Thru-Hiking Journal

Day 71 Forward progress: 11.6 miles Total distance on trail: 843.2 miles I didn't get out of bed until 7:30. I could have slept another hour at least, but I heard Gearhead making breakfast for all of us and I didn't want to be lazy while he was busying himself for us. He made German pancakes, which Goosebump and I are convinced are just slightly thicker crepes and the Germans insist are a totally different thing. Either way, they were a delicious way to begin the day. After c

Day 62 Forward progress: 8.8 miles Total distance on trail: 724.0 miles Packing up this morning was weird. I've been away from trail now for 2 full weeks. My legs are probably going to have to readjust and I'm no longer acclimated to the altitude. My pack has never been heavier; I'm carrying my winter gear (ice axe, microspikes, hiking pants, snow gaiters, waterproof socks), and since we're unsure of the conditions moving forward, we have 8 days of food for the upcoming 80 mi

This river trip was exactly what we needed to relax and let the snow melt out. I learned a new style of camping, saw some incredible views, and experienced the desert in a unique way. Our daily mileage breakdown is as follows: Day 1 (CDT Day 52): approx. 10 miles Day 2 (CDT Day 53): approx. 21 miles Day 3 (CDT Day 54): approx. 24 miles Day 4 (CDT Day 55): approx. 9 miles Day 5 (CDT Day 56): approx. 24 miles Day 6 (CDT Day 57): approx. 3 miles Day 7 (CDT Day 58): approx. 9 mil

Day 44 Forward progress: 13.7 miles Total distance on trail: 676.3 It feels like we did a million miles today for how much effort was put in. The whole day was hard. The first 11 miles were fun hard. The final 2.7 miles were brutal. I wanted to hit the SOS button and take an evac back to Chama. I actually meant to take today off, but I know the upcoming section is ripe with sketchy snow traverses, and I knew a lot of people were shuttling out, and there's strength in numbers

Day 31 Forward progress: 17.6 miles Total distance on trail: 530.7 miles I don't know if "happy" is the right verbiage for the day, but happy 1 month trailiversary to me! About half the hikers who were in town yesterday left. I was one of the later hikers to leave around 9:45. I didn't want to do big miles today, so getting an early start wouldn't have made sense. In classic New Mexico kindness, someone left coolers of beverages on the road walk back to the trail. Seriously,

Day 21 Forward progress: 16.0 miles Total distance on trail: 346.3 miles Pie Town was a weirdly easy town to stay in, even if we were confined to a diner, the room attached to the diner, and a hostel that could pass for a museum. Part of it is that the best option for camping on the way out of town is 16 flat dirt road miles away -- not enough to constitute a full day of hiking, which forces hikers to stay until at least early afternoon before leaving. If you run into friends

Day 11 Forward progress: 19.3 miles Total distance on trail: 177.5 Hiking out of town without Mitch today was really emotional. I feel so selfish, pursuing my dreams without him while he works and does responsible life things. I'm the one doing the trail, leaving home for months, causing both of us to cry. And he has the audacity to be supportive instead of angry. These past miles have been so fun. Since it was only a few days, we hiked together most of the time instead of hi

Day 6 Forward progress: 14.4 miles Total miles on trail: 98.4 miles Not to brag or anything but I slept in today all the way until 6:00. So... that's pretty huge! Given that we're still in the bootheel desert, we knew that hiking in the afternoon hours was not ideal, so our original plan was to leave around 4:00. We ended up hanging out in the hotel lobby until we got too antsy to stick around town much longer, and after a few last-minute chores and a late lunch, we got start

Crazy Cook Monument: the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail, just feet from the Mexican border Day 1 Forward progress: 14.2 miles Total distance on trail: 14. 2 miles Dude... what am I doing here? Even though I did this section of trail last year, I forgot how absolutely awful this first day is. When I asked Mitch if this day was better or worse than he thought it would be, he said worse. I thought I had adequately warned him. The Continental Divide Trail Coali

Well... it is that time, isn't it? I've definitely been putting this off, but I'm running out of time to officially announce my 2025 atte

This journal details the author's trek of the 76-mile Foothills Trail in South Carolina.

It's not hip flexor tendonitis.

Day 12 Miles hiked today: 18.6 Total miles hiked on trail: 188.9 Somehow, I was one of the last people to roll out of camp this morning. It was 6:30 a.m., and somehow basically everyone was up and out before I was up. I guess my new sleeping pad has already proven its value; I slept so well and stayed so warm! And I never woke up partially on the ground! I maybe should have replaced my shoes as well. My plan is to get my new ones when Mitch visits next weekend, but the tread

Day 6 Miles hiked today: 21.9 Total miles hiked on trail: 111.0 Unclear how, but that was my best night of sleep on trail so far. I think once the wind subsided in the night, there was no noise from my tent, and therefore nothing keeping me awake. It also was a pretty cold morning, so it was hard to rouse myself from my quilted slumber. I'm waking up with a sore right foot because last night, while walking around camp with my Crocs on, some thorny desert twig on the ground lo

I realize that, as I embark on this journey, many if you may not actually be all that familiar with this hike. Unlike the Appalachian Trail, the birthplace of thru-hiking culture, the most popular U.S. thru-hike, the Continental Divide Trail boasts a less conspicuous reputation. The Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail complete the U.S. Triple Crown of thru-hikes. The former two are well-known and popular, but the CDT is the grungy blac

Today, March 7th, 2024, I cease to be a teacher. Again. The first time this happened was much more unpredictable. I was finishing up my first year of teaching, virtually, in June of 2020, a few months after I had put in my resignation in order to move out of state. Had I waited only 3 weeks to resign, I would have known that moving was no longer an option, and COVID was going to keep me in Ohio a little longer. I found myself working a series of odd jobs to compensate for my

Segment 22: 357.8 - 375.1 (17.3 miles) Segment 23: 375.1 - 391.2 (16.1 miles) Segment 24: 391.2 - 412.1 (21.0 miles) Segment 25: 412.1 - 432.8 (20.7 miles) Segment 26: 432.8 - 443.9 (11.1 miles) Segment 27: 443.9 - 464.7 (20.8 miles) Segment 28: 464.7 - 486.4 (21.7 miles) Day 23 - July 21st Daily miles: 19.1 Official distance covered on trail: 376.9 Segments witnessed: 22, 23 The beginning of today and the end of today may as well have been different days. The morning was com

Almost a full year from my unexpected departure from the Colorado Trail, I am coming back to finish what I started. I want to be able to say that I'm exclusively excited to finish it, especially because this section is supposed to be the most beautiful part of the whole trail and I get to spend the next week doing something I love to do, but I can't say that and be telling the whole truth. Honestly, I'm angry that I have to do this right now. I should have finished this last

Yesterday, July 22nd, was not intended to be my last day. I don't want to get super into it, but last night after dinner, I started feeling incredibly unwell. I knew it wasn't normal, so I called my mom, and she advised me to go to the emergency room. I called another medical professional for a second opinion, and she recommended the same. I'm so glad that I was in a town. I'm so glad that I was staying at a hostel. I'm so glad that the owner -- whose name, coincidentally, is

CW 5: 67.6 - 92.0 (24.4 miles) Segment 15: 253.2 - 267.6 (14.4 miles) Segment 16: 267.6 - 282.3 (14.7 miles) Segment 17: 282.3 - 302.9 (20.6 miles) Segment 18: 302.9 - 316.8 (13.9 miles) Segment 19: 316.8 - 330.4 (13.6 miles) Segment 20: 330.4 - 343.1 (12.7 miles) Segment 21: 343.1 - 357.8 (14.7 miles) Day 17 - July 17th Daily miles: 15.6 Official distance covered on trail: 272.4 Segments witnessed: CW 5, 15, 16 I knew today was going to be hard, but I had no idea it was goin