Mentally, and emotionally, this has been my hardest week on trail. I haven’t wanted to whine and moan - no one enjoys that - but it’s been a push. And we haven’t even been pushing too hard. I’m just thoroughly not enjoying it right now. Maybe because HBG is scattered along the trail instead of … Continue reading Day Eighty Five: 1619.8 – 1636.6km
At this point, I think we have to be honest: the Hiker Biker Gang is the vortex. It’s only Nemo and I right here, and yesterday we picked up Jeremy - who officially goes by Ratatouille now. Most of HBG is dispersed ahead of us, and a couple are who knows how far behind, and … Continue reading Day Eighty Four: 1608.7 – 1619.8km
Wondering out loud, I asked the PCT if our relationship was one of unrequited love. I give her my all, every day. Of course I get tired. There are ebbs and flows to my energy, to my attitude, to how I approach her. Such is the cyclic nature of life. But everything that I have, … Continue reading Day Eighty Three: 1576.7 – 1608.7km
I’m currently having one of those serendipitous days, where I keep meeting the exact people I need to. This morning, it was Northcut. He’s an American fella out here on his first ever backpacking trip with two guys he used to work with (Scott and Paul). Far out, I’ve got to give it all the … Continue reading Day Eighty One: 1538.8 – 1558.7km
I walked to Yosemite National Park. Yosemite. This is the go-to background for Apple computers and phones. It’s not hard to see why. Sunrise felt just a tad too early for summit whisky, so we shared summit coffee instead. Twice. (We had to make a second pot; it just felt right this morning). I had … Continue reading Day Seventy Six: 1485.5 – 1514.1km
I’m craving some human touch today. I want a hug. I’m not feeling down or entirely lonely. Nothing’s really wrong, and I’ve got the best gang by my side - I think I just need a big hug. Have you heard of The Five Love Languages? It’s a concept that we all feel love and … Continue reading Day Seventy Five: 1466.1 – 1485.5km
Yesterday was the first time I’ve fallen down on trail. It was a solid one too: I was as good as a turtle, splayed out in the dirt. Only a few scrapes and bruises that have made themselves known today to show for it, but it happened. So I just wanted to admit that I … Continue reading Day Seventy Four: 1459.1 – 1466.1km
I know I’ve said it before. I’ve probably said it plenty! I just can’t get enough of the Sierras: The crystal clear lakes. The vibrant green grass. The miles we keep chipping away at. The granite mountains that surround us, protect us, mystify us, beckon us. Has it really been 900 miles of trail already? … Continue reading Day Seventy Three: 1431.1 – 1459.1km
My alarm went off at 6AM. I deflated my mattress like a good hiker girl, and replied to a few messages I’d received overnight. No one stirred, but I figured it was only a matter of time before the camp started moving, so I went all out and cooked up a dehydrated egg and bacon … Continue reading Day Seventy Two: 1416.2 – 1431.1km
The unthinkable has happened. We’re zeroing again. At this point, I don’t even know how it keeps happening. The Sierras are a vortex of their own! Maybe this is why people quit in Northern California... because it’s going to be so hard to start pushing out those 25-30mile days after averaging nine miles a day. … Continue reading Day Seventy: ZERO
You can now call us the River Bandits, as well as Hiker Biker Gang. Today we looted, and came up with a lot of treasure. We hadn’t thought it would end up a zero, but it was. And it was a productive day for our gang. I made a pot of communal coffee at 7AM … Continue reading Day Sixty Eight: ZERO
We watched the sun rise. We crossed creeks. We passed by lakes. We met a trail cat. We walked some more. We napped. We walked again. We crossed rivers by bridge. We crossed rivers by foot. We set up camp in a field, soaked right up next to each other in teensy hot springs - … Continue reading Day Sixty Seven: 1356.7 – 1380.4km
If I rated days out of 10, I’d probably be averaging around an 8.5. There’s be a few 3’s in there, definitely a lot more 9’s and a handful to 10’s already - today being a stand out 10/10. I woke up happy. It’s the best way to wake up. Pickleback waved me off with … Continue reading Day Sixty Six: 1329.8 – 1356.7km
I don’t think I’m exactly taking this hiking thing seriously anymore... I mean, we didn’t start until 11:30AM this morning. I skipped up some of the trail. A couple of hikers heading the opposite direction remarked with a laugh, “You’re way too happy to really be hiking this!” But honestly, how can I not skip, … Continue reading Day Sixty Three: 1269.9 – 1287.2km
I know I’ve had a lot of good days out here. The standard has been set high. I’ve gone from desert wastelands to rocky mountains to bubbling creeks. I’ve touched the Mexican-United States ‘wall’, walked just about thirteen hundred kilometres from there, and climbed one of the country’s highest mountains. Even so, I think it’s … Continue reading Day Fifty Seven: 1245.8 – 1269.9km (+12.2km)
I reckon every day has something special to offer. Sometimes it’s like a treasure hunt and you have to search for it (admittedly, I don’t always find it), but sometimes it’s served to you on a silver platter. Today, I had that something special served to me in ziplock bags, by some very special people. … Continue reading Day Fifty Six: 1234.4 – 1245.8km
‘The Great Bishop Shakedown’ It’s all I can think about, as we go up and up and up today. My mind has been made, and Jefé and Pickleback are right on board (as is everyone else): we’re going to give me a nice big shakedown. Like, a really nice big shakedown. I can feel all … Continue reading Day Fifty Four: 1212.9 – 1234.4km
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! 😁 (Here, in America.. Because I know for my Australians it happened yesterday. Time zones, right?) And it’s been an absolutely beautiful day. Maya woke me up with a cup of coffee. Thibaud - who left KM sometime after Jefé and I but hasn’t been seen in two days - caught us up. … Continue reading Day Fifty Three: 1195.7 – 1212.9km
Well, it wasn’t the best day, but it also wasn’t my worst. I got up early to try and catch M&D - Jefé and I didn’t get too far last night, and without reception or any way of contacting them I really had no idea how far ahead they were. With the rivers and the … Continue reading Day Fifty One: 1134.1 – 1166.8km
I walk, letting the tall grass run through my fingers as my hands brush past, and I see me. The real me. The me that is so often obscured by distractions of everyday life, responsibilities and to-do lists. The veil of familiarity and monotony has fallen away. I begin to see the woman inside me … Continue reading Day Forty Four: 954.0 – 980.0km
My 5AM alarm was much nicer than yesterday’s 2AM one, and after sleeping soundly, I set off pretty quickly. As the sun started to rise, I stopped for a moment to soak the moment in. What a difference six minutes makes! Just imagine how much a few hours does! This is why I try and … Continue reading Day Forty: 870.6 – 898.9km
Apologies for the long post yesterday; hope you had a comfy chair to read in! Finding it a challenge to keep up with writing in between adventures, and got a bit carried away 🙈 In the short time it took us to eat some dinner and settle down last night, we could feel our belongings … Continue reading Day Thirty Three: 739.7 – 769.6km
Story time! And one to go down in the books: The best day of my life. June 6th, 2018 It started off like any other day. The sun woke me up as it warmed my quilt, I went and poured a cup of coffee, and joined a handful of hikers gathered around a map to … Continue reading Day Thirty Two: 731.5 – 739.7km
I had imagined I would have a nice little sleep in and wake up refreshed, happy, and full of peace. I did wake up refreshed, happy and full of peace - there was just no sleep in. The roosters two metres from my head made sure of that. I stretched a little, stayed snuggled up … Continue reading Day Thirty One: ZERO
Tonight, I’ll be in Hiker Heaven. After all my research; my blog scrolling and YouTube watching and internet scouring, it seems surreal that I’m reaching the places I’ve read and dreamt about. Before, they were long off waypoints. They weren’t even real. They were names on pages, pinpoints on maps. Yet here I am, checking … Continue reading Day Thirty: 701.8 – 731.5km
I’ve spent the morning thinking about how hard life would be if you weren’t friends with yourself. It’s not an unknown concept to me - as a few of you might know, my teenage years weren’t too shiny on the inside. I tried to hide it and put on a good facade, but my self-esteem … Continue reading Day Twenty Seven: 594.5 – 632.9km
The plan was to get to Idyllwild. We were more than ready for a town: beds, showers, laundry, no tents, clean feet, pizza, more supplies.. The setback was, it was going to be a hike and a half. More than 30 kilometres - doable - but the vast majority of which were going up, with … Continue reading Day Twelve: 252.6 – 285.2km
Well, I figured it couldn’t last forever, right? It didn’t. I got up at stupid o’clock (4AM) and continued to press snooze for half an hour.. then it still took me until 5:20 to have my life fully packed and walking away from my tent site. My knee still ached, but at least it was … Continue reading Day Ten: 196.4 – 231.8km
I know you're all dying to read the next post - sorry for the wait; I didn't have wifi at last night's albergue. It was attached to a beautiful old cathedral and works by donation (generally we pay 8-12€ a night), so was a little old-school and totally sweet. For dinner we had a community … Continue reading Día Siete / Day Seven
No one day is the same as the next. Maybe this is why we should always be thankful for today: there will never be another exactly like it, and we can never really know exactly what to expect. It seems everyone started out early today to beat the merciless sun. We were walking just after … Continue reading Día Seis / Day Six
