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Unreal views from the last 3 days on trail. #pct #pct2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #washington #pnw #thetrek #tuellertrails https://www.instagram.com/p/CU-gArqL6YPzu3KmSf4me69BTVrtgTwGjHqhDQ0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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Why the PCT?
When I was 18, my coworker and I traded books for fun. I don’t even remember what book I gave her, but she gave me a copy of Wild by Cheryl Strayed, about a woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in the 90′s. I loved the book because not only was it about this great adventure of the solitary trek that she took, but it was also a story of healing, a search for meaning and the strength to move forward after losing someone that she loved.
The author lost her mom to cancer when she was 18 or 19 years old, and it came on very suddenly. Within a month of being diagnosed, her mom had died, and the suddenness of the event really wrecked her and her siblings and step father. For years afterwards, she struggled with a drug and a sex addiction, got married and divorced, and just felt lost (The quoted sections ahead are all shared from her book).
“I was a terrible believer in things, but I was also a terrible nonbeliever in things. I was as searching as I was skeptical. I didn't know where to put my faith, or if there was such a place, or even what the word faith meant, in all of it's complexity. Everything seemed to be possibly potent and possibly fake.”
Randomly, she comes across a guidebook all about the PCT, and on a whim decides that she needs to do something different with her life. So she sells everything that she owns, goes to REI and buys a bunch of backpacking gear, and sets out to hike this trail with absolutely no backpacking experience. At the beginning her pack was so heavy that she called it “Monster” and could barely lift it. But she set out and hiked 1,100 miles in 94 days, reading, journaling and taking in this brutally hard experience. She conquered her fears and achieved this incredible thing that most people don’t even imagine doing.
“Fear begets fear. Power begets power. I willed myself to beget power. And it wasn't long before I actually wasn't afraid.”
It was this incredible journey that she undertook that actually helped her move on with her life and deal with her Mom’s death, perhaps in a way that almost nothing else could have. I loved it. It’s an incredible story with so much beauty and wisdom, and it inspired me like nothing else ever has. After reading it, I knew that I wanted to have my own experience and hike the PCT for myself.
“I had diverged, digressed, wandered, and become wild. I didn't embrace the word as my new name because it defined negative aspects of my circumstances or life, but because even in my darkest days—those very days in which I was naming myself—I saw the power of the darkness. Saw that, in fact, I had strayed and that I was a stray and that from the wild places my straying had brought me, I knew things I couldn't have known before.”
I had briefly mentioned this “wild” ambition to Landon, but we didn’t start seriously talking about it until Spring of 2018 when I was finishing up nursing school. I told Landon that before we had kids, i wanted to hike the PCT. Always down for an adventure (especially of the outdoor variety) and being the supportive husband that he is, he enthusiastically replied “Ok, lets do it!”
So we sat down and started researching what it would take to turn this dream into a reality. We watched Youtube videos (we reccommend Darwin on The Trail and Homemade Wanderlust) and read blog posts of hikers who had hiked the trail. We looked up all of the different options for backpacking gear and decided which pieces we wanted for our own kits, and opened up a savings account to start socking away money for the excursion.
Our original plan was to hike in 2020, and though we had saved up enough money and had all of our gear, we ended up cancelling our thru hike that year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Things were very uncertain in April of 2020, and many of the small communities that are along the PCT came out with statements asking for hikers to please cancel their hikes to eliminate the spread of the virus, especially in those trail communities whose residents are primarily elderly and do not have access to much healthcare close by. Shortly after, the Pacfiic Crest Trail Association also came out with a statement parroting the same sentiments and asking hikers to respect the wishes of the trail communities and please cancel their hikes, which the majority of hikers did. Even though we were bummed, we felt like cancelling our thru hike was the right thing to do, and we were able to spend a lot of time doing self supported backpacking trips that summer and continue practicing on those trips and dialing in our gear choices.
Fortunately for us, we have one more window of opportunity to hike the PCT this year in 2021. Landon is in between his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs, and doesn’t have any obligations until Fall semester of this year, at which point we anticipate him having to leave the trail a little bit early to go to graduate school in Colorado, where I will join him shortly after completing the trail. I have been working as a travel nurse over the last year and completed my most recent assignment in March, which gave us about a month to travel home, see our friends and family, pack up for grad school, and prepare our resupply boxes for the trail this year. We are both very fortunate to have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine and we are feeling much more optimistic about the safety of hiking the PCT this year, though we will still continue to wear masks in towns. As I write this, I’m sitting at the table in Landon’s Aunt and Uncle’s house in San Diego, where we’ve been resting for a week before we start our thru hike on Monday, April 19th (they’ve been kind enough to host us while Landon recovers from running 62 miles from his latest ultra marathon endeavor).
We are so happy to finally be taking this journey together and to be realizing a goal and a dream of mine for the past 10 years! It’s going to be an amazing adventure and we can’t wait to start. I’ll be posting here at least once a week writing about our experiences, and Landon might be convinced to write an occasional post here too. Feel free to comment below or ask us any questions at the bottom of this post! And thanks for reading and supporting us. Just 2,653 miles to go!
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We’re 3 weeks into our hike so far, here are a few things I have learned
- Wake up EARLY in the desert. Because it will get hotter than hell and you will die of heatstroke if you hike in the heat of the day.
- Take your shoes (foot prisons) off at every opportunity. Your feet will thank you
- The higher you go in elevation, the harder the hiking is, the less hot it becomes and the more beautiful the scenery is. The desert has its own kind of beauty, but being in an alpine environment with lots of trees and the smell of sun warmed pine needles is my favorite place to be (besides a comfortable bed watching TV and eating snacks, of course). We’ve had several days of hiking where we’ve done over 5k feet of elevation, and I find that I am particularly prone to swearing and exhaustion on those days 😂. But the incredible views do make up for it somewhat! It’s all part of the experience.
- Ibuprofen (Vitamin I) and Benadryl are a hikers best friend.
- Pack out fresh food whenever you can. Vegetables and fruit have never tasted so good.
- Kindness is EVERYWHERE. We’ve received food, cold drinks, rides, camp chairs to sit in and many other kindnesses from trail angels, other hikers, family members and random people. Everything is appreciated.
Speaking of kindness, we spent several hours one day waiting out the heat of the day in a small hut next to the wind farm made for hot, suffering PCT hikers, with a cooler of cold water for us to enjoy. It was 95* even in the shade 🥵. We did not leave early enough that day, but it gave me the chance to wait out the heat and look at my phone 😂.
Here’s some highlights/points of interest from the last 100+ miles
- We heard a great story from Trail Angel who gave us a ride out of Julian, who heard it from a different hiker that she gave a ride to. So the hiker was hiking down the trail (early on, around mile 15) when he hears a voice say "hello". He looks down and sees a guy laying in the bushes in a sleeping bag with mud on his face. "Oh, uh... hello" the hiker says. The man responds "Would you like to be blessed with magic sand?" And holds up a pile of sand in his hand. The guy wasn't sure if this dude was on drugs, was going to throw the sand in his face or what, and he's contemplating how to side step this very weird man when the dude stands up and reveals that he is completely naked and says "You should really use mud. It makes the best sunscreen". Glad that it wasn’t me, poor guy.
- We went through a small town in Warner Springs who had a gas station and some picnic tables, so basically a hiker haven. We spent a couple of hours eating gas station food, and I gave another hiker a shot in the butt 😂. Nursing skills always coming in handy out here. Landon consistently says that the gas station hot dog was one of the highlights of the trail.
- My feet are MUCH better than they were. Getting inserts and some foot compression socks were a game changer for me. I now can walk many more miles without having to stop so often to roll out the golf balls on my feet. Despite this, hiking is still hard and we still find new soreness, aches and pains every day. But I do think that we are toughening up and able to do more miles than we did the first week. My blisters are mostly hardened now, and we have done as many as 18 miles in a day at this point.
- Water can be very scarce, and you have to plan out your water carries very carefully. One water source in this last stretch was a big water tank a few hundred feet from “Mikes Place”. Mikes Place is near the trail and has a big water cistern for hikers to go and get water, but they also let hikers camp and party there and sometimes feed them. There were some comments on Guthooks (the hiking navigation app we use) about how Mikes Place was kind of sketchy and borderline sexist, but we went down there with our hiker friends Sarah and Clyde, hoping for some food. Mikes place was interesting to say the least. It was a run down one story house that looked rather shabbily built, with a blanket as a wall in one section. It’s in a few acres of property, and there are all sorts of random things in front of the house. An assortment of stools and chairs, some lawn games like croquet and darts, a fire pit, a few coolers, and then even more random things like a sword stuck in a stone (a replica like in the movie). There was also an old painted car on one end, a shabby outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven and a greasy grill and lots of bowls and plates and utensils, and lots of other items spread out across the property. It seemed a little hoarder-y to us. They had Johnny cash playing in the background which kind of fit the vibe of the place. There were a few hikers there eating already, and a more stout gentleman wearing a t shirt, shorts and flip flops whose name was Scott. He said that there was no food left but that we could cook our own if we wanted, and we were like "ummm, sure?"
So he brought out the ingredients for breakfast burritos and we got to cracking eggs and slicing veggies and fired up the very greasy outdoor grill, and within about 15 minutes we were eating breakfast burritos. Scott was a little weird. He would pop in and out of where we were cooking and then disappear again, I guess he was nice enough but he just gave off a bit of a weird vibe. Apparently Mike lives in San Diego and Scott is a caretaker of his place for now, along with another guy named Spirit who we met a little later as we ate. He was a older guy, with long white hair in a ponytail and beard, wearing a dirty green zip hoodie with what looked to be a hand painted "VVR" on it, jeans and chacos. He chatted with us briefly, he is a hiker who has hiked the John Muir Trail every year since 2014 and then decided to go work at VVR, a resort in the Sierras, after visiting it so many times. He said he was headed up there in a few weeks. Anyways, we are our burritos, washed our plates, said thank you and left to go filter water from the tank up above, leaving some money in the donation box as a thank you. The food was good but I definitely wouldn't have felt comfortable being there by myself, Mike’s Place was a little...dirt baggy, but I’m glad I got to experience it all the same. Apparently Scott is hiking now, and showed up at the campground in Idyllwild a few days later, drunk as a skunk and vomited all over 😂.
- We’re 10% done with the trail! Which really puts into perspective how long this hike actually is 😂. We had heard that our trail legs would start to come in after 3 weeks, but both Landon and I agree that we’re still quite sore and wake up with different aches and pains every day. We are definitely running a major calorie deficit at this point, burning upwards of 4K calories per day, burning much more than we are eating. This is ok with us, as we could both lose 30 Lbs or more and still be in a healthy weight range! Our friend Jamie, who hiked the trail years ago with her husband, says that we are losing our “town fat”. But we both agree that our clothes are feeling a bit looser than they were before. Who knew that 3 weeks of near continuous intense exercise would do that? We are slowly getting more fit, so hopefully those trail legs will come in soon here in the next few weeks.
- Remember the girl I talked about in our last post a few weeks ago, who woke up our friend at 5 AM and told him that she had no pants? Well, he came across her again a few days ago. She was topless, sitting in a stream in her underwear, playing a ukelele. And much to his chagrin, she remembered him! 😂 Not exactly a meet cute.
- Though there are definitely some eccentric people out here, 95% of the hikers and people we meet are wonderful. We have met the most incredible people as we hike, and are grateful to have made some good friends. They say that trauma bonds you, and all of the hikers have similar trauma out on trail 😂. We all know how hard this is, how beautiful, and have experienced first hand the heavy packs we carry after filling up our food and water, and the different aches and pains that accompany hiking day after day. Ive seen some pretty gnarly feet 🦶among the hikers out here, covered in blisters and cuts, with blackened toenails and foot fungus. Our feet are constantly getting beaten up! I’m glad to know that it isn’t just us experiencing the aches and pains. Ive always been a bit of a social butterfly, and after a year of isolation due to the Covid pandemic, the extrovert in me is absolutely loving the social aspect of our hike.
We will be getting off trail for four days this next weekend to go to a family wedding and sadly, a funeral as well. We were saddened to hear that Landon’s Grandfather has passed away, after suffering from Alzheimer’s for many years in the last years of his life. I never knew him before the Alzheimer’s had affected him, but I was told that he was smart as a whip, very funny, and a great story teller. Landon has fond memories of his grandfather, going on family trips and hearing his many stories. Even after the disease progression, Arlin was a very sweet and gentle man who was happy to give you a hug and listen to you talk, even if he didn’t quite remember who you were. We feel very lucky to have been able to spend some time with him and with Landon’s Grandmother the week before the trail, and he will be greatly missed by all. We are looking forward to getting off trail for a few days to reunite with our family to both celebrate and mourn together.
Thanks to everyone for the love and support in our PCT journey so far, this has been the most incredible experience of our lives so far and we’re grateful for every second, no matter how tough, of this great adventure.
- The Tueller’s
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T-minus less than 2 weeks to getting to the Canadian Border. I have loved this thru hike, but I will also love ending it. I cannot wait for what’s next. Also, I miss my people. #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #hikertrash #washington #alpinelakeswilderness #tuellertrails #thetrek #pnw #pacificnorthwest (at Alpine Lakes Wilderness) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkxdZ5BGM0m5jP7gyvcMNQZHwx7aaKqy6dAUY0/?utm_medium=tumblr
#pct#pct2021#pctclassof2021#pacificcresttrail#thruhike#hikertrash#washington#alpinelakeswilderness#tuellertrails#thetrek#pnw#pacificnorthwest
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We ❤️ Town Days. #pct #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #tuellertrails #hikertrash #kernville #thetrek (at Kernville, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CP2EtYrhNyMiP2woyQ5MjMiSWpflGRewHyZ2PQ0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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Welp, that’s a wrap. He hiked 1500 miles on the PCT and refused to cut his hair or beard the whole time (swipe to see the hair growth progression). He’s off to grad school in Colorado and I already miss him like crazy. Best summer ever. #pct #pct2021 #pacificcresttrail #pctclassof2021 #thruhike #tuellertrails (at Eugene, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSsJ8HTJe13saz7McGxWCVZwP3Dpm9PRB8TiiI0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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Day 14 Hiked 10 miles and hitched into Idyllwild where we will rest today and tomorrow. After 7 days of hiking, we were finally able to shower, wash clothes, eat real food and hang out with some other great hikers. We met the mayor of Idyllwild who is a dog! His name is @mayormax1 and he is the goodest politician. #pct2021 #pct #hikertrash #tuellertrails #idyllwild #towndayyay (at Idyllwild, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/COZpbYaBaO85OyMdXIk_ukGtZHtT-uvtpUCJos0/?igshid=1w90w5qa0qd70
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The end is near. Just ask this goblin. #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #hikertrash #thruhike #washington #pnw #tuellertrails (at North Cascades) https://www.instagram.com/p/CT_s_4ULJKVUV06fBHLj-4eeeCu1XcXtsa8GTE0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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This last section from Stevens Pass to Stehekin was pretty challenging. Multiple days of rain and nasty weather meant packing up a wet tent in my wet rain jacket and putting on my wet socks into my wet shoes. The terrain was also pretty gnarly and held many, many switchbacks going up large mountains for the entire day, pretty much every day. It was muddy and slippery, and we all went over about a thousand fallen trees. One hiker broke her ankle going over a blown down tree after slipping in the mud, and had to be air lifted out. Needless to say, It really wore me out. But here are the good things! As there always are: 1) I’m 5 days away from the Canadian Border 2) I saw some old friends in this section and met some new ones 3) I met this 5 year old named little foot who is hiking the PCT with her parents and I can’t even fathom how cool that is 4) The Marmots continue to make appearances 5) Damnit, it’s still beautiful! Cheers to almost being at the end 🍻 #pct2021 #pct #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #washington #pnw #thruhike #hikertrash #thetrek #hikersofinstagram #tuellertrails https://www.instagram.com/p/CT0cbs2PjW8YYCE6iU0R8G1rUHRs1e5qLSyLOk0/?utm_medium=tumblr
#pct2021#pct#pctclassof2021#pacificcresttrail#washington#pnw#thruhike#hikertrash#thetrek#hikersofinstagram#tuellertrails
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Beautiful, wet, cold, rainy, and finally some much needed sun. Washington in September is a finicky, temperamental lad. #pct #pacificcresttrail #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificnorthwest #pnw #thruhike #thetrek #tuellertrails https://www.instagram.com/p/CT0ag2pPBZ7ftpnzcPM4CjdUyU9q6bBmN8unuk0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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I’ve had more trail magic in Washington in the past 2.5 weeks than I have for the last 4 months combined. The people who take the time and effort to do stuff like this for tired, dirty and hungry hikers are literal saints. #trailmagic #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #hikertrash #washington #alpinelakeswilderness #tuellertrails #thetrek (at Snoqualmie Pass, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkyGyHh1zxHDyFfnDwIp2wcvJQy-IofRWany00/?utm_medium=tumblr
#trailmagic#pct#pct2021#pctclassof2021#pacificcresttrail#thruhike#hikertrash#washington#alpinelakeswilderness#tuellertrails#thetrek
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I’ve had more trail magic in Washington in the past 2.5 weeks than I have for the last 4 months combined. The people who take the time and effort to do stuff like this for tired, dirty and hungry hikers are literal saints. #trailmagic #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #hikertrash #washington #alpinelakeswilderness #tuellertrails #thetrek (at Snoqualmie Pass, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkyGyHh1zxHDyFfnDwIp2wcvJQy-IofRWany00/?utm_medium=tumblr
#trailmagic#pct#pct2021#pctclassof2021#pacificcresttrail#thruhike#hikertrash#washington#alpinelakeswilderness#tuellertrails#thetrek
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The “wow” factor in the section from Snoqualamie Pass to Steven’s Pass was unbelievable. Despite some very strenuous miles, this section was pretty amazing. #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #hikertrash #washington #alpinelakeswilderness #tuellertrails #thetrek https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkwDi4BfQVdKj9Iqa4Q529sX3MkMpWexXSrFg0/?utm_medium=tumblr
#pct#pct2021#pctclassof2021#pacificcresttrail#thruhike#hikertrash#washington#alpinelakeswilderness#tuellertrails#thetrek
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These guys really got my goat. #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #tuellertrails #mountaingoat (at Alpine Lakes Wilderness) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkhiwsvgEG2gOmXgo17AU7UnN32ZztBZGLU3Y0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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White Pass to Snoqualamie Pass ~ This section held some very beautiful days and one very cold, rainy and difficult day. The cold ones make me appreciate the warm, sunny days even more. The terrain is getting tough here in Washington and I’m pushing myself hard to finish soon. I’m not going to be taking many breaks from now until the end of the trail, but we’re less than 300 miles till the end and I’m ready to finish 🤞 #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #thetrek #tuellertrails https://www.instagram.com/p/CTaueFXvm1TsGz-WbrLQ-nozsdOiiv8kIv2ZGU0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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2300 Mile Mark! (About 1800 for me!!) #pct #pct2021 #pctclassof2021 #pacificcresttrail #thruhike #tuellertrails https://www.instagram.com/p/CTN4N51s73L98vToN5pRynkoCTE2FVSeu_Fj8s0/?utm_medium=tumblr
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