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and so it begins

northbound on the pct

2026.04.24

I am currently en route to the USA's southern border with Mexico. Over the next few months I'll be following the Pacific Crest Trail walking north until I reach the border with Canada.

Arid biomes rule the southern portion of the route -- the Sonoran and Colorado Deserts. Water is hard to come by, on day 1 there is already a stretch of 20 miles between reliable sources. By this time of year creeks have vanished. I'm praying for rain. Though it may be dry, this desert is not flat. In the San Jacinto and San Bernadino mountains closer to Los Angeles I'll probably encounter snow at higher elevations.

Further up in the Sierra Nevada, I will climb the continental USA's highest peak, Mt. Whitney, at 14,505'. The trail here hovers around 10,000' elevation for hundreds of miles. I’ll pass through Yosemite and Sequoia-King's Canyon National Parks. Craggy granite peaks preside over crystalline streams and lakes. Muir and Adams were correct to be fanatical about the region, in my view. I have been among these peaks many times before but still struggle to believe a place of such raw terrifying beauty is actually real.

Past Lake Tahoe, in Northern California, the terrain flattens and becomes volcanic. North of Mt. Shasta, I’ll cross into the Cascades in Oregon, past Crater Lake, through thick Pacific Northwest forests. Finally, in Washington, I’ll hike through peak wildflower season in the Central and Northern Cascades, until I reach Canada.

I expect to spend 100 days +/- walking, plus however many "zero days" I take off to rest. I will pick up food from towns every 4-5 days, roughly. I'm carrying 8 pounds of equipment and gear to start, including my pack. Everything I need to survive is in here.

If you’re curious, a list detailing each item is available on lighterpack. I will sleep, and eat, and brush my teeth, and go to the bathroom, and everything else, outside.

It's impossible to truly prepare for something like this. You cannot possibly anticipate what will happen over 100+ straight days of backcountry travel. I have poured over my gear list for weeks, weighing and modifying everything, practicing knots, memorizing first aid acronyms and calorie-per-ounce values of different foods. But that will all pale in comparison, I'm sure, to what actually happens when I'm out there.

Anyways, website exclusive content. I modified a lot of my gear but I'm the proudest of my tarp. It's a MLD grace duo with a fully replaced guyline system. I'll report back after the hike whether it turned out great or not.