C. Dow LaFevers

C. Dow LaFevers

First Year Mathematics PhD Student at Rice University

Day 72

Published:

Today had only an austere beauty, as the trail continued through the burn scar we started walking through after leaving Quincy yesterday. We got too late of a start, causing much suffering in the heat (with no shade because all the trees were dead) and ultimately for us to fall a bit short of our intended campsite and instead camping at Mile 1322.2, with a beautiful view of Lassen in the distance. Not much to say about today, just another hot and dusty March through burned forest.

1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Like whatcha see?

Enter your email to receive new posts in your inbox.

You May Also Enjoy

Grand Canyon

Published:

The first bullet point of my journal is “holy shit.” That’s a pretty good summary of my impression of

AZT: Flagstaff to Grand Canyon

Published:

For veteran readers of the blog, I’m trying something a bit different; my spring break blog posts will summarize multiple days of my trip, informed by my daily journal. On the PCT I found myself not writing things I was thinking and feeling because I knew it would end up on the internet, so this is my current idea of a solution.

Day 117

Published:

I don’t think I could have asked for a better birthday than today. I hiked through some of the most choice scenery on the Pacific Crest Trail (for the second time!), we were able to not only ride into nearby Mazama with the first car that passed but actually secure a ride all the way into Seattle for the following day, and I was able to enjoy a great dinner at the Mazama pub with Roadrunner and Free Bird! He slept in today, so he stuck around for the afternoon in Mazama at the Lion’s Den hostel. After an excellent shower at the hostel, I ran into Carmen, a woman traveling with her dog from Mount Hood to Banff on foot via the Pacific Crest and Pacific Northwest Trails, then hopping in their canoe and paddling the whole Columbia River! A truly incredible last day on the PCT.

Day 116

Published:

It’s difficult to write about today because it was a very emotional one. I’ll try to just describe what happened. We navigated the several passes between us and the border with ease and excitement, leaving an eight mile downhill to the border. Since this would also be an eight mile uphill, we decided to drop most of our stuff at Hopkins Lake and travel with just water and some snacks to make the hike back a bit easier. While we were off trail setting our shelters up, we missed Free Bird, a realization I would have a bit later which made me sad, as I thought I wouldn’t get to say goodbye. The hike down was so fast, so when I turned the corner and saw the border monument, I almost didn’t believe it was over. After taking some photos, we climbed back up to the lake with no problems and went to bed.