Day 4: Fred Canyon to Mount Laguna (Miles 32-42)
Stats:
Steps: 17672
Ascend: 672m
Descend: 183m
Max. Elevation: 1838m
Distance: 15.84m
Calories: 1643
Day 3: From Lake Morena to Fred Canyon (miles 20-32)
We stayed at Lake Morena campground and started from here on day 3.
Since it was already quite busy with tents, it took me a while to find an even spot to pitch my tent and as I went inside my tent to pitch it, it smelled like sh*t – and yes – someone had gone right there on the campground!! What an animal. We covered it up with a huge pile of leaves and I had to love my tent … on night 3! Well it’s a good learning, I’ll definitely look out for that in the future!
Stats:
Steps taken: 27000
Ascend: 686m
Calories burnt: 1824
At Elevation: 1290m
Distance: 20km
Day 2: Miles 11.2-20 Lake Morena
The first night was wild – a skunk sprayed close to us – we must have set up close to his nest – luckily our gents didn’t get any smell. We also heard dear falling over our guylines- so we didn’t get too much sleep.
We woke up and hike two miles to a spot with a nice rock to sit on and make breakfast. I made fresh coffee and dried my sleeping bag.
We stayed at this campground and enjoyed a hot shower and some food at a close by shop.
The trail wasn’t too difficult and it was still a bit rainy in parts. I feel a bit weak due to my cold but since I am only going 10-12 miles a day, it’s ok. The pack feel heavy with 33lbs (15kg).
It’s a new ultra light pack without metal framing so I will have to get used to it.
Day 1: From Campo to somewhere Miles 0 – 11.2
The first day hiking was good! We deliberately hiked very slow not to get an overuse injury. It was raining a bit.
No blisters in r pain but a hit of a cold I seem to have caught in the plane.
Great first day. Trying to enjoy all the beautiful things along the way and not focus on getting somewhere quickly 🙂
Pacific Crest Trail
After month of planning and prep I started my biggest adventure yet – I am thru-hiking the Pacific Creat Trail! 🤩
The PCT is one of the three big long-distance hiking trails in the US with 4265km (2650 miles). It starts at the Mexican border and passes through the states of California, Oregon and Washington and ends at the Canadian border.
The elevation on the Pacific Crest Trail ranges from a low of roughly 34 meters (110 feet) near the Bridge of the Gods on the Oregon-Washington border to a high of approximately 4,009 meters (13,153 feet) at Forester Passin the Sierra Nevada.
You need a long-distance permit to access mostly wilderness areas and national parks. I’ll be carrying everything I need in my backpack and sleep in a tent for the next few months with the occasional town visit to resupply.
I am excited, nervous, grateful and so curious about this journey ahead.
After a few days of prep in San Diego and sending myself a few resupply packages up the trail, I’ll stay my last night at CLEEF, close to the Southern Terminus and start my hike April 17th. 🙋🏻♀️🤩
I started April 17th and will update my blog whenever I have reception / WiFi. The last few days there wasn’t any.
All good things must come to an end
Anchorage: not the capital of Alaska, that’s Juneau (the only state capital you can’t travel to by car!) but the biggest city of the state. 40% of Alaskans live here. You’re still in the wild quickly with the Chugach mountains on its doorstep.
Sea lions, first black bear, dead salmon and Mt Sanford (4949m)
Mostly a driving day but first: visiting the Solomon Gulch Salmon Hatchery. Because as you know salmon go back to where they were born after one or several years in the ocean to lay their eggs and die. This hatchery is basically a salmon farm that grows each year for the last 40 years. It’s a good place to view wildlife that comes here to eat salmon. And wildlife I saw!
Prince William Sound: Kayaking trip to Columbia Glacier 🧊
You will know Valdez and Prince William Sound from the Exxon Valdez oil spill 1989, where 11 million gallons of oil ran aground Prince William Sound. I was told 10% of that is still around 30 years later… the area is just beautiful with sea otters and sea lions and wild salmon and many more animals around. And one of the fastest retreating glaciers: Columbia Glacier. I did a full day kayaking trip with Pangaea and it was one of the highlights of my trip:
Denali Highway to Valdez
There are only a few highways in Alaska and Denali Highway, leading from Denali National Park / Cantwell to Paxson, is probably the prettiest one. “The Denali Highway is certainly one of the most spectacular drives in the world. Much of the route lies above timberline, so the vistas go on forever. The mountains and glaciers of the Alaska Range form a majestic backdrop, with miles of rolling tundra punctuated by shallow lakes in between.”