All things change. Nothing stays the same. It's as true of this trail as it is for anything else. Long from now, much of the 2000 miles we've walked will be gone, forgotten beneath the soil that has reclaimed it, replaced by newer and better tread. But the scenery—the thing that brings people back year after year—that will remain the same.
The Last Summit
Not 200 miles from the border of Mexico, the Pacific Crest Trail arrives at the foot of something very unexpected. Rising up from the desert floor as if conjured from the earth and into the sky, Mt. San Jacinto looms impressively above the tiny town of Idyllwild. With an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet and a prominence of over 8,000 feet, it would be hard to miss.
The Upside Down Place
If you have any fondness for the ‘80s, the Netflix series Stranger Things and its sinister “Upside Down Place” has probably made your watchlist (and if it hasn't yet, it should). But there's another “Upside Down Place” of a less supernatural sort too—and we've been walking through it all day.
Two Thousand
After yesterday's downright social atmosphere, it was back to a more familiar one: just us, the trail, and a smattering of cows that aren't quite as adept at holding up their end of a conversation. It was the first morning that either of us could remember starting without a warm layer or two, so warm was the early sun.
Sailors and their Sea
Pavement. Dirt. Sand. Stone. As Cuba shrank into the distance behind us, each surface gave way to the next as the highway leading out of town became a dirt road and finally a trail. It didn't take much to appreciate that in the heat of summer, this would be a veritable oven. Even with a temperature in only the high 70s or low 80s, the intensity of the sun and the dryness of the air conspire to make it feel decidedly warmer.
Not that Cuba
Dark and frozen. All the attributes anyone would want in a trail morning...sort of. Kissed by overnight frost, the flat spot we managed to find in the dark had predictably pooled and focused the night’s cold. It was a morning that made me even more thankful for the decision to reincorporate coffee into our routine.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
A Eugene O’Neill play isn't typically the first place one would go to feel uplifted. There's a depth and darkness to the themes he explores, none more so than his semi-autobiographical masterwork, Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Addiction, despair, depravity, familial dysfunction—it’s all there. And if you were waiting for a Hollywood ending, keep waiting.