Twig Adventures

My Adventures blog

Daily Adventures on the trail

DWTH, SDTCT & PCT Desert Section Summary & Stats

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail

Like my 2023 PCBCRT hike, my Desert Winter Thru Hike ended up being the sum of multiple parts, a conglomeration of 3 different long-distance trails/routes. It’s difficult to summarize such a segmented journey, so I’ve attempted to break some of the data into distinct parts to cover each trail, but also lumped some of the information together. At the core, I’m proud to say that I hiked from the outskirts of Tucson, connecting footsteps from the Arizona Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail, plus also my footsteps along the PCT to the San Diego Trans County Trail, and all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Note that I didn’t hike continuously from east to west, which allowed for a complete[…]

Read more

DWTH PCT Days 26-39: Acton to Kennedy Meadows South

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail

This is the continuation of my Desert PCT section hike, the final post of 3, notes for each day… Day 26, Sunday, April 20th, 1000-2000 13 miles to just outside Agua Dulce, Mm 457.4,  2250/1570, Elevation 2950′ Leisurely morning, took it slow packing. Visited other grocery store in town, higher-end but fair prices and quality stuff. Discount bin had good bars and PB. Large sandwich to go was bomb! Ate half and packed out other half. Met friendly guy and asked him for a ride out of town. Miykael was guitarist playing classic rock, tight red pants, yellow high tops, and rod Stewart shirt. I love all these characters I meet hitching! He’d just bought a newish van to travel and[…]

Read more

DWTH PCT Days 14-25: Whitewater Preserve to Acton

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail

This is the continuation of my Desert PCT section hike, notes for each day… Day 14, Tuesday, April 8th, 0700-1900 22 miles, Whitewater Preserve to Mission Springs Trail Camp, Mm 240, 6700/1120 down. Elevation 7900′. Camp so awesome. Rocks falling all night. Western screech owl. Bighorns peering over ledge in morning, played Bocce ball using boulders and tents. Passed day hikers, perhaps even some migrants along river in morning, then Ludo, French guy I’d been hopscotching for several days. Climb over small pass from Whitewater valley to Mission Creek. Then fun began hiking up the large wash, trail segments washed away from 2023 Hurricane Hillary for long stretches. Just like hiking the DWTH, so I was right at home. Others not[…]

Read more

DWTH PCT Days 1-13: Mexico Border/Campo to Whitewater Preserve

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail

I’ll start by explaining that this PCT section hike was somewhat spontaneous and unplanned. Which is not to say that it wasn’t in the back of my mind for many months, well before I even started the Desert Winter Thru-Hike in January. The deal was that if I made it all the way to San Diego and still felt good, I’d continue on with the PCT. My main objective was to connect my footsteps from the SDTCT to my DWTH finish at Whitewater preserve, about 155 miles in total. Ultimately, this concluded a continuous footpath from the outskirts of Tucson, AZ to San Diego, CA, a distance of nearly 1100 miles. My 2nd objective was to complete another section of[…]

Read more

DWTH SDTCT Day 9: The Finish Line at Torrey Pines

Desert Winter Thru Hike

Monday, March 24th, 2025, 0700-1400Penasquitos canyon open space to Torrey Pines, mm154 End SDTCT, then 6 bonus miles along the beach to La Jolla, Elevation 0′21 miles. I was up bright and early to finally finish this hike. It took me awhile to realize the very cool theme of my start and end points: they all had something to do with plants. Saguaro National Park and Joshua Tree National Park were the official termini of the DWTH, and then I added Torrey Pines State Park to the mix. The other theme had been to connect the AZT to the PCT, which I’d already accomplished. But I hadn’t yet connected my footsteps all the way to the ocean, since I’d skipped[…]

Read more

DWTH SDTCT Day 8: Urban Thru-hiking

Desert Winter Thru Hike

Sunday, March 23rd, 2025, 0700-1840San Vicente area to Penasquitos canyon open space, mm140.5, Elevation 380′21 miles. My semi-urban campsite was a little too wild, as some animals were fighting in the bushes overnight, probably racoons. Still, it was a great spot. I woke to a very foggy, wet morning. My tent was soaked, but at least I didn’t have to resort to cowboy camping, thus getting my quilt wet. I figure I’m more discreet inside my camo tent anyway, as long as there’s space enough to pitch it. It’s like a hunting blind. The fog also served to further conceal my escape from my site, not that anybody was around to see me go. I followed the paved road a[…]

Read more

DWTH SDTCT Day 7: El Cajon & Trans-passing Like A Champ…it’s not what you’re thinking

Desert Winter Thru Hike

Saturday, March 22nd, 2025, 0600-1840Near Cedar Creek Falls TH to San Vicente area, mm119.5, Elevation 1370′18 miles. Oh boy, what a day. When researching this route, about all I heard mention of was the horrific bushwhack up the backside of El Cajon. But of course, I never knew if the severity described by others would live up to my expectations. Certainly the extent of my bushwhacking experience through vast deserts, canyons and dense PNW forests raised my bar pretty high. But as I’d already noted, bushwhacking through thick chaparral sucked pretty hard, too. I’d watched a video from another hiker long enough to know how I was going to handle some private property reroutes through the chaparral…as in, no way[…]

Read more

DWTH SDTCT Day 6: Cresting the Crest, Then Big Descent

Desert Winter Thru Hike

Friday, March 21st, 2025, 0700-1840PCT water tank to near Cedar Creek Falls trailhead mm101.5, Elevation 2000′26 miles. It was very cold in the morning, just 37 degrees F! I actually passed frost on the grass as I set out. I was sad to find that the route didn’t spend any time following the PCT. I merely crossed it and continued following signs for the California Riding and Hiking Trail. I even saw another sign for the SDTCT, complete with a little map! This was just as well, because the route led through a series of beautiful meadows. The meadowlarks and blackthroated sparrows were singing gleefully, while a family of ravens tumbled around in the grass. It was so gorgeous in[…]

Read more

DWTH SDTCT Day 5: Crossing the PCT

Desert Winter Thru Hike

Thursday, March 20th, 2025, 1400-1900Stagecoach RV park to PCT water tank, mm75.5\PCT mm62.4. Elevation 4730′13 miles. I spent a leisurely morning at Mystic Canyon with Otzi and Barbara. Otzi and I left just before noon, stopping at a grocery store to buy some items. He’d been doing trail magic / hiker feeds at a campground near Mt Laguna, catering to PCT hikers. I contributed to his stock of supplies (beer and soda), and bought a few things for mine. I didn’t need much, because I anticipated finishing the route in 3.5 days. In fact, I hoped to be visiting Otzi’s Trail Magic in about a week, drinking some of the beverages I just bought. We drove to Julian and Otzi[…]

Read more

DWTH SDTCT Day 3 & 4: Stagecoach & Unexpected Zero with Friends

Desert Winter Thru Hike

Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, 0700-1400Culp Valley campground to Stagecoach RV park, mm62.5. Elevation 2350′20 miles.Wednesday, March 19th, 2025. Zero I slept so soundly in the privy, which may seem kind of surprising, given the weather and the nature of my accommodations. The more the wind howled, the more I felt a smug satisfaction, knowing I just managed to dodge the claws of mother nature this night. The outdoors can really make one appreciate even a humble privy. Of course, I made sure to vacate my impromptu Airbnb first thing in the morning, but not before at least leaving a deposit! The morning was chilly and still very breezy, but at least it was dry. Instead of reconnecting to the the[…]

Read more