September 11 Distance: 23.2 miles | Ascent: 5980′ | Descent: 2770′ Mile marker: 1390.3 Lunch: J – chicken taco (B+), A – tomato orzo (C+) Dinner: J – chicken parm (A+), A – chicken taco (A+) Jason slept really well in the treehouse last night. His watch gave him a 97/100 sleep score! Alex didn’t…

September 16 Distance: 26.1 miles | Ascent: 4500′ | Descent: 4110′ Mile marker: 1498.9 Lunch: J – chili mac (C+), A – taco with tortilla (A) Dinner: J – Thai peanut noodles (B+), A – Thanksgiving (A) We were on a pretty ridge for most of the day. Or many ridges. Or one ridge that…

September 15 Distance: 13.5 miles | Ascent: 3430′ | Descent: 1230′ Mile marker: 1472.8 Brunch: J&A – tortilla chips and salsa (A-), peanut butter tortilla wraps (B-) Dinner: J – Thai peanut noodles (A), A – chili mac (Alex has fallen asleep already, but she said chili was one of her favorite meals. I’ll guess…

September 14 Distance: 17.8+1.5 | Ascent: 1750′ | Descent: 4250′ Mile marker: 1459.3 Lunch: J – tomato orzo (B+), A – cilantro pesto pasta (B+) Dinner: J&A – cheeseburger (A++), hot dog (A+), canned peaches and fruit medley and canned yams (A), canned tuna (B), miscellaneous bars and trailmix leftover from our food supply (C)…

September 12 Distance: 22.4 miles | Ascent: 4450′ | Descent: 4450′ Lunch: J – cilantro pesto pasta (B-), A – bacon mac (B+) Dinner: J – chili and rice (B+), A – chicken parm (B+) It rained last night. We woke up a little soggy. We had little motivation to hike. Jason dilly-dallied a bit,…

September 10 Distance: 23.5 miles | Ascent: 2380′ | Descent: 6890′ Mile marker: 1367.0 Lunch: J – taco (B+), A – chili and rice (B+) Dinner: J – cheeseburger and fries (A), A – mushroom and swiss burger with onion rings (A+) It didn’t rain last night, and it wasn’t as cold as we were…

September 9 Distance: 19.4 | Ascent: 4290′ | Descent: 2430′ Mile marker: 1343.5 Lunch: J – mac n cheese (B+), A – chicken parm (A+) Dinner: J – chicken parm (A+), A – mac n cheese (B-) Woah! We’re halfway there! We reached our halfway point! It’s now shorter to walk to Mexico than to…

September 7 Distance: 28.3 miles | Ascent: 4060′ | Descent: 2640′ Mile marker: 1309.4 Lunch: J – chili and rice (B), A – adobo penne (C-) Dinner: J&A – eggs and hash browns (B+, B+) The temperature was in the 40s when we woke up next to our camp by a nondescript dirt road. This…

September 8 Distance: 14.6 miles | Ascent: 1700′ | Descent: 2840′ Mile marker: 1324.1 Lunch: J&A – cereal and milk (A, A) Dinner: J&A – junk food (B+) We had a really cool campsite. It overlooked Terminal Geyser and have us great views of the full moonrise last night and a colorful sunrise this morning.…

September 4 Distance: 27.1 miles | Ascent: 2290′ | Descent: 4300′ Mile marker: 1244.5 Lunch: J&A – cereal (A+) Dinner: J – spaghetti (B), A – mac n cheese () We woke before dawn and smelled a whiff of smoke in the air. There were thunderstorms last night a bit north of us. We hurriedly…

September 6 Distance: 22.3 | Ascent: 2150′ | Descent: 1700′ Mile marker: 1281.1 Lunch: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (A, A) Dinner: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (A-, A) A water cache was located about three miles down trail from where we camped last night. If we left the…

September 5 Distance: 14.3 miles | Ascent: 1680′ | Descent: 820′ Mile marker: 1258.9 Lunch: J&A – canned tamales and chili found in hiker box (B) Dinner: J&A – spaghetti (A-, A) Checkout time at the ranch was 11am and we enjoyed every second we had. We slept in (relatively), lounged in the bed, got…

September 3 Distance: 21.3 miles | Ascent: 3180′ | Descent: 3170′ Mile marker: 1217.4 Lunch: J – spaghetti mac (B-), A – chicken soup (A+) Dinner: J – coconut almond oatmeal (C+), A – garlic mushroom orzo (B+) We meant to go farther today. We planned for closer to 27 miles, which would make tomorrow…

September 2 Distance: 26.6 miles | Ascent: 6220′ | Descent: 3471′ Mile marker: 1196.1 Lunch: J&A – Mountain House biscuits and gravy (A, A) Dinner: J – mac n cheese (A-), A – chili and rice (B+) Today was a mundane day. It feels a bit wrong to write that because this is supposed to…

September 1 Distance: 18ish | Ascent: 2990′ | Descent: 2340′ Mile marker: 1169.6 Lunch: J – sausage stuffing (A), A – tomato cheese shells (B+) Dinner: J – chicken soup (A), A – sausage stuffing (A) Even though we like hiking, we don’t always wake up excited to hike. Today was one of those days.…

August 31 Distance: 18.7 miles | Ascent: 1530′ | Descent: 5360′ Mile marker: 1151.1 Lunch: J – beef stew (A+), A – Dinner: J – garlic mushroom orzo (B+), A – cheesy orzo Our camp had a great view of the sunrise on Mount Shasta with the sun lighting up the mountain and the fog…

August 30 Distance: 22.3 miles | Ascent: 2100′ | Descent: 2230′ Mile marker: 1132.4 Lunch: J – spaghetti mac with parm (B-), A – mac n cheese (B) Dinner: J – chili with orzo (B+), A – beef stew (A+) Waking up to the sunset is a great way to start the day. Less than…

August 29 Distance: 16.0 miles | Ascent: 2250′ | Descent: 1020′ Mile marker: 1110.1 Lunch: J – chili and rice (B), A – cheesy orzo (A) Dinner: J – taco (B+), A – sausage stuffing (A) We luxuriated in a real bed for one last morning. Sadly, we would have to get back to the…

August 27 Distance: 0 Mile marker: same as yesterday Lunch: J&A – deli sammies (A+s) Dinner: J&A – frozen pizza (A+s) Our day was full of errands and relaxer exploring. We started the day drinking our coffees slowly on the couch under cozy blankets – an absolute luxury. Then, we went to Etna Creek Outfitters…

August 28 Distance: zero Lunch: just snacks (A+) Dinner: J – crispy chicken sandwich (A+), A – chicken tenders and corn dog (A) Jason discovered something important today: the distance to the next stop is not as far as he had planned. This is wonderful news and much better than learning the opposite. It also…

August 26 Distance: 18.8 | Ascent: 2870′ | Descent: 3240′ Mile marker: 1094 Lunch: J – sausage stuffing (B-), A – chili and rice (B-) Dinner: J&A – cheeseburgers (A+, A+) Waking up at 4:30 am in a tent isn’t easy. It is a lot easier when there’s a special someone waiting and promise of…

August 25 Distance: 28.2 miles | Ascent: 5340′ | Descent: 5850′ Mile marker: 1075.2 Lunch: J&A – blueberry walnut oatmeal (A-, A+) Dinner: J – Indian curry (A), A – sausage stuffing (A+) We rose in the dark and had coffee on the ridge. The thunderstorms that were threatening last night had dissipated and we…

August 24 Distance: 21.9 miles | Ascent: 4440′ | Descent: 4280′ Mile marker: 1047.0 Lunch: J&A – mac n cheese with pulled pork (A, A+) Dinner: J – sausage stuffing (A), A – spaghetti mac (B) Due to the prior short night of sleep and yesterday’s challenging climb, we slept in a bit and enjoyed…

August 23 Distance: 20.5 miles | Ascent: 6280′ | Descent: 1860′ Mile marker: 1025.2 Lunch: J – cilantro pesto pasta (B+), A – Indian curry (A) Dinner: J – coconut carrot dahl (B+), A – cilantro pesto pasta (B+) When our watch alarms chimed at 3am, we rolled over, slammed our energy drinks, and started…

August 22 Distance: 21.2 miles | Ascent: 2610′ | Descent: 5630′ Mile marker: 1004.8 Lunch: J – mac n cheese and taco (A, B+), A – spaghetti mac (B+) Dinner: J – chili and rice (B), A – coconut curry dahl (A) After getting to camp in the dark last night, we slept in an…

August 21 Distance: 26.4 miles | Ascent: 3670′ | Descent: 5550′ Mile marker: 957.1 Lunch: J – tomato pasta (B), A – tomato pasta (B-) Dinner: J&A – the finest selection of protein/candy bars we had (C+) Only five-ish miles to California! Fortunately, the border was mostly downhill, so we had an easy morning getting…

August 20 Distance: 21.5 miles | Ascent: 4680′ | Descent: 2570′ Mile marker: 957.1 Lunch: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (A, A+) Dinner: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (A-, A+) The lodge had a breakfast buffet! We treated ourselves to some cereal and a bagel and juice! Jason also…

August 19 Distance: 32.1 miles | Ascent: 5010′ | Descent: 5450′ Mile marker: 935.6 Lunch: J&A – Mexican surprise (C+, C) Dinner: J – Thai red curry and spaghetti mac (A, A-), A – jambalaya (B+) We hit the trail by 5:30 am in the dark. As we walked in the dark, our headlamps caught…

August 18 Distance: 27.0 miles | Ascent: 2720′ | Descent: 4200′ Mile marker: 903.9 Lunch: J&A – mac n cheese with pulled pork (A, A) Dinner: J – unstuffed peppers (C+), A – taco (B+) We were expecting to wake up to a wet tent from the condensation near the pond. Pleasantly, the tent and…

August 17 Distance: 24.6 miles | Ascent: 3100′ | Descent: 2850′ Mile marker: 876.8 Lunch: J – jambalaya (A+), A – spaghetti (A+) Dinner: J&A – coconut carrot dahl (B+, A) Today was remarkably difficult. We both just felt tired. Perhaps it was the overcast sky, but the day seemed to just drag on. Or…