we were packed up to leave early.  We passed long trains...or they passed us. We went through a tunnel under the tracks. That was really neat! Tunnel...

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PCT: Days 38, 39 and 40

PCT: Days 38, 39 and 40

We spent the past three days hanging out and taking it easy so that Noelle could recover from a UTI. We're in a motel in the middle of nowhere. There's a gas station, McDonalds and a Del Taco. We Ubered to a nearby town and did a little shopping and saw a movie. I...

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PCT: Day 37

PCT: Day 37

Miles today: 12.3 Trail miles: 341.9 Elevation: 3055 Spinning on the turntable: The Hooters: Nervous night Green hills We started our day with a humid 500 foot climb out of camp. The landscape is very green. It's a nice contrast from the brown rocks that we spend so...

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PCT:  Wooden Bridges and Buddy

PCT: Wooden Bridges and Buddy

Noelle here: Steve does a great job of writing daily. Me not so much, as I seem to cover more of the major events on my mind through out the week. One of my recent highlights surrounded the grieving of our good, best friend, Buddy. Oh how I miss his tiny little face,...

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PCT: Day 35: Hot springs

PCT: Day 35: Hot springs

Miles today: 14.1 Trail miles: 318 Elevation: 3280 Spinning on the turntable: Keane: Hopes and fears PCT marker Today was a busy day! We headed to Deep creek hot springs (clothing optional) and made it in time for a few hours of early morning soaking before it was too...

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PCT: Day 34: 300

PCT: Day 34: 300

Miles today: 13.9 Trail miles: 303.9 Elevation: 4007 Spinning on the turntable: U2: Slane Castle The priority topic today is hitting 300 miles! It's hard to believe that we're at 300 miles! We both slept terribly last night, so this was a nice bonus to a long grind of...

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PCT: Day 33: Joy?

PCT: Day 33: Joy?

Miles today: 13.3 Trail miles: 289.9 Elevation: 6067 Spinning on the turntable: Yo-Yo Ma: The Essential This morning we passed a young man around 8:30 as he was breaking down his tent. We waved, he waved back, and we continued down the trail. I wish I had stopped and...

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PCT: Day 32

PCT: Day 32

Miles today: 10.5 Trail miles: 276.7 Elevation: 7732 Spinning on the turntable: Bleachers: Strange Desire Big Bear lake was a dud for me. Too much walking between stores and our motel. Food prices (prepared) were crazy high and the quality was so-so. This has been my...

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PCT:  Big Bear

PCT: Big Bear

            Noelle here: We did a pretty quick ten miles down to the highway and then got a ride into Big Bear! Went to the Post Office for our resupply and while we loaded goodies into our backpacks, my Dad called. It was the first reception we'd had in a couple days...

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Check Out our PCT Oregon section

Read more about our Pacific Crest Trail thru hike by clicking to go the Oregon section.  We didn’t see any rattlesnakes here, but there are a ton of lava fields to cross over.  Plus mountains and lakes and so many deer. Good friends along the way made the trail so much fun.  And Crater Lake, what beauty.  After months in California, Steve flew through Oregon!  His legs were like chiseled marble and he was looking mighty fine (can you tell Noelle is typing this?!) At the Bridge of the Gods, family came to meet us and then we got to go home for a week!  Oregon’s a great section of the PCT, don’t miss it.

We hope you’re enjoying our adventure and making plans for your own!