Twig Adventures

Tag: PCT

2025 Sierra High Route Days 10-16: Bishop Pass to South Kennedy Meadows

Pacific Crest Trail

Day 10: Back in the swing of things over Bishop Pass, Thursday, Sep 11th, 2025, 1400-1700. 7 mi over Bishop Pass and into Dusy Basin, elevation 11,320′. It was a slow start to the day, as I was dragging my feet in town. I planned to hitch to the Bishop Pass trailhead, then hike south following parts of the SHR, the PCT and Southern Sierra High Route, eventually ending in Kennedy Meadows South. On a positive note, the smoke did diminish overnight, so it seemed like I could proceed. But the forecast called for some more thunderstorms over the next few days…always a worry when I’m hiking almost entirely above treeline. I busied myself with chores all morning, as I’d[…]

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2025 Sierra High Route Days 7-9: Past the Ritter Range to Reds Meadow / Bishop

Arizona Trail

Day 7: Back on the SHR, Sunday, Sep 7th, 2025, 0700-1800.15.5 mi to Bench Canyon, elevation 9,670′. It was a really slow start this morning, given my huge day before, plus 2 late nights of hiking in a row. The first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke, then was pretty astonished to see the sky, or rather the lack there of. A heavy layer of smoke filled the valley overnight. When planning this next leg in Tuolumne Meadows 2 days prior, I’d contemplated saving Half Dome for this morning. Thank goodness I pushed hard and made it to the top the day before! I did get some cool pictures of the eerie red sunrise over Merced lake in[…]

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2025 Sierra High Route Day 6: A Side Trip To Half Dome

Pacific Crest Trail

Saturday, Sep 6th, 2025, 0640-2030.28.5 mi to top of Half Dome, then backtrack to Echo Creek, elevation 7,040′. I had a lot of miles and goals planned for this day, so I got cracking at it early and as fast as I could. Basically, this entire day was a side trip to Half Dome, planned spur of the moment and having nothing to do with the SHR. But it was a hoot and well worth the 26 extra miles. I woke to my coldest morning yet, with a thermometer reading of 32 F. As soon as I entered some meadows, the temperature dropped even more and frost coated the grass. I warmed up going over Tuolumne Pass after just a[…]

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2025 Sierra High Route Days 0-5: Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows

Pacific Crest Trail

Days 0, August 25-31st: I skipped the PCT NoCal section since I already hiked most of it a 2nd time in 2023 (along with the Oregon Coast Trail, part of the Bigfoot Trail, and entire Tahoe Rim Trail). I spent nearly a week with trail friends Scott and Alan, both of whom helped me out tremendously on past hikes of the Pacific Coast Bigfoot Crest Rim Trail and Desert Winter Thru-hike. I stayed with Alan in Sacramento for about 4 days. He was so kind to host me, let me borrow his bear canister for the Sierra and provide his address for a box of supplies I shipped from home. I received paper maps of the high routes, new Salomon[…]

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2025 SOBO PCT Days 35-42: Willamette Pass to Ashland

Pacific Crest Trail

Day 35, Sunday, Aug 17th, 2025, 1730-1900. Bend.5.5 mi from HWY 58 / Lake Odell to Hidden Lake, mm 752, 1100’up\380’down, elevation 5840′. Jill and Robert graciously treated us to their specialty pancakes in the morning, then drove us into town to do some grocery shopping at Trader Joes and Costco. I didn’t really need much but it was fun hanging out. The other hiker (sorry I can’t remember her name now) and I bought Costco shakes and a large pizza to share with our hosts, a small token of our appreciation. They dropped us off at REI, where we were to meet our respective rides back to trail. After a miscommunication with the Trail Angel that had offered to[…]

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2025 Pacific Crest Trail Days: Back to Cascade Locks

Pacific Crest Trail

PCT Days, Thursday-Saturday, Aug 14th-16th, Cascade Locks OR. Day 1, Thursday Aug 14th: Trail Angel and friend Otzi (Randy), who I stayed with while I was hiking the San Diego Trans County Trail, reached out to say he could give me a ride to Trail Days this year. He was driving all the way from San Diego, and even offered to pick me up at Shelter Cove. But I figured I could easily hitch to Eugene instead, saving him a 3 hour side trip. So in the morning, 2 other hikers and I posted up at the highway, thumbs pointed west. It took a surprising hour and a half to catch a ride, but I was in no hurry since[…]

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2025 SOBO PCT Days 25-34: Cascade Locks to Shelter Cove Oregon

Pacific Crest Trail

Day 25, Monday, Aug 4th, 2025, 0600-2100. Cascade Locks & Eagle Creek. 8 mi, start at Bridge of the Gods WA to Skoonichuk Falls, Eagle Creek alt, OR, 1600’up\1000’down, elevation 670′. I had no problems stealth camping overnight and slipped out of my spot just before dawn. I walked down to the Carson General Store and waited a bit for it to open at 7 am. The employees were very friendly and I found some nice resupply items there, along with great coffee. I love buying from these small, local stores. Best of all, while sipping my coffee at the picnic Table 1 outside, I got to meet the Carson Coffee Social Club, consisting of Michael, Bob, and Maynard. These 3[…]

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2025 SOBO PCT Days 16-24: The 2nd Half of WA

Pacific Crest Trail

Day 16, Saturday, July 26th, 2025, 0610-1830. Trail Magic. 25 mi to 1\2 mi south of Tacoma Pass, mm 289, 6060’up\5830’down, elevation 3830′. I really enjoyed my fresh-picked blueberries with my breakfast. It was an uneventful morning as I passed by Mirror Lake. There were tons of weekend campers and all I could think of was how many of them must be pooping too near the lake. I saw one kid with a trowel in hand, off to look for a spot to lay down his treasure. The trail was fairly busy through the morning, not surprising for a weekend with great weather. I caught up to and passed Foggy. I figured he was going to be way ahead of me,[…]

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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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