October 28 Distance: 23.9 miles | Ascent: 5340′ | Descent: 6930′ Mile marker: 2292.4 Lunch: J&A – grapes and chips and a muffin (A+) Dinner: J – enchiladas (A+), A – chimichanga (A+) What started as a normal day ended up being a strange and wonderful day. We climbed Mount Baden-Powell straight from camp. The…

October 27 Distance: 27.9 miles | Ascent: 5920′ | Descent: 5120′ Mile marker: 2271.9 Lunch: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (B+) Dinner: J&A – potato with summer sausage (A-) We use an app called FarOut as our main map and day planning tool. It has elevation profiles, distances, and user comments about…

October 26 Distance: 24.2 miles | Ascent: 5440′ | Descent: 2950′ Mile marker: 2244 Lunch: J&A – chicken salad (B+) Dinner: J&A – magic! (A+) The trail crew wasn’t lying! A rugged old man they called Captain Jim cooked us pancakes and bacon and eggs inside a custom kitchen trailer he had built. Breakfast was…

October 25 Distance: 18.7 miles | Ascent: 4120′ | Descent; 2500′ Mile marker: 2219.7 Lunch: J&A – soft serve ice cream with sprinkles (A+) Dinner: J – beef stew (A), A – orange chicken (A) Serenity’s Oasis is the best hiker hangout spot on the whole trail. Farmer John, who drives laps around his property…

October 24 Distance: 19.5 miles | Ascent: 2610′ | Descent: 3840′ Mile marker: 2201.1 Lunch: J – apple cinnamon oatmeal (A), A – beef stroganof (A) Dinner: J&A – hot dogs (A+s) To beat as much of the heat as possible, we got up early, relatively. With the short days, getting up at 5:30 is…

October 23 Distance: 24.2 miles | Ascent: 3290′ | Descent: 4700′ Mile marker: 2181.6 Lunch: J – chicken parm (A), A – chili and rice (B) Dinner: J – spinach couscous (B), A – curry couscous (B) We both got good sleep last night and woke up to a very autumny campsite. We’re trying to…

October 22 Distance: 18.1 miles | Ascent: 4010′ | Descent: 2370′ Mile marker: 2157.6 Lunch: J – tomato pasta (B), A – beef stew (A) Dinner: J – curry couscous (B-), A – couscous (B+) After our big and foolish day – or is it days? – we woke up groggy and not feeling superb.…

October 20 & 21 Distance: 50.2 miles | Ascent: 6020′ | Descent: 6490′ Mile marker: 2139.5 Lunch 1: J – strawberry cheesecake (A+), A – cherry cheesecake (A+) Dinner 1: J&A – a collection of bars and trailmix (C) Lunch 2: J – chicken casserole (A-), A – tomato pasta (B-) Dinner 2: J&A –…

October 19 Distance: zero! Mile marker: same as yesterday Lunch: J – pineapple curry (A+), A – drunken noodles (A+) Dinner: J&A – popcorn, cheesecake, salad (A+s) The vibe on trail has relaxed a lot. Since everyone is out of the Sierras and safe from snowstorms, we don’t feel pressured or rushed. Pretty much everyone…

October 18 Distance: 6.4 miles | Ascent: 230′ | Descent: 2400′ Mile marker: 2089.3 Lunch: A – turkey sandwich (A+), A – reuben sandwich (A+) Dinner: A&J – Chinese buffet (A+,A+) We were up and out before dawn. We’ll never see last night’s campsite in the daylight, but it was nice in the dark anyway.…

October 17 Distance: 27.1 miles | Ascent: 4840′ | Descent: 4650′ Mile marker: 2082.9 Lunch: J&A – chili and rice (B+,?) Dinner: J – chili and rice (A), A – Korean Beef (?) The morning clouds in the valley were quite spooky. It looked like the ocean with the mountains poking through like islands. When…

October 16 Distance: 25.6 miles | Ascent: 4080′ | Descent: 3830′ Mile marker: 2055.9 Lunch: J – Korean beef (A), A – tomato pasta (B-) Dinner: J – beef stroganof (A-), A – mac n cheese (A-) It was cold last night. It might’ve been one of the coldest nights yet. When we woke up,…

October 15 Distance: 27.7 miles | Ascent: 4780′ | Descent: 4480′ Mile marker: 2030.3 Lunch: J – chicken parm (A-), A – spaghetti mac (A-) Dinner: J – ramen bomb (B), A – instant potatoes (A) There’s a bus with a weird schedule in Kern County. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it runs twice a day…

October 14 Distance: 4 miles Lunch: J&A – Disappointment followed by KFC bucket Dinner: J&A – cinnamon toast crunch (A) We knew the storm was coming. We were watching the weather like hawks. We were getting thrice daily weather forecasts through our satellite communicators. And yet, it was a lot worse than we thought possible.…

October 13 Distance: 24.8 miles | Ascent: 5560′ | Descent: 4520′ Mile marker: 1998.6 Lunch: J – spaghetti mac (A), A – dahl (C+) Dinner: J – mac n cheese (A), A – beef stroganof (A) Our calendar reminded us that today was our 13th anniversary. We didn’t get each other gifts. We did share…

October 12 Distance: 21.3 miles | Ascent: 3260′ | Descent: 3720′ Mile marker: 1973.8 Lunch: J – spaghetti (A-), A – chicken parm (A) Dinner: J – tomato orzo (A), A – spaghetti (A) Now that everyone is out of the Sierras, the mood is pretty chill. All the hikers at the campground slept in…

October 11 Distance: 14.3 miles | Ascent: 1170′ | Descent: 2990′ Mile marker: 1952.4 Lunch: J – triple crown burger (A+), A – supreme pizza (A+) Dinner: J – supreme pizza and salad (A+), A – burger (A+) We’re learning! We didn’t camp right next to the little river last night, even though the meadow…

October 10 Distance: 25.2 miles | Ascent: 3300′ | Descent: 5100′ Lunch: J – bacon mac (A), A – Korean beef (A-) Dinner: J&A – instant potatoes (A, A), and mac n cheese (B+, B) We’re outrunning a storm on foot! Sorta. We’ve been warned about the storm that’ll blanket the Sierras in snow for…

October 9 Distance: 24.6 miles | Ascent: 3650′ | Descent: 4310′ Mile marker: 1913 Lunch: J – spaghetti mac (B), A – chili and rice (B+) Dinner: J&A – instant potatoes (A+, A+), J – Korean beef (A-), A – egg stir fry surprise (C) The landscape is dramatically different than the High Sierras just…

October 8 Distance: 20.8 miles | Ascent: 5030′ | Descent: 4250′ Mile marker: 1888.4 Lunch: J&A – jambalaya (A, A) Dinner: J&A – mac n cheese (A, B+) Ohhhh nelly. It’s the big one. Forester Pass is the high point of the PCT at 13,200′. Today was the day. Honestly, it was not as difficult…

October 7 Distance: 22.6 miles | Ascent: 5010′ | Descent: 6460′ Mile marker: 1867.5 Lunch: J – Thai red curry (A), A – sausage stuffing (A) Dinner: J – egg stir fry (C+), A – chili and rice (B) We went over two 12,000′ passes today! The first one, Pinchot Pass, was a mere 2.6…

October 6 Distance: 20.9 miles | Ascent: 5240′ | Descent: 2900′ Mile marker: 1845.0 Lunch: J – sausage stuffing (A+), A – mac n cheese (B) Dinner: J – spaghetti mac (B-), A – Thai red curry (A) We didn’t see a single person all day. For the 20.9 miles we walked, we only had…

October 5 Distance: 13 miles | Ascent: 2430′ | Descent: 3630′ Mile marker: 1824.1 Lunch: J&A – ham and Swiss croissant (A+, A+) Dinner: J – chili and rice (A-), A – chicken parm (A) We got a ride to the trailhead from Richard, an older man who says he likes helping out thruhikers for…

October 4 Distance: 9.3 miles Mile marker: 1823.6 Lunch: J – Denver omelet (A), A – corned beef (A+) Dinner: J&A – Italian sandwich and chicken tenders (A+) We finished the hike out of Bishop Pass and made it to the trailhead by late morning. It was absolutely freezing when we got up, but we…

October 3 Distance: 16.0 miles | Ascent: 3250′ | Descent: 3410′ Mile marker: 1823.6 Lunch: J&A – chocolate banana oatmeal (A-, ?) Dinner: J – spaghetti mac (B), A – Oh boy…. Several times yesterday we got weather reports. The clouds were suspicious and there were some ominous winds. At lower elevation, the report foretold…

October 2 Distance: 25 miles | Ascent: 4650′ | Descent: 3760′ Lunch: J – orange chicken (C+), A – chicken teriyaki (A+ Dinner: J&A – mac n cheese (A, B+) We heard the alarm from the other tent synchronize with our alarm at 5:30. While we scrambled to quietly pack, the other tent must’ve hit…

October 1 Distance: 23.6 miles | Ascent: 5150′ | Descent: 5530′ Mile marker: 1786.4 Lunch: J&A – Shin ramen (A, ?) Dinner: J – spaghetti mac with hash browns (B-), A – protein bars (?) We camped at Virginia Lake last night. When we arrived in the dark, we couldn’t see enough to really appreciate…

September 30 Distance: 15.2 miles | Ascent: 2670′ | Descent: 1230′ Lunch: J&A – Spaghetti-Os, Tim Tams, tomato soup, cake (A+s) Dinner: J – chicken teriyaki (A-), A – hash browns (B-) A heavy rainstorm pounded Mammoth Lakes overnight, and although we woke often, we were thankful to be indoors.  By morning, Jason got a…

September 29 Distance: 12.1 Mile marker: 1751.4 Lunch: J&A – birthday cake (A+) Dinner: J&A – burritos (A+) The lake we passed early in the chilly morning was foggy. Our footsteps woke some ducks tucked into the grasses at the edge of the lake. We watched them for a few minutes as they floated out…