Twig Adventures

Category: Pacific Crest Trail

2025 SOBO PCT Days 7-15: Stehekin to Snoqualmie

Pacific Crest Trail

Day 7: Thursday, July 17th, 2025, 0900-1900. Stehekin Bakery21 miles to Miners Cabin trail junction, mm 101.6, 6050’up\2170’down, elevation 5500′. It was a peaceful night in the woods. I’m pretty sure no one ever knew I was there, just off the road in my camo tent. I love stealth camping, especially when it earns me such an advantage. Due to my strategic planning, I arrived at the bakery by 6 am. If you aren’t already in the know, the Stehekin bakery is one of the top 5 highlights of the entire PCT. The owner, Cragg Courtney, was already inside getting ready and invited me in to grab a coffee, use the bathroom and charge electronics. He was so kind and we[…]

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2025 SOBO PCT Days 0-6: Ross Lake to Canada to Stehekin

Pacific Crest Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail

Since I previously published daily blogs for my 2018 SOBO PCT thru-hike, I decided to take a bit of a break my second time around. Earlier in 2025, I posted weekly to bi-weekly summaries after my PCT desert section hike, and so I continued taking notes in this format over the summer. Here are my accounts, derived from those notes, plus pictures. I edited some of the days to be pretty detailed and lengthy for my own memories’ sake, while other days are more in note format…sorry for the inconsistency. Additionally, just as I started the PCT southbound for the second time, my episode on Backpacker Radio (The Trek) came out. I did the interview with Chaunce and Zack in[…]

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Pacific Crest Trail 2025, Round 2

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail

This summer I hope to complete the remaining 3 sections that I have left in hiking the PCT a 2nd time. This has been a goal since my first thru-hike in 2018. Initially, I envisioned that I would thru-hike the entire trail again, but over time, the goal morphed into completing the trail as a series of section hikes. This was mainly because in 2023, I hiked nearly all of the Northern California section as a way of connecting the Oregon Coast and Bigfoot Trails to the Tahoe Rim Trail. After that stint, I couldn’t really see myself hiking NoCal a 3rd time (it’s my least favorite section), thus my focus shifted to just completing the remaining sections in the[…]

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DWTH, SDTCT & PCT Desert Section Summary & Stats

Arizona Trail, Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail, San Diego Trans County Trail

(Scroll to the bottom for a listing of links for all my DWTH posts, see this link for the rest of my 2025 PCT hike) 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[…]

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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[…]

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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[…]

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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[…]

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

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail, San Diego Trans County Trail

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[…]

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DWTH Day 41: Whitewater Preserve & the PCT

Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail

Saturday, March 15th, 2025, 0540-1400Desert Hot Springs to Whitewater Preserve, End Section 8e, elevation 2100′16 miles. Then skip to start of the SDTCT. I woke early, as I was very eager to get out of the disgusting flop hostel and leave Desert Hot Springs behind for good. This was the day I’d finally finish my hike from the Arizona Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail, completing all legs of the Great Western Loop. My layover in DHS was necessary and revitalizing, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to leave a town. I took a bus north a few miles to reconnect to the route where I’d gotten off, then walked some blocks through the remnants of town.[…]

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Introducing the Desert Winter Thru Hike

Arizona Trail, Desert Winter Thru Hike, Pacific Crest Trail, San Diego Trans County Trail

From the Hike Invention website: “The Desert Winter Thru-Hike (WTH!) is an adventurous 800-mile hiking route highlighting 20 Wilderness Areas, 7 National Parks and Monuments, and remote protected lands of the Sonoran, Colorado, and Mojave deserts. Featuring mainly low to mid elevation (2000′) desert valleys and mountain ranges occurring at lower latitudes of the American Southwest (the highest point is Harquahala Mountain (5,691ft/1735m), the Desert WTH offers a true winter season thru-hiking option for very experienced walkers looking to extend the US hiking season into the December – February timeframe. And yet despite the aridity and remoteness of this warmer region, the route has been carefully crafted to greatly reduce or eliminate the need for caching water in advance, while[…]

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