Day 128

‌10 August 2019

Mi 2147.5 - 2151

I woke up quite early looking to resupply and leave town as fast as possible. Alas fresh food and hot coffee convinced me to stay a little more than planned. After getting food at the local supermarket and chatting with other thru hikers I crossed the bridge of gods which marks the border between Oregon and Washington. If you have watched Wild directed by Jean-Marc Vallée featuring Reese Witherspoon this is where she ends her hike.

The climb out of Cascade locks was full of ripe blackberries which happily slowed me down. I decided to call it a day a few miles in to enjoy a nearby lake and went to sleep looking forward to what Washington had to offer.

Day 129

‌11 August 2019

Mi 2151 - 2182.7

I got up a little late and was on trail at 8am. Washington lives up to its reputation so far. Relatively steep hills, overgrown trail and humidity were a constant throughout today.

I met quite a lot of southbounders, mostly section hikers probably as you have to start a bit earlier if you want to do the whole PCT southbound and avoid serious snow in the Sierras.

I camped near a river just before a big climb that I’ll hit early tomorrow morning.

Day 130

‌12 August 2019

Mi 2182.7 - 2219

As soon as I woke up I headed towards a nearby established campground which happened to have the cleanest pit toilets on the trail so far. I also got rid of my trash and started the climb at 8:30am.

Halfway through the climb I saw Sherpa and was glad to run into him again. Unfortunately he had just broken his water filter so he was essentially just playing Russian roulette with all sorts of disease like I was a few days ago.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful; I found a spot near a creek and stopped at around 8pm.

Day 131

‌13 August 2019

Mi 2219 - 2265.1

One of my biggest day on trail. I wanted to get some big miles in to reach White pass tomorrow reasonably early so I was on trail by 7am.

Halfway through the day I met a bunch of hikers with lamas hiking to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease. They were really excited about their project and shared stories about their work.

At 7pm I still wanted to do another 25km or so and I got just the right boost for that: trail magic! « Stark naked » whom I had met in late April and had gotten off trail due to an injury missed being out hiking so went up here to do some trail magic. A few stories and beers later I was back on my feet ready to tackle these last miles.

I set up camp near a pond at midnight after almost 18 hours, exhausted but happy to have done it.

Day 132

‌14 August 2019

Mi 2265 - 2295

A much harder day than I thought. It was "only" 30 miles to my next resupply spot, White pass, but a lot of up and downs on exposed ridges. Knife’s edge is only a few miles but with very steep drop offs on either side of the trail, absolutely stunning!

At about 3pm I dropped my iPhone, earbuds and sunglasses in a creek while collecting water. My phone was fine since they are now mostly waterproof but I was sure that the earbuds would be destroyed. I let them dry out on my pack for an hour and worked again! I use my earbuds quite a lot for music, podcasts or audiobooks so it was great to realize they survived a full dive in water.

I reached White pass at 6pm and hitched to Packwood, a small and remote town where I needed to fill some paperwork for my entry into Canada. While getting pizza I met a nice dude travelling around looking to establish partnerships with several micro breweries. It's pretty amazing to see people's face lit up when telling them about the PCT. A lot of them wished they could do it and I always say that it's much easier than we think you just have to take a leap of faith. He was really interested in the PCT and wished me luck for the last stretch.

Day 133

‌15 August 2019

Mi 2295 - 2307.5

After sorting out the paperwork needed for my entree into Canada I headed back to White pass at 1pm. I got a hitch by a section hiker who had just finished her last PCT section! She was super stocked to have completed it. She also told me about her other adventures including going from the East to the West coast of the US on horseback in the 90s.

I didn’t feel that motivated as it usually happens after being in town for a little bit so I didn’t hike much. I did get some crisps from day hikers before I set up camp.

Day 134

‌16 August 2019

Mi 2307.5 - 2337.5

Some stunning views today again. Washington is starting to become my favorite section of the trail so far. Not as hard as the Sierras but just as beautiful; not as easy as Oregon but doing big days is still possible. A nice balance. Being close to Seattle I saw a lot of day hikers including a teenager with a sniper rifle (probably air rifle / pellets) which surprised me but hey I'm in Murica' after all. I also saw a bunch of people with Canada tees or hats, I’m getting close!

20 miles in the day my right foot started hurting really bad so I stopped earlier than I wanted. I don't want it to get worse and hope a good night of sleep will fix it, there is not much else I can do.

While setting up camp I broke two stakes, my mattress and ripped apart my waterproof stuff bag for my sleeping back. What a delightful way to end the day!

Day 135

‌17 August 2019

Mi 2337.5 - 2373.4

I woke up with my left foot hurting but the right one was fine so I guess by some weird voodoo trick my body transfered the pain from one foot to the other but it was manageable so I got on trail. I tried to repair parts of my broken gear without much success, turns out trying to McGyver-fix a ripped stuff sack with old and wet tape doesn't work that well.

After four hours I walked into an huckleberry paradise. Fresh fruit is a luxury while hiking so it was great being able to grab some just a few feet away from the trail. Shortly after I got some trail magic in the form of hotdogs, apples and coke! Two parents were out here supporting their daughter who is section hiking and decided to provide trail magic to other hikers as well, awesome! I got to know more a group of four from Canada and the US I have been leap frogging around for a few days. They are really nice and we'll probably finish on the same day.

I stopped at 9pm close to Snoqualmie pass which I hope I'll be able to reach tomorrow.

Day 136

‌18 August 2019

Mi 2373.4 - 2400.4

I was running low on food so after 20 miles when I reached Snoqualmie pass, a ski resort just off an interstate, I was really happy. I grabbed a few (read 5) massive slices of pizza as well as some coffee, recharged my stuff and resupplied. This is probably the most expensive resupply I have done on trail so far. It literally consisted of only pop tarts to last me for the next two days and cost me about 40 bucks.

On my way out I got some tasty curry after the owner lured me in with a free beer, it was really good though so props to him. The climb after Snoqualmie was tough but with some nice views and lakes to end the day.

Day 137

‌19 August 2019

Mi 2400.4 -2430.6

Today was kinda hard, lots of up and downs through burned areas. I met up again with brian aka "Cowboy" whom I had seen two months earlier in Etna while waiting for my sister. He skipped a stretch in Oregon and almost quit but is determined to finish Washington. We shared our plans in terms of miles per day and approximate camp locations hoping to be able to do this last stretch together.

I did a little less than I hoped for but I was knackered by mile 30 so called it then.

Day 138

‌20 August 2019

Mi 2430.6 - 2462.6

I hiked in clouds for the first half of the day. It feels like hiking in the desert where the wind shapes the scenery except it changes much faster in clouds. I met "Muchka" and another dude whom I forgot his name, both are sort of hiking with "Cowboy".

On another note I am over pop tarts. The sugar overdose is too much. It's the only food I have at the moment so I'll just have to close my eyes and believe really strongly that I'm eating a delicious pastry when in fact I'm eating my 7th pop tart of the day.

I camped two miles before Stevens pass, near some ski lifts.

Day 139

‌21 August 2019

Mi 2462.6 - 2481.8

I woke up at 6am and got an easy hitch to Skykomish from a local on his way to cut wood for the winter. Skykomish consists of a gas station, a few houses and a deli so not much but enough to resupply for the next few days and recharge my batteries.

While drinking coffee and eating copious amounts of expensive pastries I met another local who used to live in Seattle and got rich through real estate. He now spends his time doing charity work and taking care of his property. He told me he founded the construction and maintenance of 6 schools in Asia and Africa and plans to at least double that. He had some really interesting thoughts on philanthropy and education in general.

I was back on trail at 1pm and it started raining a bit, not enough to justify putting on rain pants and jacket but just enough to soak my backpack.

Day 140

‌22 August 2019

Mi 2481.8 - 2516.2

30 minutes into the day I slipped and twisted my right knee. I could not move my knee for about a minute and thought my hike was over. I started tearing up thinking how stupid it was to get injured so close to the end. After the initial shock it started feeling a little better and a couple hours later it felt fine.

Later in the day the sun came out so I dried out most of my gear. I had lunch with Muchka, Cowboy and a bunch of others. The atmosphere was mixed with excitment and sadness as we are all realizing this incredible parenthesis in our lives is about to end.

Day 141

23 August 2019

Mi 2516.2 - 2552.9

Today started with a big downill section followed by four miles of steep switchback up a mostly overgrown trail. I was rewarded with rain and clouds at the top but it cleared relatively quickly to reveal some nice views. In the next valley I saw several jet fighters, some doing upside down turns and all sorts of crazy maneuvers. They were really close and it was kinda surreal in the middle of nowhere to see and then hear these jets fully sending it through this valley at full speed.

There are a lot of marmots on trail and they aren't scared of hikers so I got a bunch of them to become models for a little while. The views are spectacular and despite some tough terrain I am really enjoying this section of the trail.

I set up camp in a nice clearing and it was a big mistake. After laying down I heard a ton of mice crawling all over my tent. I can handle snakes, spiders and deers or even bears but for some reason mice rub me the wrong way. I turned on my headlamp and saw four mice munching on food scraps on my backpack. I couldn't bear the noises so I threw my bag 20 meters away from my tent and let the mice do their thing, just far away from me this time. The worst were probably the ones on the outer second wall of my tent, their little feet making all sorts of weird noise on the stretched fabric.

Day 142

24 August 2019

Mi 2552.9 - 2589.3

I got lost for an hour in the morning after taking a wrong turn. The PCT is so well marked that I think this is only the second time I got off of it by mistake since I started.

I saw Chef and the others (the group I have been sort of hiking around for the last couple of days) probably for the last time as they decided to head into Stehekin and I skipped it. We congraluted each others, shared contact details and that was it. The best and hardest thing about the PCT is meeting people, it's amazing but the vast majority of these encounters are ephemeral.

I entered the North Cascades National Park shortly after, not much difference from previous miles except a lot more rules and established campsites that I couldn't go to since my PCT permit does not allow for camping here. After reaching the northern boundary of the park I met section hikers one of whom already thru hiked the PCT, we chatted for a bit they congratulated me and we went our separate ways.

Day 143

25 August 2019

Mi 2589.3 - 2591.6

I woke up early in order to make it to Mazama, a small town just off Rainy pass. I needed to sort out paperwork (again) and get food for the last stretch of the PCT. Some day hikers left beers in a cooler for PCT hikers just near the road and altough it was 7am I obliged and cracked open a cold one.

I made it to Mazama and decided to wait until tomorrow before I head back out as I still haven't received the necessary papers to enter Canada.

Day 144

26 August 2019

Mi 2591.6 - 2617

I spent the morning in Mazama, a small town serving as gateaway for Seattleite to enjoy beautiful hiking trails. While small Mazama has one of the best bakery I have seen on trail with some really good bread and all sorts of fresh pastries. I spent way too much money there but it was all worth it.

I left Mazama at 1pm and hitched back to Rainy pass thanks to a retired engineer spending half the year in a camping car travelling around the USA. After an hour on trail I got stung by two yellow jackets. I'm not allergic so I was fine but it did hurt for the rest of the day. It felt like someone constantly pinching me at two different spots on my right leg.

The PCT was on some nice ridges here, blessing me with nice scenery. I almost night hiked but decided it was stupid to end the PCT in the dark and saved the last miles for tomorrow where I could truly enjoy them.

Day 145

27 August 2019

Mi 2617 - 2653.1 (+4mi)

My last day on trail, and what a day it was! I left camp at 6am and enjoyed the last minutes of a beautiful sunrise on an exposed ridge.

At 1pm I heard noises on my right and looked up to realize I was a few meters away from a fairly big black bear. Unlike other bears I have seen on trail this one wasn't as skittish, he just chilled around for a little and we looked at each other. It was a pretty special moment, one I waited on for most of this trip and I finally got to experience it on the last day.

I saw a lot of thru hikers who had just finished, tagged the Canadian border, and were heading back to Harts pass where they could hitch to Seatlle as they didn't want to enter the land of maple syrup and hockey. Every time I saw one we looked at each other and in an instant knew what the other had gone through and how much it took to get here. Sure congratulations were exchanged but words can't really compare to that look, a look mixed with satisfaction, excitment and sadness.

The last few miles were emotional as I looked back at all the moments and hardships that led to the end of this adventure. I turned around a switchback for the last time at 7pm and tagged the monument, I couldn't believe I made it. When I first started out Canada was the goal but I was fine with just hiking as long as I liked and didn't really think I would make it. In fact I didn't apply for my Canada entry permit until 10 days before reaching the border. I thought either boredom, an injury or any of the 1000 reasons people quit a through hike of the PCT would stop me from achieving this seemingly unreachable goal. But there I was standing with one foot in the USA and another in Canada.

A couple from germany was also there and we shared stories about our favorite moments of the trail. They still had 700 miles to go as they skipped sections of the trail but were really happy with how far they had made it. They were filming a documentary so interviewed and filmed me as I reached the border. I will put a link to the documentary once it's released (probably wont be for another year or two since they have a ton of footage).

I hiked another four miles in Canada and set up camp for the last time just four miles away from the road that would take me to Vancouver back to civilization.

Day 146

28 August 2019

4 miles

After a quick four miles I reached the Manning Park resort, a popular destination for Canadians to enjoy cross country skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. I got a hitch pretty much immediatly from twins in their 60s who section hiked Washington. I was also with two other PCT hikers and we talked about our hike, shared stories and discussed how weird it'll be to go back to normal life after such an extraordinary experience.

I made it to Vancouver at 1pm, walked around for a bit, ate a Poutine for the first time and went to my hotel early as my flight is at 5am tomorrow.

I'm going to write a more in depth article soon about my thoughts on this whole experience while it's still somewhat fresh as well as release some stats and graphs on my pace, the money I spent etc. In the meantime thanks for reading this blog and following me on my adventure, I had a blast and hope you had too while reading it.

If you are considering hiking the PCT or any trail for that matter, do it! It's hard but oh so worth it.

Day 113

‌26 July 2019

Mi 1718.6 - 1724.4

I left Ashland at 2pm and got an Uber to the trailhead. Hitchhiking is great but sometimes you just need something fast and reliable. Just a few miles from Ashland a wildfire started around 10am and the smoke quickly reached Ashland. This was my first time hiking in smoke and it’s the absolute worst. Constant thirst, taste of ash and reduced visibility were on the menu for today. It felt like being near a giant barbecue but one without meat and every time you step away from it it follows you.

I soon realized packing food for 245 miles was a big mistake. My pack has never been heavier making every step harder. I called it a day just a few miles in, trying to eat as much as possible since the weight is really slowing me down.

Day 114

‌27 July 2019

Mi 1724.4 - 1750.4

More smoke today even though it’s not as bad as yesterday. My pack is still incredibly heavy. I don’t know what I was thinking back in Ashland.

I found a nice established campground and decided to stop there for the night, surrounded by day hikers and weekend campers.

Day 115

‌28 July 2019

Mi 1750.4 - 1785

Once again and it’s seems to be the theme so far my pack is slowing me down. My shoulders are taking a beating and I’m not doing as many miles as I’d like.

Oregon is known for its mosquitoes and I’m starting to realize it’s not a myth. Literal clouds of them are following me as I hike making breaks not enjoyable so I just keep going trying to outpace them. Mosquitoes can go at about 3.5mph which is just a tiny bit more than my average pace.

I settled on a campsite near a lake which I quickly regretted since it turned out to be a mosquito stronghold. I set up my tent in record time feeling like one of those F1 pit stop crew member.

Day 116

‌29 July 2019

Mi 1785 - 1820

My pack is finally feeling normal again. The great mosquito war of 2019 is still raging though. DEET is ineffective against them so I just use my rain gear and sweat profusely. I reached Crater lake resort at 8pm which consists of a cafeteria and a small store and serves as a getaway for visitors to the Crater Lake National Park.

I shared a campsite with other PCT hikers and went to sleep quickly, exhausted after a day of fighting off hordes of mosquitoes.

Day 117

‌30 July 2019

Mi 1820 - 1856

Crater lake was beautiful! It’s apparently a collapsed volcanoe turned lake which sounds weird but it was really nice. There was tons of tourists and day hikers on trail which was a bit overwhelming at times but worth it in the end.

I met a day hiker and when he figured out I was from France he thanked me for the Tour de France. I obviously have nothing to do with the Tour but was happy to take credit for it.

Day 118

‌31 July 2019

Mi 1856 - 1890

Another standard day on trail. I woke up at the usual 7am and was on trail at 8am until 9:30pm. I’ve been hiking with Sherpa, a hiker from Israel living in Germany now. He’s really nice and we have the same pace so it works out great.

Day 119

‌1 August 2019

Mi 1890 - 1925

I hiked 17 miles before 1pm to reach Shelter Cove resort, a resort just 1.5 miles off the PCT. I got some hot food and beers with other hikers and was back on trail at 2:30pm. The trail doesn’t wait!

I set up quickly fighting off mosquitoes, looking forward to taking a zero in Bend in a couple of days.

Day 120

‌2 August 2019

Mi 1925 - 1957.2

Not much happened today. I took a nice midday break with Sherpa and camped at a pretty incredible spot with a view of the Sisters wilderness.

Day 121

‌3 August 2019

Mi 1957.2 - 1983.2

I reached McKenzie pass at 3pm looking to hitch into Bend for a zero, get new shoes and eat hot food. The hitch was a long one (1h15) and fortunately I got picked up by an incredibly nice local and had a really engaging conversation about America, PTSD and cannabis for the entire ride. She was a veteran and had really insightful anecdotes about her life in the military and the impact it had on her.

After she dropped me off I got new shoes. I have been wearing the same pair for 1300 miles now which is way more than what is usually recommended for trail runners (about 500 miles).

I then headed to my favorite grocery store in America, Market of choice and got some actual cheese and bread. On my way out someone noticed I was a PCT hiker and offered to pay for whatever I wanted inside the store! He came back a little later with two slices of pizza and some strawberries. He didn’t ask for anything in return and was on his way before I could blink. The people in Oregon and particularly Bend are so nice it feels surreal. I got stopped twice in the street vu people interested in my hike. It’s just great.

Day 122

‌4 August 2019

Just a rest day in Bend. My motel was within walking distance of a Chipotle and Five guys so I stuffed myself with copious amount of food there.

Day 123

‌5 August 2019

Mi 1983.1 - 1997.1

I left Bend 1pm and was on trail again happy to tackle the last part of Oregon. The first few miles were on lava rocks, not the best but having new shoes made a big difference. It’s like I have actual shoes and soles now!

I reached Big lake youth camp towards the end of the afternoon. It’s a religious summer camp that has a very sweet setup for hikers with a building dedicated to us with laundry machines, running water, showers and toilets. All that for free! I got a (free) copious dinner and was on my way after that. It was nice but also very overwhelming. Everyone doing the summer camp was so loud and screaming and clapping every time they entered a room it was a little weird I must say. They were high on the Yes Life I guess.

Day 124

‌6 August 2019

Mi 1997.1 - 2033.7

My first thunderstorm on the PCT, it didn’t last long but hailed like crazy for a while. After an hour it was back to sunny weather.

I reached my campsite at 9pm and proceeded to cook some food like I rarely do. Well as I was draining excess water out of my rice I dumped everything on the ground inadvertently. I took that as a sign to go to sleep and headed into my tent angry at myself and my pot for ruining what I was looking forward to during the entire last half of my day.

On the bright side though it seems like the great mosquito war of 2019 might be over, fingers crossed.

Day 125

‌7 August 2019

Mi 2033.7 - 2065.1

12 miles in my day I reached Olalie resort just 0.1 miles off the PCT, I had to stop! I got a fresh coke and some crisps and just like that 15 minutes later I was back on trail.

I camped near a creek just short of my goal for the day since there wasn’t another campsite for another 10 miles. Sometimes shorter days aren’t too bad.

Day 126

‌8 August 2019

Mi 2065.1 - 2102.6

I’ve been pretty lazy when it comes to waking up lately and today was no different. I was on trail by 7:45am and got into a nice rhythm quickly.

At around 10 I think I met a Southbounder named “Blue” taking portraits of thru hiker. Before I could blink he snapped a quick picture, gave me his website and was on his way. You can check out his work at https://milesformoments.com.

As I was about to settle on a spot for my first break of the day I got some trail magic! A seven up and some candies later I was already back on trail though, if I want to finish by August 25 which is my current goal I can’t really afford to take long breaks. Before leaving I had a nice conversation with a French thru hiker going south who despite some medical issues was super pumped to be on trail.

At 6:30 pm I passed by a ski resort which happens to have a bar where they make good pizza. It also served as the outdoor set for The Shining!

I reconnected with Sherpa whom I hadn’t seen in a few days. Instead of stopping in Bend like I did he pushed forward and took a zero at this resort instead. Two pizzas and an IPA later I was back on trail to tackle another 5 miles before setting up camp. The last hour or so reminded me of why I hate to night hike, it’s much more boring and injury prone due to random rocks and tree roots. It’s just not worth it.

Day 127

‌9 August 2019

Mi 2102.6 - 2147.5

My longest day on the PCT yet at 44.9 miles or 72.26 km.

I really wanted to reach the end of Oregon before the 10th so I hiked the last 10miles in the dark and in the rain but it was worth it. Surprisingly my body didn’t hurt that much, it was more the lack of sleep that got to me during the last 2 hours. But I pushed through and reached Cascade locks at 11:30pm. I went to sleep at the public campground happy to be done with another state, Oregon!

Day 106

‌19 July 2019

Mi 1500 - 1518.9

I got to Dunsmuir at 6am and quickly got a hitch to the trailhead with another hiker just doing a section of the PCT. After a few miles I realized today was going to be a long one.

My stomach was in pain and I stopped every two miles to take a break. It did not go away so at 3pm I decided to call it a day and set up camp. I have several hypothesis as to what caused this very uncomfortable pain but I’m pretty it’s most likely some bad water I didn’t filter on my last day in the Sierras. I had a filter now though so hopefully this is the first and last time I have this kind of stuff on trail.

Day 107

‌20 July 2019

Mi 1518.9 - 1539.7

The pain is even worse than it was yesterday. At that point it’s a full on diarrhea and I won’t go into too much details but being out in the woods with pretty severe diarrhea is not fun.

So I did another short day hoping that it would go away on its own soon. This is the first time I’ve been sick on trail and it’s really not great. It gets to you and everything seems annoying. The worse is realizing that you do smaller days so you’ll be in town in even more time. Furthermore minor inconveniences turn into much bigger ones. I’ve known since I started that the PCT is a mental challenge, not a physical one but when they both affect each other is when it gets really rough.

Day 108

‌21 July 2019

Mi 1539.7 - 1573.8

My Stomach felt a little better today but I’m still not doing great in the diarrhea side of things. However with an improved stomach and moral I was able to crank out some big miles and felt pretty good towards the end of the day. Maybe there is an end to this after all!

I was up on a ridge towards the end of day and enjoyed some very nice views.

Day 109

‌22 July 2019

Mi 1573.8 - 1607.3

I’m fairly certain the diarrhea is gone now. It really took a toll on my spirits and I seriously considered quitting the PCT during these past few days. I’ve had thoughts like this in the past but they always go after a few hours. This time it lasted a long time and it really got to me. Back home when you’re sick you just curl up in a blanket and watch Netflix. In the middle of nowhere you still have to walk for more than 10 hours everyday.

I kept on pushing though and I’m happy to be able to big miles again.

Day 110

‌23 July 2019

Mi 1607.3 - 1638.5

A pretty standard day on trail, not much happened. I’m really looking forward to being done with California and entering Oregon.

Day 111

‌24 July 2019

Mi 1638.5 - 1655.9

I got to Seiad Valley at 1pm and I’m officially done with California! I don’t know if you remember but back when I first flipped up to Northern California I skipped / road walked a section from Seiad to Dunsmuir due to some sketchy snow. I completed this section today so my steps are now all connected from the Mexican border to Ashland in Oregon!

I made my way to Ashland and decided to take a zero to celebrate this milestone and forget the last couple of days which were pretty hard to deal with mentally.

Day 112

‌25 July 2019

Just a chill day in Ashland. A few meters from my hotel there is an organic supermarket selling actual cheese and bread. Sure it costs 10 times more than in France but man it felt good to have some actual cheese and not the pasty orange flavorless cheddar looking stuff that is usually sold in supermarkets.

Day 98

‌11 July 2019

Mi 906.6 - 896.1

I left Mammoth a little later than expected mostly because I procrastinated too much on these past few articles. I went to a Carls Jr (local fast food, would not recommend) to take advantage of their fast WiFi and wrote those articles.

The best thing about Mammoth that I haven’t mentioned yet is the free buses all over town! One of the perks of being in a ski resort during the summer I guess, still the same great services but way less people than in the winter. Here's how much food I will be eating for the next few days.

I got back on trail at 4pm and as I was about to leave Reds Meadow ressort I saw Daniel! You may not remember but I met him when I first started in Wrightwood and he’s really nice. We had met once more a few months ago before Ridgecrest and now it was my third time seeing him. The odds of seeing him here were so low it was surreal to reconnect and share what we’ve been up to. He was still going north but took a break due to a cold for a couple of weeks so that’s why he was still halfway through the Sierras.

We parted ways and I headed south to reconnect my steps in Lone Pine while he headed north towards the end of the Sierras.

Day 99

‌12 July 2019

Mi 896.1 - 869.4

The Sierras are kinda set up so that you have to do a pass every day. You wake up, do a pass and hike 10 more miles towards the base of the next pass so you can do it early in the next morning when the snow is still hard.

The problem with that strategy is that you only get to do 15 miles a day. On snow that is reasonable but since most of the snow was melted by now I decided to just hit the passes whenever and hike as much as I could.

The pass today, silver pass, was really easy with not much snow on either sides.

Day 100

‌13 July 2019

Mi 869.4 - 845.9

I woke up at 5am to be on top of Selden pass before 10am. While the PCT is very remote in the Sierras, it comes close to a ranch called the “JMT ranch” and I decided to pop by at 12pm to see what it was about.

It serves as a major resupply point for people hiking the JMT so I met quite a few of them and they shared with me their extra food. I got snickers, dehydrated meals and all sorts of goodies! I also charged my electronics and talked to the owner of the ranch who despite me only being here for scraps and not paying for any of their services was really nice and welcoming.

She was 92 years old and looked 60! Crazy what living in the mountains will do to you. I also talked to her 3 grandchildren. One of them, Charlotte, who looked about 8 years old told me her favorite book is the Jungle Book and Mowgli her favorite character. Alas the trail was calling me and I had to leave but this impromptu conversation left me pandering on alternative lifestyles and what they can add to ones upbringing.

I got close to John Muir pass and called it a day when I saw a really nice campsite, looking forward to going over it early the next morning.

Day 101

‌14 July 2019

Mi 845.9 - 818.7

A long and tiring day. The John Muir pass was easy in terms of elevation but had long snow fields before and after which slowed me down significantly.

Towards the end of the day I met a group of hikers I had already seen before Mammoth Lakes. They were “only” doing the JMT (150 miles) and confessed later that day that when they first saw me they dubbed me “the animal” as they thought they were going quite fast and I went past them sweating and smelling like ... well you guessed it.

I camped above a nice lake before Mather pass, one of the sketchiest pass of the PCT this year due to rockslides, or so I had been told.

Day 102

‌15 July 2019

Mi 818.7 - 794

Two passes in one day! Mather and Pinchot passes summits are only 10 miles apart so I was able to hit both of them the same morning.

Mather pass was indeed pretty sketchy especially on the descent side since rockslides and patchy snow made the switchbacks impractical. Nevertheless I made it safe and sound over both passes and found a nice place to camp near an alpine lake before another big day tomorrow where I planned to do two passes once again.

Day 103

16 July 2019‌

Mi 794 - 767

I wanted to do Glen pass and Forester pass on the same day so I could summit Whitney tomorrow. Forester pass is the highest point on the PCT at 13153 feet (4009m) so I had to hit it before the snow on the ascent became slushy.

I also had to do Glen pass before Forester so I woke up at 1am. Armed with my headlamp and determination I summited Glen at 3 am and approached forester at 6am, on schedule. It was pretty eerie to hike so early and in so much snow at that altitude. It was complete silence except for the noise made by my micro spikes hitting the hard packed snow repeatedly like the drum rolls of a marching band.

After a long and steep snow traverse I made it over Forester pass! The last big pass of the Sierras, I shared my excitement with a couple of JMTers and made my way towards the base of Mount Whitney.

Day 104

‌17 July 2019

Mi 767 - 750 (+14mi round trip to Whitney)

The PCT is just a few miles off Mount Whitney and since I probably won’t come back here in the near future I decided to take a detour and summit it.

I was up at 1am once again, hoping to make it to the top before the sunrise. The ascent was mostly snow free so I was able to make it to the top by 4:45am, just in time. Words or pictures won’t do justice to the views I experienced on top of Whitney watching the sun reveal itself in the distance. Standing at 14505ft or 4421m Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous USA.

It was exhilarating, I walked more than 1500 miles to see this and man was it worth it!

I made my way down towards Cottonwood pass where I had bailed from a few months ago and reconnected my steps. Pretty crazy that just two months earlier it was snowing here and I had my coldest night on trail. Here's a comparison of what it looked like two months ago versus today.

I got to Horseshoe meadow at 4pm and was picked up by a couple heading towards Lone Pine. They were really nice but believed in many conspiracy theories such Bigfoot and Aliens living freely in Area 51. At first I though they were joking, but they weren’t.

Due to an ultramarathon all the hotels were booked up in Lone Pine so I settled on an hostel with a shared room of 10 people. Suffice to say for the third night in a row I didn’t get much sleep, between the AC on full blast, the snoring and lovely people packing up and leaving at 4am.

Day 105

18 July 2019

A full day of traveling as I made my way back up California towards the Oregon border. 3 buses and one night train later I made it to Dunsmuir at 5am.

Day 89

‌2 July 2019

Mi 1092.3 - 1087.2

A short day as usual when I get out of town. I had really nice Mexican food at a restaurant I had already been to during the road trip with my parents in May.

I bought a lot of food as I wanted to tackle the next 10 days without having to resupply at the very expensive resort ahead of me. I think this is the heaviest my pack has been with the bear canister, micro spikes, and all the food.

After a relatively long Uber ride I was back on trail excited to tackle the high Sierras!

Day 90

‌3 July 2019

1087.2 - 1063.0

As I was saying a few days ago I have been seeing a lot of northbound hikers on trail. This also means that I got to see some old friends. From people I hiked with very early on or people I parted ways with just before I flipped it was nice to see that they were still at it and doing well.

I got to Carson Pass today, a popular trailhead for day hikers with a visitor center run by volunteers. They were super nice and offered us free drinks and snacks while we took a break. They also had a scale so for the first time since I started I weighted myself. And the results are... I didn’t lose a single pound! In fact I’m at the same exact weight I started at. This is surprising as most hikers around me had lost at least 15 pounds (~6.8kg).

Day 91

4 July 2019

Mi 1063 - 1033.7

After an early start I got some more trail magic today! After 15 miles I arrived at Ebbets toad and “Chipmunk” who hiked the PCT previously offered us eggs, beans, cereals and soda. The perfect way to take a break mid day.

I left after half an hour and enjoyed telling hikers going north that they had trail magic ahead. Their faces lit up with excitement every time I would tell them! It felt like I had some sort of super power.

Day 92

‌5 July 2019

Mi 1033.7 - 1016.9

Some more trail magic! I finally accomplished the ever wanted hat-trick of trail magic. Previous PCT finishers had set up at Sonora Pass, the end of the high Sierras for northbounders. They had the best homemade cookies I ever had, as well as watermelon, beers and all sorts of goodness.

I had enough food to go on but needed batteries for my headlamp so I hitched to Kennedy Meadows north, a nearby resort with a well stocked but expensive general store.

After charging my batteries and and getting French fries at the restaurant I hitched my way back to Sonora pass and decided to camp here along with other hikers, all very excited to be done with the High Sierras.

It was perhaps the most interesting hitch I got since I started. It was a dad and his son on their way to Colorado to tackle 14er, aka summits with at least 14000 feet of elevation. His son was 11 and he was already trail running and doing all sorts of incredible feats. The dad, Pat Ward, was a long distance athlete who had complete Race across America 6 times. Race across America is a cycling race from the west to the east coast of the US. He told me it takes on average 8 days to do, the race being about 3000 miles (it changes every year). It means that they do about 375 miles (600km) every day. The Tour de France seems like a cake walk in comparison. Truly insane.

Day 93

‌6 July 2019

Mi 1016.9 - 990

I got up early to tackle Sonora Pass when the snow was still hard. I decided to go straight up instead of blazing my own switchbacks. As not many people are going south I often have to decide wether I want to cut my own steps or follow the ones people have cut on their way down going north which are as you can imagine pretty much straight down, but in my case that’s straight up.

I met a few hikers going north and most notably gave food to two very hungry ones. They looked miserable and told me they had been rationing their food for a while now. One of them a French 40 years old ultra marathoner told me this section was the hardest thing he had done so in terms of physical challenge in his life. He looked really out of it. I wished them good luck and kept going afraid and excited about what was ahead.

The trail is what I would call in a transitional state right now. It’s either snow patches, completely flooded or snow free. It changes dramatically depending on where the mountain is facing.

At 2:34pm I unfortunately broke my water filter. I didn’t want to go back to Sonora so I decided to keep going and just not filter my water for the next stretch. It’s like playing Russian roulette every time I drink water except the outcome isn’t dying it’s severe diarrhea. Fun!

I tackled two relatively easy passes and found a nice spot for the night.

Day 94

‌7 July 2019

Mi 990 - 962.4

I got up early as I knew I had a treacherous river crossing. It’s best to hit them in the morning as the melt is not significant yet. I met a group of four going in the other direction. The water got up to our waist. It wasn’t too bad but definitely woke me right up as the water was so cold.

The rest of the day was very nice as I made my way into Yosemite valley I met a lot of day hikers and hippies (yes they still exist although seem to be endangered). It reminded me of the two excellent movies Free Solo and Valley uprising.

Day 95

‌8 July 2019

Mi 962.4 - 931.7

Another day with absolutely breathtaking views. Alternating between meadows and passes high up in the mountain consistently above 9000 feet is taxing but worth it! The Sierras seem to take everything out of you but give it back ten times!

On another note my food has been consisting mostly of cereal bars these past 7 days, it’s efficient nutritionally but does have an effect on digestion let’s just say that.

Day 96

Mi 931.7 - 906.6

I tackled Donohue Pass, my highest pass yet at 11074 feet (3375 meters), early in the morning and headed down the valley towards Red’s Meadow where I could exit the trail to get some food.

The mosquitoes were out and about for most of the decent but they were no match to my DEET spray. Having DEET all over you feels like peeking over Tchernobyl’s reactor and breathing fumes but keeps mosquitoes at bay, worth it.

I arrived at Reds meadows resort at 5pm and got on a bus with other hikers to Mammoth Lake where I enjoyed a stupid amount of pizza.

Day 97

‌10 July 2019

I decided to take a break in Mammoth. I did the usual errands, at this point you should know what comes next, laundry, food and buy miscellaneous broken gear.

Day 78

‌21 June 2019

Mi 1331.3 - 1328.0

After Cecile got on her bus to San Francisco I ran the usual errands I do when I’m in town, stuff like food, sunscreen etc.

I met and talked to a family that was out fundraising for their school’s annual summer camp. The father who ran the school and was a deacon was very nice and we shared stories for about half an hour. He had done a lot of hiking in Europe and was excited to hear about my experience on the PCT so far.

I left town fairly late and only hiked a little until I hit a nice creek with several camping spots. A section hiker from Portland named Ryan was already here when I arrived. I was surprised to see he was hiking with an old backpack with a steel exterior frame, it looked heavy but he liked it! We shared some anecdotes about the trail and life in general.

Day 79

‌22 June 2019

Mi 1328.0 - 1295.5

I hit my first river crossing today. The water was just below the knee but with a strong current. This year has been a very high snow year so as the snow is melting the rivers get pretty hectic.

I also crossed the midpoint of the PCT! Unfortunately since I flipped north technically I am not halfway yet, soon though!

After a long morning hike I had trail magic. This amazing family comes out every year and gives trail magic to hikers. I learned that they lost their home in the Camp Fire last November. The Camp fire was the deadliest fire in California since 1918 and completely destroyed Paradise, a town of about 27000 people. The fire killer 85 people and the material cost is estimated at $16.5 billion.

They were incredibly nice and I got to eat the best Nachos I had on trail. Here is a picture with the grand-mother (I think?) of the family.

Day 80

‌23 June 2019

Mi 1295.5 - 1270.3

I started relatively late at 8:15 after a long night sleep. At around 1pm I got to Belden, a very small town that essentially only has a general store and a restaurant. I got a burger and some drinks.

The climb out of Belden was fairly hard, but as usual with a long climb I got rewarded with some very nice views.

I keep hitting more and more snow every day as I go higher in elevation, I’m getting closer to the Sierras!

I camped at a decent spot but was disturbed by a couple of deers who circled my tent the entire night, a bit nerve racking but I got used to it after a few times.

Day 81

‌24 June 2019

Mi 1270.3 - 1241.4

A somewhat uneventful day today, just crushing miles in anticipation of the Sierras. I’m starting to see more and more hikers going northbound, the bubble is near.

Day 82

‌25 June 2019

Mi 1241.4 - 1207.3

Today was one of my hardest day in trail so far. I really wanted to get to an established campground by the end of the day. But before that I had to climb up and stay on a ridge for most of the day. It was really snowy and slowed me down quite a bit so I had to night hike a little. I got to the campground by 11pm, tired but glad I made it.

Day 83

‌26 June 2019

Mi 1207.3 - 1180.4

A nice day where I hit some snow once again. It seems like I’ll have some amount of snow every day from now on until I’m done with the Sierras. It’s not that bad though yet, mostly patches of hard packed snow that are easy to go through.

While it was only a 1.5 miles walk into Sierra City I got a hitch by a local. She was on her way to a meeting about getting a grant to turn private land into a state-owned forest to protect it. All that for a small loan of a million bucks.

I wished her good luck and headed to the general store. I got a burger named the “gut buster” on the menu. Ricky, the general store owner sure does know how to make a great burger. I stopped by the post office where my, very heavy, bear canister was waiting for me. It is required in bear country to protect the food so I reluctantly picked it up, already looking forward to sending it home at the end of the Sierras.

I didn’t want to stay too long so I got back on trail at 2pm.

Day 84

‌27 June 2019

Mi 1180.4 - 1153.4

The goal for today was Truckee. It was a long one for sure. I wanted to get to Truckee before 5pm so I could get a hitch easily. I managed to do it but it was very tiring. The perspective of a shower and hot food certainly helped me push through.

Around midday and after a steep climb in slushy snow I took a break in a really nice hut. It had been renovated a while ago and looked like the perfect place to stay in but I had my eyes set on another goal today so I just stopped for 5 minutes and kept going.

I got to donner pass and got a hitch really quickly by a local working the ski lifts during the off season. I demolished some Mc Donald’s and watched some TV glad to be done with this section.

Day 85

‌28 June 2019

I decided to take a zero and walked around Truckee for a while. With the 4th of July coming it was really busy. I also ran the usual errands. Most notably I got new earbuds and new socks! I never though I would get as excited as I am about socks before I started the trail. It’s the little things that make you happy I guess out here.

Day 86

‌29 June 2019

Mi 1153.4 - 1137.6

I got a hitch back to the trail by two very young locals who were just driving around. They were super nice and shared with me how their lives looked like in such a nice area. They essentially spend all winter doing ski / snowboard freeride competitions whenever they can get time off school. In the summer they switch to rock climbing and mountain biking.

It certainly makes you think about whether or not it’s worth it to live in a big city. I admit I was a little jealous of their quality of life.

Day 87

30 June 2019

Mi 1137.6 - 1109.6

I hiked most of the day between ski lifts, not the most ideal area to hike in but the views were still nice. There are so many alpine lakes with crystal clear water it’s incredible.

I camped next to one and got rocked to sleep by the sound of nearby frogs.

Day 88

‌1 July 2019

Mi 1109.6 - 1092.3

After Truckee... comes Lake Tahoe. A fairly big destination for tourists in California. I got there at probably the busiest time of the year. On trail I saw tons of day hikers. Crossing path with day hikers is when I realize how bad I smell in contrast to them... they smell so nice!

I had to take two different hitches and a bus to get to South Lake Tahoe but it felt great to take a break even though not that long ago I was in Truckee.

Day 73

‌16 June 2019

Mi 1411 - 1398

After a great night at the Shasta Pine Inn in Burney we resupplied and got a nice breakfast at a local restaurant. The owner of the motel we stayed at offered us a ride back to the trailhead at a time of our choosing, she was super nice!

We started hiking at 1pm and that was probably a mistake, there was almost no shade for the next 8 miles and it got really hot. It felt like the desert was back!

We found a nice spot under some pine trees to set up our tents. While the campsite itself was a mosquito hell hole we enjoyed dinner on some rocks nearby free of them! The sunset was spectacular but I don’t have a great picture of it unfortunately...

Day 74

‌17 June 2019

Mi 1398 - 1377

A long day as the goal was to get to Old Station, a small town along highway 99 which has a nice restaurant and a gas station which is open late, serves pizza and allows hiker to camp at the back in a nice pine forest.

We got there at 8pm, glad to finally make it. Cecile’s knee has been getting worse so she was in a lot of pain today, but she made it!

Day 75

‌18 June 2019

Mi 1377 - 1367

We had a nice breakfast at a nearby restaurant and left relatively late at 10am.

Due to restrictions we aren’t allowed to camp without a bear canister in the upcoming Lassen National park so we camped right before it, hoping to tackle the entire park (around 20 miles) tomorrow.

Sometimes it’s nice to have shorter days, we were able to take our time and rest in anticipation of the big day tomorrow.

Day 76

‌19 June 2019

The big day! We got up at 5am and were on the trail at 5:30am. We knew there was some snow ahead we got up early in the hopes that it wouldn’t be as slushy when we got to it.

As soon as we entered the park we saw a bear! He ran away before I could take a picture but it was funny to see a bear that early in the park. I guess regulations aren’t for nothing after all!

The park was really nice although some sections were recently burned so it looked a bit desolate.

We tackled 10 miles before 10 am and got some rest at a lake that had recently became unfrozen. After that the snow started and the next 7 miles were quite challenging.

We exited the park at around 6pm and camped right after the boundary pretty exhausted after more than 11 hours of hiking.

Day 77

‌20 June 2019

Cecile’s final day on trail. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and it is time for her to get back to France.

We tackled the last 15 miles before Chester rather quickly and hitched our way to Chester at 1pm. Chester is in my opinion one of the most depressing town of the trail so far. Every building seemed dated and many shops were closed. Also for some reason every « cheap » hotel were fully booked so we had to settle for a $190/night bed and breakfast which was way overpriced but it was the only place with rooms still available and we really needed it so what can you do?

We got beers at a local bar which looked like it had stayed like that since 1998, the clock certainly did as it was stuck showing June 20 1998.

After 12 days it was over, Cecile started her way back to the country of real bread and small cars, my pack certainly got lighter but my heart didn’t (yes I like cheesy sentences, sue me).

Day 67

‌10 June 2019

Mi 1501.2 - 1491.8

We got some supplies in Redding, mainly food and some gear like deet, a hat and a water filter for Cecile. It went smoothly except for that gear store who didn’t stock anything and when my card was refused told me it was normal « there is a lot of fraud in backpacking stores ». He then proceeded to offer me the deet for free like it was normal. The whole thing felt a little off, either his store was closing soon and he just didn’t care or some kind of money laundering was involved.

Anyways after getting on an Uber for an hour we got to the trailhead at 4pm and it was time to start hiking!

The campsite we chose was full so we had to hike a little more in the dark and settled on a really rough area to set up our tents in. It wasn’t ideal but it did the job.

Day 68

‌11 June 2019

Mi 1491.8 - 1477.4

After a rough night we got up and started hiking at around 8am. The highlight of today was a river we came across 7 miles in. I only soaked my feet but Cecile went for the full thing.

Our campsite for the night was alright but infested with mosquitoes. We had dinner in our tents as it was really bad. A deer kept us up at various times of the night too. I’m sure he meant no harm but they make a lot of noise!

Day 69

‌12 June 2019

Mi 1477.4 - 1460.5

We quickly left our campsite to escape mosquito hell and enjoyed walking under the shade provided by the forest. The temperatures are kinda insane, always above 30 degrees Celsius and sometimes reaching 35.

We had lunch at a nice river today as well and found a spot without mosquitos, always nice to have. Also I did not expect it but we have been seeing quite a lot of hikers coming in from both directions, I guess everyone is trying to escape the snow.

Day 70

‌13 June 2019

Mi 1460.5 - 1443

We had to walk 5 miles on snow today. It was fairly physical and challenging mentally as we didn’t make much progress. For Cecile’s first time on snow she did great though and we plowed through this stretch quite easily after all.

Day 71

‌14 June 2019

Mi 1443 - 1423

A fairly standard day on trail. We keep seeing a lot of deers which look nice during the day but definitely not at night when they are trying to steal our food.
We got to a nice river by the end of the day, it was a nice reward after a long and hot walk.

We saw a few eagles while having dinner consisting of refried beans. They flew by our campsite effortlessly scouting the area for food.

Day 72

‌15 June 2019

Mi 1423 - 1411

The goal for today was Burney Falls and Burney, a small town home to 3000 people. After five days out in the wild we were really excited and couldn’t wait for a shower, some food that isn’t cereal bars, dehydrated meals or peanut butter.

We got to Burney falls by 10am and chilled around for a while. A lot of tourists were also there, it’s always weird to suddenly come across a lot of people after a long stretch of fairly remote hiking.

We got a hitch to Burney by a local who told us stories about mountain lions and bears visiting his garden, he was really nice and happy to see hikers. We got some laundry done, destroyed some McDonald’s and watched The Office for the remainder of the day.

On another note I’ve been out here for a couple of months already so my body doesn’t really ache anymore but it isn’t the same for Cecile. She has kept up really well though despite multiple blisters and knee pain.

Day 57

31 May 2019

My initial plan was to head back out on trail at 11 am. However after talking to a bunch of hikers hiking north who told me it took them 7 days to do the next 100 miles it kinda made me realize how tough the conditions really were up there. I decided to sleep on it and got another night at my hotel catching up on some podcasts and TV while eating delicious bread ... not bad.

Day 58

‌1 June 2019

I wanted to go back on trail early but quickly realized the champions league final was on...

I asked some locals where I could watch it and they told me a bar close by might agree to put it on for me as nothing else was going on midday. I got lucky and watched the final, the game in itself sucked but I talked to some nice people while sitting at the counter so it made up for it!

I got back on trail at 4pm. Unfortunately I quickly realized the conditions were above my skill and comfort levels. Very steep traverses and the trail was completely covered in snow. My microspikes were no match for the terrain. After my third self arrest I turned around after having made 5 miles in 3 hours.

As one can expect there isn’t much traffic in the mountains at 9pm on a Saturday. I had to road walk the 9 miles back to Etna feeling very down about today and my whole plan of flipping. What is the point of going up north of the trail is the same, sometimes even worse than in the Sierras?

I managed to get to Etna at 00:30am and put my tent up in the city park.

Day 58

‌2 June 2019

To road walk or not to road walk, that is the question.

Another hiker I met in Seiad Valley (« Happy Cowboy ») hiking south also made it to Etna and we enjoyed steaks in the city campground.

By the way this campground was awesome. Free charging, fast WiFi (27 down), toilets and BBQ! Cowboy told me he wanted to attempt the stretch I had just bailed out on and I wished him good luck as he left Etna.

I decided to wait it out a few more days to allow for the snow to melt and my sister, Cecile to arrive so we could tackle the section from Dunsmuir to Chester which was 90% snow free.

Day 59 to 64

‌3 June 2019 to 8 June 2019

Waiting for snow and travelling to San Francisco.

I decided against road walking from Etna to Dunsmuir after a few days since I wanted to come back anyway a few weeks later to do this section - on trail this time.

Fortunately it was pretty easy to get to SF from Dunsmuir (the start of the section I planned on doing with my sister) since it has an Amtrak station.

I honestly didn’t do much during this week which kinda impacted my moral and made me very antsy about this whole thing. First, every minute not on trail is expensive for any thru hiker and second I really missed hiking. This isn’t groundbreaking information but once your body and mind gets used to any daily activity and it stops suddenly you really miss it.

Day 66

‌9 June 2019

I did eventually make it to SF and seeing the stupid hotel prices I decided to stay at an hostel.

Now you may think there is nothing special about a hostel but this one was in the middle of the Bay Area and felt like a scene straight out Silicon valley (TV show on HBO). It was the startup nation version of an hostel.

Rooms were called Uber, Google and other famous companies. I actually happened to stumble upon a conversation between what appeared to be the CEO and the manager of this particular house. It got pretty heated as they kept arguing about scaling, supplies and how they « had to pump » bookings as last month wasn’t as good as the previous. All of this happened in the living room.

Anyways if this is what hostels will look like in the future I want no part of it. I mean there was 25 of us crammed in 3 rooms, the lines for showers get pretty long, unsurprisingly.

A positive note: it was so disorganized I didn’t pay. When I checked in someone told me I was good. I left it that and promptly left at 9am, excited to meet up with Cecile (my sister).

A short Uber rider later I was at SFO where I met up with Cecile. After some quick sightseeing in SF and a 4 hour car drive to Redding we called it a day.

Day 46

20 May 2019

Mi 702.2 - 725

After a great breakfast at Kennedy Meadows I got on trail at 10am. The climb out of Kennedy Meadows was pleasant and I met a lot of day hikers.

Today also marked my first evening and night in the snow at about 6000ft.

Day 47

‌21 May 2019

Mi 725 - 745.3

The goal for today was Cottonwood pass, a way to get to Lone Pine. I was on snow for most of the day but the weather was actually pretty nice. I only met two hikers, from China.

Once I got to the campground to access Lone Pine I got really lucky as another hiker had drove up with a trail angel to pick up his group (which wasn’t here). There was close to no traffic on this road as the campground opened only a few days ago. I was glad to make it to Lone Pine at around 7pm.

We all got beer and pizza, it was great.

Day 48

‌22 May 2019

Mi 745.3 - 750.2

My plan was to do laundry, resupply and head back up to the trail. I managed to get back on trail at 2pm but got caught in a snow storm. I hiked with two other hikers, « goon » and « yoda ».

It was pretty bad, about 15-20cm of fresh snow which made our pace really slow. We had to sleep on snow, which was my first time. It’s very frustrating to be knee deep in fresh snow and we managed to do only 5 miles in 4 hours. I normally average around 3/hr.

Day 49

‌23 May 2019

When we woke up and looked at the weather there was another week of snow planned for us. That is when we made the decision to « flip ». We decided to go north to Ashland, OR and hike south to enter the Sierras in early July.

I am glad I got to see what the Sierras were instead of flipping at Ridgecrest like many people did. Ultimately it was doable but miserable. When everything is soaked and freezing and you have to look up the trail with a gps as there are no tracks in the snow it’s not fun anymore.

Day 50

‌24 May 2019

Travel! I spent the day and next night in 5 different buses / trains. I did most of the way with « goon » a 40 years old dude from Belgium who is an engineer at Siemens. It’s always interesting to hear why people are hiking this trail and dig deeper than the usual small talk.

Day 51

‌25 May 2019

Mi 1718.6 - 1708.2

I got to Ashland and decided to ship my micro spikes and bear canister to Chester. After getting some food and other miscellaneous items I got back on trail early in the afternoon. It feels good to be at lower elevation again.

Day 52

‌26 May 2019

Mi 1708.2 - 1702.6

Unfortunately the decision to ship my micro spikes back to Chester was a terrible idea. There is still snow in NorCal, in fact a lot of it. I should have probably checked beforehand to be honest. As you can see this is my tent before and after last night, snow is very much still a thing.

I decided for my safety to backtrack to Ashland and get new micro spikes. I got a ride back to Ashland by a theater professor from Illinoi. He was here for the Shakespeare festival, a fairly popular festival with a lot of different plays throughout the summer.

An annoying day as I didn’t make much progress but a necessary evil I think.

Day 53

‌27 May 2019

Mi 1702.6 - 1679.3

I spent most of the day on slushy snow. The melt was in progress so I walked on a lot of snow bridges and sketchy slopes. It slowed me down quite a lot.

I slipped on a slope and my ice axe was ineffective when I tried to self arrest as the snow was so soft it couldn’t find a decent anchor point. Fortunately I didn’t fall that far as I was able to grab onto a tree and stop myself. A scary reminder that hiking on snow can be pretty dangerous!

I found a nice opened cabin to enjoy lunch though which a really nice surprise. The owners recently renovated it and welcome PCT hikers to enjoy shade and some chairs.

Today also marked my return in California! After a very short stay in Oregon I am already back in California to tackle its northern counties and then the Sierras.

Day 54

‌28 May 2019

Mi 1679.3 - 1655.9

I wanted to get to Seiad Valley today, a very small town which marks the last stop before Oregon if you’re going in the other direction.

It has an interesting history. It’s unincorporated and considered part of the imaginary « State of Jefferson » an area they included many counties in NorCal.

I managed to get there at 2pm and stayed at a hostel in the process of being renovated with many hiker including a family of 5 which hikes with a dog.

Day 55

‌29 May 2019

Mi 1655.9 - ?

I made the decision to do the next stretch on road. The trail is covered in snow and in the process of being melted causing very icy and sketchy sections. I talked to a ranger who recommended that I don’t go up there.

I think it was definitely doable by trail but very slow going. I kinda have a required number of miles to do every day to meet up with my sister at the right town which is why I ultimately decided to do this stretch on a road.

The walk in itself was surprisingly pleasant. I went through many small villages and talked to some interesting characters. It turns out that this valley is the home of the second most profitable gold claim in the US. A local told me a few billions worth of gold were extracted here.

Day 56

‌30 May 2019

Mi ? - 1599.7

I got to Etna at around 12pm. Once again those small towns in California are incredible!

I was greeted by almost everyone walking down the street and felt very welcomed. Not sure how I feel about kids asking me if I was a miner though, I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I can’t blame them though the smell and look of hikers is, I imagine, quite similar to what miners used to look like.

The highlight of this town is definitely its bakery! Who would have thought that in the middle of nowhere I would find some Kouign-amann. The baker was very nice and I got to enjoy real bread on trail for the first time since I started. His Kouign-amann were very tasty and for a few minutes it felt like I was back in Brittany!

Day 38

12 May 2019

Mi 558.5 - 569.8

After a nice rest at the hotel I stayed in Tehachapi to enjoy more food and repair some gear. my water filter was stuck on a bottle and I had to use pliers to unscrew it.

I got a hitch from a local who was on his way to his wife for Mother’s Day. We got lost (he didn’t know where the trailhead was) but he was still adamant in driving me to the exact spot I had stopped at a few days ago. We finally made it and I was very grateful.

I was still in wind territory for most of the day and managed to find a spot that - I thought - was protected from wind to set my tent up.

Day 39

13 May 2019

Mi 569.8 - 602.2

It turns out that the spot I had chosen yesterday was not that protected. It was one of the worst night on trail yet, waking up every 30 minutes wondering if my tent was still standing.

Still, I was happy to be back on trail and headed out relatively early. Most of today was uneventful until I came across a bear! I was deep into a podcast when I heard a noise on my right and sure enough a cub had just wandered off. I tried to get closer to him but he was very shy.

I didn’t stick around for too long as the mom was probably close by.

I also caught up to Daniel, the hiker I met in Wrightwood before I took 10 days off trail. It was nice to see he was still doing great.

Day 40

‌14 May 2019

Mi 602.2 - 634

A very hot and windy day. If it weren’t for the water caches set up by locals I probably would have had to ration my water consumption as all the streams we crossed were dried.

Day 41

‌15 May 2019

Mi 634 - 652.1

The goal for today was Walker pass, a road crossing to get into Ridgecrest. Ridgecrest is a relatively large town with all the things a hiker could dream. By that I mean a laundromat, fast food and cheap motels.

I hiked quite fast to be in time for the bus which was at 1:30pm. I made it in time and while waiting for the bus I met Jonni aka « German Jesus » and Springsteen. The former is a brewer from Germany and the other a carpenter from an island in West Virginia.

The bus finally came and Jonni and I decided to split a room in Ridgecrest. We grabbed some Denny’s and chilled in our room for the rest of the day.

Day 42

‌16 May 2019

I think this was my first actual zero day on trail. I stayed in Ridgecrest and stuffed myself with Jonni and other hikers. We got donuts, pancakes and burgers all accompanied by beers.

Jonni decided to hike out today and I stayed for another night, catching up on game of thrones and other shows.

Day 43

‌17 May 2019

Mi 652.1 - 666

My plan was to catch the bus at 2:30pm and hike a few miles. Unfortunately the bus didn’t see me at the stop and just kept driving. I had to get a Lyft instead and managed to get back on trail at 5pm. The views were amazing especially as I hiked late in the afternoon and got to enjoy a very nice sunset.

Day 44

‌18 May 2019

Mi 666 - 699

I celebrated my birthday with the longest day on trail so far! I also got some unexpected trail magic and got an amazing turkey and cheese sandwich with fresh coke. Sometimes it just works out I guess.

I finished the day with a pretty tough climb where I could see the Sierras, my next destination.

Day 45

‌19 May 2019

Mi 699 - 702.2

Kennedy meadows! A major landmark for most hikers as it marks the end of the desert and beginning to the Sierras.

I got in early and enjoyed all you can eat pancakes with hot coffee after getting, as is tradition, applauds by hikers who were enjoying their breakfast.

Day 20

25 April 2019

Mi 369.3 - 383.9 (14.6mi / 23.5km)

After a nice rest at the hotel we all got breakfast at a cafe nearby. I got pancakes and potatoes, Daniel opted for some biscuits and gravy which frankly looked suspicious. All the food tasted great though and it was nice meeting new people yet again.

Wrightwood is incredibly hiker friendly, the hardware store offers sofas and tables to stay out of the sun and many people stopped asking if we needed a ride or anything really. We also got free hotdogs at the gas station which tasted great!

However as nice as Wrightwood was I quickly missed the trail and got back on it at around noon to tackle Mount Baden Powell. Most people attempt it early in the morning to avoid slushy snow and sweating bullets but as always I got a bit lazy so started the ascent of Baden Powell at 3pm.

It was fairly hard, not many switchbacks as the trail was covered in snow and people decided to just got straight up. As I was getting closer to the top unexpected supporters showed up in the form of crows. There were tons of them, still don’t know why.

I got to an established campsites at around 8 pm were a lot of people decided to stop. All in all a long but rewarding day.

Day 21

26 April 2019

Mi 383.9 - 411.7 (27.9mi - 44.9km)

Today was fairly standard. It was mostly spent listening to podcasts I like such as Reply all or 99% invisible.

I was close to LA so there was a lot of campsites with stuff like picnic tables and pit toilets which is always nice to be honest.

Day 22

27 April 2019

Mi 411.7 - 444.3 (32.6mi / 52.5km)

The goal for today was KOA campground which provides showers, (expensive) groceries and a pool. I managed after a long day of downhill hiking to get there.

The last 10 miles were really hard as my right knee felt like it was falling apart. The weird thing is that after like 1 or 2 hours without stopping it wouldn’t hurt anymore. Once again the cure to injuries or discomfort seems to be to suck it up and keep on going.

I also got free pizza, the best kind, once I got to KOA thanks to hikers who were full (yes that exists)!

Also here’s what two days of hiking without a shower will do to your feet.

Day 23

28 April 2019

Mi 444.3 - 454.5 (10.2mi - 16.4km)

A very short day as the goal was just to get to Agua Dulce. It is a small town where I could Uber out to Lancaster and meet up with my parents to start our road trip.

It started out very foggy and then cleared up once I got to a canyon near Agua Dulce.

Day 24 to 33 - Road trip

28 April 2019 to 7 May 2019

A few months ago when I was certain I would hike this trail my mom quickly proposed to meet up while I was doing it. I was immediately onboard and it took some convincing but dad also agreed to do it.

We didn’t planned much but did a lot! It was a really great aside from the trail.

First because I was excited to see my parents again. Even though it hadn’t been that long since we said goodbye in Paris, it was great to be able to share with them what I’ve been going through first hand.

Second because I got to see stuff I would never had if they hadn’t come. We went to San Francisco, Death Valley, the west coast and many more places.

I won’t go into much more details in this article as it isn’t really about this. I plan to do a detailed write up of this road trip in the future though with itineraries and places to stay at because it was a great success!

Day 34

8 May 2019

Mi 454.5 - 478.2 (23.7mi - 38.1km)

I’m back on trail! The hike out of Agua Dulce was pleasant. It is one of those peculiar towns that California has plenty of. It apparently specializes in filming as many ranches and even the fire station offer their services to movie crews. The most popular movie filmed there is Super 8 directed by J.J Abrams and produced by Spielberg.

I got to Casa de Luna the house of trail angels at around 6 pm and it was amazing. I use that word a lot on this blog but it is truly a special place. The Anderson offer their garden, generosity and house to host hikers every year. They only have one rule: everyone must wear an hawaiian shirt (that they provide). There was 30 of us that night but they said it sometimes goes up to 90.

We had tacos for dinner, pancakes for breakfast and generally a great time.

I was with people I had never seen before as this was my first day back on trail yet immediately I felt comfortable. People don’t takes themselves too seriously out here and it’s always refreshing.

Day 35

9 May 2019

Mi 478.2 - 510 (31.8mi / 51.2km)

Today was very pleasant as I hiked out of Casa de Luna with great memories and a belly full of pancakes. I spent most of the day with tens of butterflies flying around me, a surprise for sure. This stretch is known to be very hot and dry yet today was foggy so it was nice to not have to worry about crushing heat.

I also came upon trail magic early in the afternoon! Lemonade and biscuits made the remainder of the day much easier.

Day 36

10 May 2019

Mi 510 - 540.2 (30.2mi / 48.6km)

The LA aqueduct. A stretch of the trail feared by many as it is very dry and monotone. It is a 674km aqueduct built in the early 20th century. It delivers water from the Owens River in the Sierras to LA.

Fortunately for me today was rainy and cloudy so I got to hike this stretch quite easily and without many hiccups. The monotony of it however really gets to you. I hadn’t realized up until now but hiking the same stretch for 20 miles is very different than 20 miles in the mountains with many things to look at and think about.

I really wanted to finish this stretch in one day so I hiked until 9pm and had to set up my tent in the dark.

Day 37

11 May 2019

Mi 540.2 - 558.5 (18.3mi / 29.5km)

As always when there is a town at the end of a day I was focused on that for most of it.

The trail goes through the biggest wind farm in America, and they are unsurprisingly pretty huge! Here’s a photo with a rock for scale.

I also crossed path with many mountain bikes which can be quite sketchy when they come up from behind in switchbacks and I have music on. They are completely forbidden on trail and there are many signs but as a local told me once I got to Tehachapi, “people don’t give a fuck around here”. He also told me up until recently people of Tehachapi completely ignored stop signs in town, interesting.

I made it to Tehachapi at around 4pm and promptly enjoyed cold beers and pizza with other hikers.

Traduction

Jour 20 à 37 : aqueduc, road trip et corbeaux

Jour 20

Après une pause méritée à l’hôtel nous sommes tous allés déjeuner à un café à côté. J’ai pris des pancakes et des pommes de terre, Daniel a choisi des biscuits avec de la sauce qui avaientt l’air franchement suspects. Mais tous les plats étaient délicieux et c’était sympa de faire de nouvelles connaissances.

Wrightwood est très accueillants envers les randonneurs, le magasin de bricolage met à disposition des sodas et des tables pour se reposer à l’ombre et beaucoup de gens nous ont demandé si nous avions besoin de quelque chose. Nous avons aussi eu des hotdogs gratuits à la station service, qui étaient super bons !

Mais même si Wrightwood est une ville sympa, le sentier m’a manqué et je suis reparti à midi pour franchir le Mont Baden Powell. Plusieurs randonneurs étaient partis tôt le matin pour éviter la neige fondue mais comme toujours, je suis un peu paresseux, donc je n’ai commencé l’ascension qu’à 15 heure.

C’était assez difficile, pas beaucoup de traces car le sentier était recouvert de neige et les gens ont donc plutôt décidé de monter directement vers le sommet. Alors que je m’approchais du haut, des supporteurs inattendus sont apparus sous la forme de corbeaux. Il y en avait beaucoup, je ne sais toujours pas pourquoi.

J’ai monté ma tente vers 20h à un endroit où de nombreuses personnes s’étaient arrêtées. Finalement un jour assez long, mais très satisfaisant.

Jour 21

Aujourd’hui, rien que du très classique. J’ai principalement écouté des podcasts que j’aime comme Reply all ou 99% invisible.

J’étais proche de Los Angeles donc il y avait de nombreux lieux de camps avec tables de pique nique et toilettes, ce qui change agréablement pour être honnête.

Jour 22

Le but de la journée était le KOA, un lieu de campement avec des douches (chères), une épicerie et une piscine. J’ai atteint mon but après une longue journée de descente.

Les 10 derniers miles ont été très durs et mon genou droit a beaucoup souffert. Le truc bizarre c’est qu’après 1 ou 2 heures sans pause il ne me fait plus mal. Une fois de plus, la solution face aux blessures ou à l’inconfort semble être de faire avec et de continuer.

J’ai aussi mangé de la pizza gratuite, merci à des randonneurs qui n’avaient plus faim (oui ça existe) !
Egalement, voici une photo qui montre ce que deux jours de marche sans douche feront à vos pieds.

Jour 23

Un jour très court puisque le but était juste de se rendre à Agua Dulce. C’est une petite ville où j’ai pris un Uber jusqu’à Lancaster et rencontré mes parents pour commencer notre road trip.

Il y a eu beaucoup de brume au début mais le ciel s’est éclairci quand je suis arrivé au canyon près d’Agua Dulce.

Jour 24 à 33 – Road trip

Quelque mois plus tôt, alors que je venais de prendre la décision de faire le PCT, ma mère m’avais rapidement proposé me rejoindre sur le sentier. J’étais immédiatement partant , et ça a pris un peu de temps, mais mon père a fini par accepter de venir avec nous.

Nous n’avions pas organisé grand chose mais on a fait beaucoup ! C’était un super à côté par rapport à la randonnée.

Premièrement, parce que j’étais excité de revoir mes parents. Même si ça ne fait pas si longtemps qu’on s’est dit au revoir à Paris, c’était super de partager avec eux mon expérience.

Ensuite parce que j’ai vu des choses que je n’aurai jamais vues s’ils n’étaient pas venus. Nous sommes allés à San Fransisco, la Death Valley, la côte Ouest et de nombreux autres lieux.

Je ne vais pas donner beaucoup plus de détails dans cet article car ce n’est pas vraiment le sujet. Mais je prévois d’écrire un article détaillé dans le futur avec des itinéraires et des hôtels parce que c’était génial !

Jour 34

Je suis reparti marcher ! Le sentier pour sortir d’Agua Dulce était agréable. C’est une de ces villes typiques de Californie. La spécialité se sont les films et de nombreux ranches et même la caserne de pompier proposent leurs services à des équipes de tournage. Le film le plus populaire tourné ici c’est Supe 8, dirigé par J.J. Abrams et produit par Spielberg.

J’ai été à Casa Luna, la maison des « trails angels » a environ 6h et c’était incroyable. J’utilise beaucoup ce mot mais c’était vraiment un endroit spécial. Les Anderson offrent leur jardin, leur générosité et leur maison pour accueillir des randonneurs tous les ans. Ils ont seulement une règle : tout le monde doit porter une chemise hawaïenne (qu’ils fournissent). Nous étions 30 cette nuit là mais parfois ils accueillent jusqu’à 90 personnes à la fois.

Nous avons eu des tacos pour le diner, des pancakes pour le petit-déjeuner et j’ai passé un excellant moment. J’ai rencontré des gens que je n’avais jamais vu parce que je venais juste de revenir sur le sentier mais je me suis senti très à l’aise. Les gens ne se prennent pas trop au sérieux par ici et c’est vraiment rafraichissant.

Jour 35

Aujourd’hui était une bonne journée, puisque je me suis éloigné de Casa Luna avec de beaux souvenirs et un ventre plein de pancakes. J’ai passé la majorité de la journée entouré de papillons. Cette section est connue pour sa météo très chaude et sèche mais il y avait du brouillard et c’était agréable de ne pas avoir à s’inquiéter du soleil. J’ai aussi bénéficier de la magie du sentier cet après-midi ! De la limonade et des biscuits ont suffi à illuminer le reste de ma journée.

Jour 36

L’aqueduc de Los Angeles. Une section du sentier redouté par beaucoup tant elle est sèche et monotone. C’est un aqueduc de 674km construit au 20ème siècle qui amène de l’eau de la rivière Owen dans les Sierras à Los Angeles.

Heureusement pour moi la journée était nuageuse et pluvieuse et j’ai réussi à parcourir cette section sans mal et sans avoir recours au stop. La monotonie a vraiment un effet cependant. Je n’avais pas réalisé jusqu’à aujourd’hui mais marcher sur à plat sur 30km est une expérience très différente de parcourir 30km dans les montagnes, où il y a beaucoup de choses à voir.

Je voulais vraiment finir cette section aujourd’hui et j’ai marché jusqu’à 9h, donc j’ai planté ma tente dans le noir.

Jour 37

Comme toujours quand une ville m’attend à la fin de la journée, je me suis concentré sur mon objectif pendant la plupart du temps. Le sentier passe par la plus grande « ferme de vent » d’Amérique, et les éoliennes sont immenses. Voici une photo avec une pierre pour échelle.

J’ai aussi croisé beaucoup de VTT, ce qui peut être compliqué quand ils viennent de derrière avec des écouteurs. Ils sont complètement interdits sur le sentier et il y a beaucoup de panneaux mais comme un local me l’a dit à Tehachapi « les gens n’en ont rien à foutre ici ». Il m’a aussi dit que jusqu’à récemment les gens de Tehachapi ignoraient complètement les panneaux stop en ville, intéressant.

Je suis arrivé à Tehachapi autour de 4h et j’ai tout de suite profité de bières fraiches et de pizzas avec d’autres randonneurs.

Day 11

Mi 179 - 191 (12mi / 19.2km)

I got out of Idyllwild at around 8 am with a fairly heavy backpack containing food for 5 days.

It was one of the hardest day on trail yet with all the snow and elevation gain. I got to the summit of Mount San Jacinto (3300m) a few hours later. The view was exceptional!

I didn’t meet many people as the PCT doesn’t go up to the summit but rather bypasses it.

I did however hear some shouting and whistling while going up. At first I thought it was birds and kept going. After 500m I met Mike, an hiker from the Netherlands who asked me if i had seen two women, I hadn’t. I told him I heard some whistling and we immediately dropped our packs and started running back down the trail.

It turns out that Mike had taken the wrong path (the one to the summit) while the two women (his daughter and a friend) took the other path to bypass it. In the end everything turned out to be fine but it was a fairly stressful moment as we had heard stories from locals these past few days of people sliding done the trail and getting lost, this was just a simple mistake.

On another topic, hiking in general and the PCT even more so amplifies delayed gratification to an extreme. It’s something that I didn’t really get anymore in my « normal » life with all the instant stuff and it’s been amazing having that feeling back on trail.

Day 12

Mi 191-219 (28mi / 45km)

My longest day on trail yet! After yesterday’s grueling terrain I spent the entire day going downhill. It was a nice change of pace and motivated me to do some extra miles. I also got trail magic twice! Trail magic is what hikers call any act of kindness done by strangers while out on the trail.

Under an interstate I ran into a couple which had cooked chicken and potatoes for us! It was incredible to take a break with a fresh coke and some food in the middle of the desert. Here’s a pretty bad picture of the setup.

And if that wasn’t already amazing enough I came upon fresh water, shade and tasty grapefruits a few miles later! It was set up by the employees of a wind farm.

Day 13

Mi 219-239 (20mi / 32.2km)

A fairly frustrating day, didn’t see many people. The trail was severely damaged due to flooding and wildfires making the terrain difficult to hike in. There were many trees blocking the path and at some points the trail was completely washed out.

I did get to a nice campsite with picnic tables which is always a nice surprise after a hard day.

Day 14

Mi 239 - 259 (20mi / 32.2km)

I had been having problem with my right knee for the last few days but today was definitely the worst when it comes to that. It hurts especially when going down hill and when I start walking. The cure is just to keep walking, no breaks!

I also got reunited with an old friend, snow.

I didn’t see a single person today, I only had the voice of Ira Glass from the podcast This American Life to make sure I wasn’t going insane.

Day 15

Mi 259 - 269 (10mi / 16km)

I took a nearo today, a day when you hiked close to zero in trail miles.

The goal was to get into Big bear lake (a small town that has ski lifts) to get food, wash my clothes and get laundry done. I did all three!

The locals were particularly nice to hikers. I met Matt in the Starbucks who was very interested in the logistics and reasons for taking on such an adventure.

I didn’t want to get “sucked in” to town as many hikers say so I hitched my way out by 5 pm and camped on trail. I didn’t even have to put my thumbs up a car immediately stopped to ask if I needed a ride!

Day 16

Mi 269 - 298.5 (29.5mi - 47.5km)

A nice downhill day, I hiked along with 3 Germans that had started together and had camped with me yesterday. We did hear gunshots quite a lot as apparently we were in a hunting area.

Day 17

Mi 298.5 - 320.1 (21.6mi / 34.8km)

A lot of hikers had been hyping up Deep creek hot springs as a really nice place with hot springs to chill in. It turned out to be a nice place to hangout with fellow hikers on sand and in the shade.

However it was fairly dirty, the water in hot springs is mostly stagnant and people tend to be nude when they get in. I will let you imagine the rest...

It also rained for the first time since I started, it only lasted 30 minutes.

Day 18

Mi 320.1 - 351.8 (31.7mi - 51km)

The day I broke my distance record. It was a very nice day, with some amazing views.

I had heard of a Mc Donald’s just a few meters off trail and was focused on big Macs and chicken nuggets pretty much for the entire first part of the day.

When I finally got to the Mc Donald’s it was all I had dreamed of and more. AC, toilets, unlimited fresh sodas and food!

Unfortunately as I got back to the trail I realized I had made a big mistake, for the next 5 miles my stomach felt like it was about to implode.

I did manage to get to an incredible campsite just as the sun was starting to disappear, it was a great day!

Day 19

Mi 351.8 - 369.3 (17.5mi - 28.2km)

The target for today was Wrightwood, a very hiker friendly town where I decided to stay overnight to get a bed, shower and most importantly food!

The hike into Wrightwood was actually quite hard as we got into higher elevation and met some snow again. We went by ski lifts which felt a bit surreal to see without snow.

The hitch into Wrightwood was one the hardest I had done yet. I met Daniel just as I was getting ready to hitch and we did it together. The first car that took us only got us halfway there. After waiting 30 minutes we decided to finish the last 4 miles by road walking. Fortunately someone took us in to the back of his pickup after 2 miles of road walking. I guess after so many easy hitch I got used to it.

Daniel turned out to be really nice and we decided to split a room for the night and got beers, the best way to end a day!

Traduction

Jours 11 à 19 : magie, coups de feu et bières

Jour 11

Je suis partie d'Idyllwild aux alentour de 8h avec un sac à dos assez lourd contenant de la nourriture pour 5 jours.

C'était l'un des jours les plus durs sur le sentier jusqu'à maintenant avec toute la neige et le dénivelé. Je suis arrivé au sommet du Mont San Jacinto (3300m) quelques heures plus tard. La vue était exceptionnelle !

Je n'ai pas rencontré beaucoup de monde car le PCT ne va pas jusqu'au sommet mais le contourne.

Toutefois j'ai entendu des cris et des sifflements alors que je grimpais. A première vue j'ai pensé que c'était des oiseaux et j'ai continué mon chemin. Après 500m j'ai rencontré Mike, un randonneur des Pays-Bas qui m'a demandé si j'avais vu deux femmes, ce à quoi j'ai répondu par la négative tout en précisant que j'avais entendu des sifflements. Nous avons immédiatement abandonné nos sacs et couru pour remonter le sentier.

Il s'est avéré que Mike avait pris le mauvais chemin (celui vers le sommet) tandis que les deux femmes (sa fille et l'une de ses amies) avait pris le sentier qui le contournait. A la fin tout s'est bien terminé mais cela a été un moment très angoissant, car nous avions entendu des rumeurs récentes sur des randonneurs s'écartant du sentier et finissant par se perdre.

Sur un autre sujet, la randonnée en général et le PCT en particulier amplifie le sentiment de satisfaction à l'extrême. C'est quelque chose que je ne ressentais plus vraiment dans ma vie « normale » qui est très marquée par l'instantanéité et c'est génial de ressentir à nouveau cela.

Jour 12

Mon plus long jour sur le sentier jusqu'à maintenant ! Après la journée épuisante d'hier j'ai passé mon temps à descendre. C'était un changement bienvenu de rythme et cela m'a motivé à faire quelques kilomètres en plus. J'ai également bénéficié de la magie du sentier deux fois ! La magie du sentier, cela désigne tout acte de gentillesse effectué par des inconnus pendant la randonnée.

J'ai donc rencontré un couple d'inconnus qui avait cuisiné du poulet et des patates pour nous ! C'était incroyable de prendre une pause en mangeant de la nourriture fraichement cuisiné au milieu du désert. Voici une assez mauvaise image de ce à quoi ça ressemblait.

Et comme si ce n'était pas assez extraordinaire, j'ai trouvé plus tard sur le chemin de l'eau fraiche, de l'ombre et de délicieux raisins qui avaient été déposés par les employés d'une ferme d'éoliennes.

Jour 13

Une journée assez frustrante, je n'ai pas vu beaucoup de gens. Le sentier était très abimé par les inondations et les feux de forêt et difficilement praticable. Il y avait de nombreux arbres qui bloquaient le chemin et à certains endroits, le sentier disparaissait complètement. J'ai toutefois eu un beau lieu de camp avec des tables de pique-niques, ce qui est toujours appréciable après une dure journée.

Jour 14

J'ai des douleurs au genou droit depuis les dernier jours, mais aujourd'hui c'est définitivement mon pire jour sur ce point. Cela fait mal, spécialement quand je descends et quand je commence à marcher. La solution est juste de continuer à avancer, pas de pause !

J'ai aussi retrouvé un vieil ami, la neige.

Je n'ai pas croisé une seule personne aujourd'hui, j'ai seulement eu la voix d'Ira Glass du Podcast « C'est la vie américaine » qui m'a permis de m'assurer que je n'étais pas en train de devenir fou.

Jour 15

J'ai pris un zéro aujourd'hui, un jour où je n'ai pas avancé sur le sentier mais en dehors.

Le but était d'arriver au lac de la Grande Ourse (une petite station de ski) pour prendre de la nourriture, prendre un douche et laver mon linge. J'ai réussi à faire les trois !

Les locaux sont particulièrement gentils avec les randonneurs. J'ai rencontré Matt au Starbucks qui s'est montré très intéressé par la logistique et les raisons qui m'ont poussé à entreprendre cette aventure.

Je ne voulais pas me faire « aspirer » par la ville, comme disent les randonneurs, donc j'en suis sorti à 17h et j'ai campé sur le sentier. Je n'ai même pas eu besoin de lever le pouce car une voiture s'est immédiatement arrêté pour savoir si j'avais besoin d'aller quelque part !

Jour 16

Une belle journée à descendre, j'ai randonné avec trois allemands qui ont commencé le sentier ensemble et qui ont campé avec moi hier. Nous avons entendu de nombreux coups de feu, nous étions visiblement dans une zone de chasse.

Jour 17

De nombreux randonneurs m'ont vanté les mérites des sources chaudes de Deep Creek, en me racontant que c'était l'endroit parfait pour se détendre. C'était effectivement un bel endroit pour rencontrer des randonneurs sur le sable et à l'ombre.

Toutefois, c'était aussi assez sale, l'eau des sources chaudes est stagnante et les gens ont tendance à être nu quand ils se baignent. Je vous laisse imaginer le reste...

Il a aussi plu pour la première fois depuis que j'ai commencé, mais ça n'a duré que 30mn.

Jour 18

Aujourd'hui j'ai dépassé mon record de kilomètres parcourus. C'était une très belle journée, avec des ponts de vue magnifiques.

J'avais entendu dire qu'il y avait un Mac Donald's a quelques mètres du sentier et j'étais concentré sur la perspective d'un Big Mac et des nuggets de poulet pendant la majeure partie de la journée. Quand j'y suis finalement arrivé c'était encore mieux que ce que j'avais imaginé. Air conditionné, toilettes, sodas frais illimités et nourriture à volonté !

Malheureusement, en reprenant le sentier, j'ai réalisé que j'avais fait une grosse erreur, et pendant les 5 miles suivants j'ai eu l'impression que mon estomac pouvait exploser à tout moment.

J'ai réussi à arriver jusqu'à un lieu de camp magnifique juste au moment du couché du soleil, c'était une journée géniale !

Jour 19

L'objectif du jour c'était Wrightwood, une ville qui a la réputation de bien accueillir les randonneurs et où j'ai décidé de passer la nuit pour avoir un lit, une douche, et plus important, de la nourriture !

La randonnée jusqu'à la ville a été assez difficile avec un dénivelé important et de la neige. Nous sommes arrivés par télésiège ce qui était un peu surréaliste car il y avait très peu de neige autour.

Le stop jusqu'à Wrightwood a été l'un des plus difficile que j'ai eu à faire jusqu'à aujourd'hui. J'ai rencontré Daniel alors que je commençais à faire du stop et on s'est mis ensemble. La première voiture qui nous a pris nous a seulement fait faire la moitié du chemin. Après avoir attendu 30 minutes on a décidé de finir les 4 miles restant à pieds. Heureusement, quelqu'un nous a pris après 2 miles de marche sur la route. J'avais fini par m'habituer au stop facile.

Je me suis vraiment bien entendu avec Daniel et on a décidé de partager une chambre pour la nuit et d'aller prendre des bières, la meilleure manière de finir la journée !

Day 5

After some nice rest at the Julian hotel I got a late start to the day, I started hiking at around 11 am. Usually I try to be out on the trail by 8 am and I plan on being out earlier than that in the future as the days get hotter.

Anyways I hitchhiked my way out of Julian thanks to Anna, a really nice woman who lives in Julian and raises 4 kids on her own yet still took the time to help me! I ended up camping alone that day at a nice spot after about 15 miles.

Day 6

I reached Warners Spring, a small town that has a community center operated by volunteers with services for hikers.

They have free showers, charging station and really anything hikers could want. Many people decide to take a “zero” here (not walk for a day) but I felt good so kept on going.

I also got to Eagle Rock, the name is pretty self explanatory.

I camped next to a creek with a bunch of hikers I had never met before, including Limbo who had to stop for 15 days in Warner’s Spring due to a tendinitis.

Day 7

The highlight of today was definitely Mike’s place! Mike's place is a a house in the middle of nowhere where a mystical man named Mike hosts hikers for free and offers beers, water and most importantly a really nice backyard to hang out. The legend says Mike doesn’t actually exist and is just a figment of our imagination but really he has caretakers who look after the property and manage it.

I took a break there for a few hours and met many people from Denmark, Holland and the US.

Day 8

The main target for today was paradise valley cafe, a restaurant just a mile off trail which offers the best burgers on the trail, or so the people say. I got a burger named “the mother lode" and really enjoyed it.

I can’t say how much of that was due to the 15 miles I had to do to eat it.

I came upon a library in the middle of nowhere maintained by one of the locals named Mary. She also built a picnic area, toilets and most importantly maintains a water cache. A really nice surprise!


I also almost stepped on a snake...

A lot of the talk these past few days between hikers and locals has been focused on snow and how dangerous the miles ahead are without micro spikes or an ice axe to self arrest. I decided to do without both partly because looking at the elevation profiles nothing too steep was ahead so I hoped regular trail runners would do the job.

Day 9

The first time I had some snow on the trail! Also my biggest day yet in terms of elevation with more than 1660 meters of ascent. It turns out that the warnings of locals and hikers about the need for micro spikes and an ice axe were a bit overblown, I did perfectly fine without either.

I got into Idyllwild at 5 pm and decided to get a room for two nights.

Day 10

Walked around Idyllwild a little, it is close to some very popular climbing spots so a lot of the town is focused on that and the PCT.


Idyllwild is also part of the few towns in the US who elected a dog as a mayor! This is only possible as Idyllwild is non-incorporated. His name is Max, a Labrador and he’s a very good boy. Unfortunately he wasn’t out and about today so I didn’t get to actually meet him.

I reunited with some people I had met at Mikes Place. It was cool to get an update on how everyone was doing and talk about what was ahead of us.

Traduction

Jours 5 à 10 : de la neige, des hamburgers et des serpents

Jour 5

Après une pause agréable à l’hôtel, j’ai commencé la journée tard, aux alentours de 11h. Habituellement, j’essaye d’être sur le sentier à 8h et je prévois d’y être encore plus tôt dans les prochains jours, car il fait de plus en plus chaud.

J’ai donc fais du stop jusqu’au sentier, merci à Anna, une femme super gentille qui vit à Julian et élève seule 4 enfants toute seule, ce qui ne l’a pas empêché de m’aider ! J’ai finis la journée en campant seul sur un beau site à environ 15 miles (ndlr : 25km).

Jour 6

J’ai atteint Warner Spring, une petite ville qui possède un centre communautaire géré par des volontaires avec tout ce qu’il faut pour les randonneurs.

Il y avait des douches gratuites, de quoi charger ses appareils électroniques et tout ce qu’un randonneur peut souhaiter. Beaucoup de gens ont décidé de prendre un « zéro » ici (ne pas marcher pour une journée) mais je me sentais bien donc j’ai continué ma route.

Je suis aussi allé à la pierre de l’aigle, le nom vous suffira à comprendre (photo)

J’ai campé à côté d’un ruisseau avec d’autres randonneurs que je n’avais jamais rencontrés avant, dont Limbo, qui a dû s’arrêter 15 jours à Warner’s Spring à cause d’une tendinite.

Jour 7

Le meilleur de la journée a définitivement été quand je suis arrivée chez Mike ! Chez Mike, c’est une maison au milieu de nul part où un homme mystique prénommé Mike accueille des randonneurs gratuitement en offrant des bières, de l’eau, et le plus important, un très beau jardin pour se reposer. La légende dit que Mike n’existe pas en réalité, qu’il est juste le fruit de notre imagination, et qu’il a du personnel qui prend soin de la propriété et la gère.

J’ai pris une pause de quelques heures et j’ai rencontré des gens du Danemark, d’Hollande et des Etats-Unis.

Jour 8

L’objectif de la journée était d’arriver au café La Vallée du Paradis, un restaurant situé à un kilomètre du sentier, qui offre les meilleurs hamburgers du sentier, selon ce qui se raconte. J’ai pris un hamburger nommé le « Filon de la mère » (Mother Lode) et j’ai beaucoup aimé. Je ne peux cependant pas dire à quel point c’était dû au 15 miles (25km) que j’ai dû faire pour le manger.

J’ai trouvé une bibliothèque au milieu de nul part qui est géré par Marie, une locale. Elle a aussi construit une ère de piquenique, des toilettes et plus important, elle approvisionne un réservoir en eau. Une belle surprise ! (Photo avec une étiquette qui dit « des livres dont vous n’avez pas besoin, dans un endroit que vous ne pouvez pas trouver »)

J’ai presque marché sur un serpent…

Beaucoup de conversations entre les randonneurs et les locaux ont porté, ces derniers jours, sur la neige et le danger que représentait les prochains kilomètres sans équipement spécifique. J’ai décidé de faire sans ce dernier, à la fois car le dénivelé n’était pas trop élevé et parce que j’espérai que mes chaussures de marche assureraient le coup.

Jour 9

La première fois que je vois de la neige sur le sentier ! Egalement mon jour le plus important en terme de dénivelé, avec plus de 1660m de monté. Il est apparu que les avertissements sur les besoin d’équipements spéciaux étaient un peu exagérés, je me suis parfaitement débrouillé sans.

Je suis arrivée à Idyllwild à 5h et j’ai décidé de prendre une chambre pour deux nuits.

Jour 10

Je me suis un peu baladé autour d’Idyllwild, situé juste à côté d’un lieu pour l’escalade très populaire, ce qui fait que la ville tourne un peu autour de ça et du PCT.

Idyllwild est également l’une des rares villes aux Etats-Unis qui a élu un chien comme maire ! C’est seulement possible car elle n’est pas officiellement considéré comme une ville par l’Etat fédéral. Il s’appelle Max, c’est un labrador et un parfait gentlemen. Malheureusement, il n’était pas de sortie aujourd’hui et je n’ai pas pu le rencontrer.

J’ai rejoins d’autres gens que j’avais rencontré chez Mike. C’était sympa d’avoir des nouvelles de tout le monde et de parler de ce qui nous attend.

Getting to the trail

The start of the PCT is located right next to the Mexican border south of San Diego. So I decided to get a plane to LAX from Paris, train to San Diego and then ask Scout and Frodo, amazing volunteers for the PCT, to give me a ride to the start of the trail.

Admittedly this is a nice problem to have but LAX deserves the Dundie for worst airport. The few hours I spent at LAX after I landed were really frustrating. Something America seems to be really good at is making sure you don’t want to come in to the actual country. I waited 3 hours, to get a stamp on the visa I got 6 months ago. The airport staff kept running to one end of the line to the other to make sure Kevin from Rochdale or one of his mates didn’t cut the line.

After this was over I wanted to go to the train station in downtown LA. I think I saw in the span of 5 minutes 20 different buses each running under a different bus company. It made european publicly subsidized transport look like heaven. LAX has a ton of buses running different routes at the same time, each one only going to one stop (a hotel or a car rental place). The only company that is supposed to run buses to downtown LA (FlyAway) never showed up, after waiting 45 minutes I was going to miss my train to San Diego so I fell in the taxi trap. The sheer amount of cars and constant honking felt like something out of Mumbai except this time the taxi ride was 70$ and the bus ticket 20$.

Day 0

I spent the following day mostly hanging around San Diego which is a really nice city. Unfortunately jet lag got to me and I didn’t do that much except buy some missing gear and eat at Chipotle, which is overrated in my opinion by the way. Some pics of San Diego:

Day 1

I had contacted a few weeks ago Scout and Frodo who host hikers every year and bring them out to the trail. They are incredibly generous people and in fact even refuse any kind of monetary compensation for all the things they do. It was really nice to meet people who were about to embark on the same journey as I was, everyone was so supportive. I got a ride to the trail along 3 other hikers by Mike, a crime scene analyst from San Diego, who volunteers for Scout and Frodo.

The moment we got to the trail was kinda surreal. I had planned this trip for quite a while and when it finally dawn on me that it was happening, I felt a mix of excitement, relief and anxiety at the amount of miles to cover. I did 22 miles that day I guess I was really excited. At the campsite I met Martin and Niels really cool German dudes and a bunch of other hikers. We had a few beers and all went to bed pretty early.

Day 2

I headed out on trail at 7 am and hiked quite a bit until I hit a nice spot under an oak tree. After my first day which was long I decided to stop at 3 pm, and got some nice (deserved?) rest.

Day 3

This day started really well I got up to Mount Laguna early in the morning and got to enjoy some nice scrambled eggs along with coffee while meeting other hikers. As cliche as this is going to sound the kindness of people out here never stops to amaze me. I hiked 20 miles that day.

Unfortunately I got some really bad news about a close family member at midday and I spent the rest of the day reflecting on all the amazing moments I got to share with them. Being that far out from all of it feels really weird.

Also here was my campsite for the night pretty good eh?

Well it turns out not so much... This spot was extremely exposed and the wind got the better of my tent. I had to pack up everything at midnight and hike a little bit more to set up my tent in a more protected site.

Day 4

My longest day on trail yet. It was really windy, my hat got blown away a few times and I’ve discovered that hiking in very strong wind is a decent motivator, taking breaks in that kind of weather is not so appealing. I hitchhiked to Julian a small town next to the trail early in the afternoon with people I’d met earlier this day. We all enjoyed a free pie at Mom’s Pie, a bakery in Julian which gives out free homemade pie to hikers! It was honestly the best pie I ever ate I don’t eat that many but still). The temptation of getting a hotel for the night got to me and I enjoyed my first shower and real bed since starting this trip.

These past four days have been incredible, everything is still so fresh and really exciting. I can’t wait to keep going!

Here is a collection of pictures from these first few day:

Traduction

Jour 0 à 4 : c ’est parti !

Arriver jusqu’au sentier

Le début du PCT se situe tout près de la frontière mexicaine, au Sud de San Diego. J’ai donc décidé de prendre un avion de Paris à Los Angeles (LA), puis un train jusqu’à San Diego et enfin de demander à Scout et Frodo, des bénévoles super sympas du PCT, de me conduire jusqu’au début du sentier.

J’admets que c’est un problème de riche, mais l’aéroport de LA mérite vraiment le Dundie du pire aéroport (ndlr : récompense distribuée par Michel Scott dans la série The Office, meilleure série du monde). Les quelques heures que j’ai passé à cet endroit après mon atterrissage ont été très frustrantes. Un truc que les Etats-Unis font super bien c’est de faire en sorte de vous priver de toute envie de venir dans leur pays. J’ai attendu 3 heures, pour avoir un tampon sur un visa que j’ai obtenu il y a 6 mois. Le personnel de l’aéroport ne faisait qu’encadrer la queue afin de vérifier que Kevin de Rochdale ou l’un de ses potes ne doublait personne.

Après ça, je voulais aller à la gare dans le sud de LA. Je pense que j’ai vu, en l’espace de 5mn, 20 bus différents appartenant à des compagnies distinctes. Pour vous donner une idée, cela fait des transports publics européen un véritable paradis. L’aéroport de Los Angeles à des dizaines de compagnies de bus qui empruntent des routes différentes en même temps, chacune ne faisant qu’un seul arrêt, à un hôtel ou un magasin de location de voiture. Le seul bus qui était sensé passer par le sud de la ville n’est jamais arrivé, et après 45mn je commençais à prendre le risque de manquer mon train, donc je suis tombé dans le piège du taxi. La foule de voiture et les bruits de klaxon permanent m’ont fait voyagé à Mumbai, à l’exception que cette fois, le trajet en taxi m’a couté 70 dollars.

Jour 0

J’ai passé la journée d’après à me balader à San Diego, une très belle ville. Malheureusement, à cause du décalage horaire, je n’ai pas fait grand chose à part acheter du matériel qui me manquait et manger à Chipotle (ndlr : chaine de restaurant mexicain), un endroit largement surévalué, selon moi.

Jour 1

J’avais contacté Scout et Frodo qui accueillent des randonneurs chaque année et les amènent sur le sentier. Ce sont des gens incroyablement généreux qui refusent toute compensation financière pour ce qu’ils font. C’était super chouette de rencontrer des gens qui partaient pour le même voyage que moi, tout le monde était très solidaire.

Le moment où l’on est arrivé sur le sentier était surréaliste. J’ai planifié ce voyage pendant tellement longtemps et j’ai réalisé d’un coup que j’y étais vraiment. Au camping, j’ai rencontré Martin et Niels, deux allemands super cools ainsi que d’autres randonneurs. On a pris quelques bières et on s’est tous couché tôt.

Jour 2

Je me suis rendu sur le sentier à 7h et j’ai marché un moment avant de trouver un bel endroit sous un chêne. Après mon premier jour, qui était assez long, j’ai décidé de m’arrêter à 15h et de prendre une pause bien méritée.

Jour 3

Cette journée a super bien commencé, j’ai escaladé le mont Laguna tôt le matin pour profiter d’œufs brouillés et de café avec d’autres randonneurs. Même si ça à l’air cliché, la gentillesse des gens ici m’émerveille. Ce jour là, j’ai marché 20 miles (ndlr : environ 32 km).

Malheureusement j’ai eu de très mauvaises nouvelles à propos d’un membre de ma famille proche à midi et j’ai passé le reste de la journée à repenser à tous les merveilleux moments que j’ai passé avec eux. C’était tellement étrange d’être aussi loin d’eux dans un tel moment.

Et voici l’endroit ou j’ai planté ma tente pour la nuit. Pas mal non ? Et bien en fait non… Ce lieu de campement était très exposé et le vent a eu le dessus sur ma tente. J’ai du tout remballer à minuit et marcher un peu plus pour m’installer dans un lieu plus abrité.

Jour 4

Mon jour le plus long sur le sentier. Il y avait beaucoup de vent, ma casquette s’est envolée plusieurs fois et j’ai découvert que marcher avec un vent violent et une source de motivation puissante, car prendre une pause dans ces conditions n’a rien de très tentant. Dans l’après-midi, j’ai fait du stop jusqu’à Julian, une petite ville près du sentier, avec des gens que j’avais rencontré plus tôt. On a tous profité de tartes gratuites chez Les tartes de Maman, une boulangerie qui donne gratuitement des tartes faites maison aux randonneurs. C’était honnêtement la meilleure tarte que je n’ai jamais mangé (certes je n’en mange pas tant que cela mais quand même). J’ai cédé à la tentation de prendre un hôtel pour la nuit et j’ai pu prendre une douche et profiter d’un vrai lit pour la première fois depuis le début du voyage.

C’est quatre derniers jours ont été incroyables, tout est tellement nouveau et excitant. J’ai hâte de continuer !

Voici quelques photos de ces premiers jours.