This section went through Tahoe National Forest and within that Granite Chief Wilderness (Granite Chief is a mountain). It then went through El Dorado Mational Forest and within that Desolation Wilderness. Don't know why it's called Desolation Wilderness as it seemed very pretty to us with high alpine lakes nestled in granite bowls. The trail … Continue reading Section 12 – Sierra City to South Lake Tahoe. →

This section started by following Hat Creek Rim to Lassen National Forest and Lassen Volcanic National Park. As the name suggests the area was volcanic in nature with lava fields, lava tubes, and a volcano (Lassen Peak). Hat Creek Rim is a 30' high lava crag running for ~20 miles along the PCT, and used … Continue reading Section 11 – Burney to Sierra City →

This section went through Klamath National Forest and subsequently through Shasta-Trinity National Forest. We traversed through the Trinity Alps Wilderness and Castle Crags Wildermess, both located within Shasta-Trinity National Forest, on high balcony paths, which felt v alpine. D65 Sat 17 Aug. Etna mile 1599.7 to South Fork Scott River mile 1579 10.45 - 20.15 … Continue reading Section 10 – Etna to Burney →

There seemed to be fewer flowers in Oregon state compared with Washington state. Not sure if this was just because we were later in the season or because Oregon is generally hotter and drier. We only noticed a few new types of flower that we'd not seen in Washington: A major difference between Washington and … Continue reading Flowers, butterflies, and PCT signs of Oregon state →

This section went through the Klamath National Forest and Marble Mountain Wilderness. The landscape feels more like proper mountain terrain with tops at >7000' and extensive views of mtn ranges. Mt Shasta, our current volcano, was an ever constant companion. D58 Sat 10 Aug. Zero in Ashland As ever, zeros are incredibly busy and stressful. … Continue reading Section 9 – Ashland, OR, to Etna, CA →

In additon to Diamond Peak Wilderness, Mt Thielson Wilderness, Sky Lakes Wilderness, and Soda Mtn Wilderness, we also walked through Crater Lake National Park on the rim trail (a highlight of the trip so far). We also reached the highest point of the PCT for Washington/Oregon (7560'), which was superceded the same day by our … Continue reading Section 8 – Shelter Cove to Ashland →

In this section we walked through Mt Washington Wilderness and The 3 Sisters Wilderness. The walking was dominated by the lava fields in The 3 Sisters Wilderness, although there were also lots of lakes in the forested areas (ie, buggy!). D43 Fri 26 July. Big Lake youth camp mile 1996.1 to Obsidian Falls mile 1971.4 … Continue reading Section 7 – Big Lake Youth Camp to Shelter Cove →

This section went through Mt Hood Wilderness/Richard L Kohstamm Wilderness/Mt Hood National Forest, Indian Lakes Wilderness, and Mt Jefferson Wilderness. Apart from the large climb out of Cascade Locks the trail was fairly flat, only climbing/descending while contouring around volcanoes (Mt Hopd and Mt Jefferson). The rest of the trail was through the trees. D35 … Continue reading Section 6 – Into Oregon: Cascade Locks to Big Lake Youth Camp →

We've enjoyed the blooming flowers in Washington. Below are a few that we've seen. We think the first few pics (in order from top left) are bear brush, paintbrush, and thistle. No idea what the other flowers are, so please comment if you know them.

543.6 miles 34 days walking Average 15.5 miles per day (though more in the second 2 weeks than the first) Average speed 1.9 mph (again faster in the latter part) No zeros until Cascade Locks 4 Nearos (less than 10 miles walked in a day), usually into or from resupply point. Blisters D 3; K … Continue reading Washington: what survived and what didn’t →