Hitting the Trail This post first appeared on The Trek, which you can read here. This series is a retrospective on my 2020 Colorado Trail thru-hike. July 5th – Denver, CO to Trail I felt the thrill of heading to trail and beginning my thru-hike gathering in my limbs as we sped down the interstate […]
This post originally appeared on The Trek, which you can read here. Prologue In the summer of 2020, when the world was still at a stand-still in the early months of the pandemic, I walked from Denver to Durango along the 485 mile Colorado Trail. “Walked from Denver to Durango” is just five words and […]
The decommissioned firehouse at the end of Joseph Court is marked by an atmosphere of modest California charm and the slow simmer of creeping insanity. The firehouse itself blends unremarkably into the culdesac’s collection of low lying stucco motels and nondescript businesses. Cream colored whites and dreamsicle oranges evoke the arid serenity of the desert […]
“The personification of the natural is exactly the tendency I wish to suppress in myself, to eliminate for good. I am here not only to evade for a while the clamor and filth and confusion of the cultural apparatus but also to confront, immediately and directly if it’s possible, the bare bones of existence, the […]
“Departure is simple: you step out the door, onto your bike, into the wind of your life. What’s hard is not looking back, not measuring gain or loss by lapsed time, or aching legs, or the leering mike markers of ambition. You are on your way when you decipher the pounding of rain as Morse […]
When I walked south out of the Sierra, sequoias and white granite immediately dissolved into cacti, shrubbery, and undulating mountains that were more akin to sand dunes. I was headed into the final section of the PCT: The Desert. A rambling 700 miles that crosses the Mojave, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and some of SoCal’s […]
I know how your mind rushes ahead, trying to fathom what could follow this. What will you do, where will you go, how will you live? You will want to outrun the grief. You will want to keep turning toward the horizon, watching for what was lost to come back, to return to you and […]
I knew the High Sierras were going to be grueling. Between the tight window of manageable weather and elevations that are significantly higher than the rest of the PCT—let alone anything I’d encountered prior to this hike—the Sierra was more than a little intimidating. Like a specter that haunted thru-hikers, everyone spoke of this section […]
How do I even begin to describe the strange and exquisite world of the trail? The absurdity and adventure of the past 1,150 miles? The rare challenges and self-discoveries that make up the PCT? Today, I’m at a complete and utter loss for words. The Oregon/California border! Where Du Jour, Fluffy, and Footprint waited for […]
Imagine traversing the slender, exposed spine of an angry red peak with clouds coalescing overhead in dark, threatening plumes. Imagine hearing thunder cracking overhead with a quickness and immediacy that halts your steps. Imagine the oppressive Oregon heat which penetrates every energetic molecule and living cell—scorching the soil and stealing the sweat off your skin. […]
