PCT Day 68 - 76

It has been brought to my attention that I quite liberally utilize the exclamation point (!). Apologies for my desire to express myself, but how can I write without using (!) multiple times in one paragraph. I want the world to know I’m ecstatic to be hiking!

Today will finally catch me up to date on the blog for perhaps the first time since I began the PCT. Buckle up and get ready for 179 miles of storytelling.

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Day 68: 7/17/2025; mile 1018.1 - 1042.5

This morning I woke up early at Long Barn to birds chirping. I quickly remembered that I changed my alarm to birdsong and it nearly fooled me! I headed downstairs from the loft to drink some coffee, eat a quick bagel, and send out a blog post. The people demanded it!

Dennis, Dad, and I left at 7:40 am for the trail and arrived just before 9 am. We were hiking by 9:15 or so, and Dad joined us for the ascent up to the ridge.

I enjoyed my morning hike with Dad and I learned all about some bird migration patterns. Too quickly though it was time for him to turn around because he had other (less exciting) plans for the day. I wish he was hiking all day with us!

Dennis and I ventured 0.3 miles off trail to find a geocache and we rescued some duck figurines from the cache.

I left Dennis on the ridge reading his book and hiked with Quinn for a few miles before getting way too hungry and stopping for lunch. Around mile 10 today I was almost done with a mile long climb when I saw the most beautiful little waterfall across the trail. It had the tiniest pool maybe a foot and a half deep. I decided this would be the most beautiful stop for an impromptu bath on trail! I stripped down to my sports bra got into the water and it was so cold. I felt like a fairy washing in her shower in the woods and now I feel so refreshed and ready to finish the ascent.

The rest of the day I spent listening to audiobooks, podcasts, nature, and some pump up music. We pushed a full 24.5 miles and we didn’t even wake up on trail!

We rolled up to camp just as the sun went down and had a lovely campfire with our friends. Dennis even used his bearcan as a giant bucket to put the fire out at the end of the night, how resourceful!

Day 69: 7/18/2025; mile 1042.5 - 1067.9

Today was probably the roughest day on trail. I woke up early but felt so exhausted. Regardless of waking up at 6:30 am, I didn’t leave camp until 8:45 am. The day started off with a relatively chill climb and there was cell service at the top so I decided to download some more podcasts.

I then had fantastic service for about 40 minutes and I used my time wisely to call Libby! Unfortunately day both mentally, literally, and physically went downhill from there. I enjoyed my two mile descent while I talked to Lib, but when it ended and she had to go, I realized I had only hiked 5 miles or so and couldn’t even imaging hiking 20 more miles. I begged Dennis to take an early lunch before we reached 10 miles, and by mile 13 I was absolutely cooked. You should know that today wasn’t actually a very difficult day. The climbs were chill, the views were beautiful, but I was exhausted. At mile 14 we had another long break to boost moral. I ate Nutella covered banana chips, some soup, dried apricots, and drank a cup of coffee. The rest of the day was beautiful, and Dennis did his best to help with my low moral.

We had to hike the last 5 miles in the dark with headlamps on. We had a goal of catching up to Flo and Pablo and we succeeded by 10:30 pm with 25 miles hiked! I ate a chicken tikka masala courtesy of my Auntie Kathy, and quickly curled up for bed.

Day 70: 7/19/2025; mile 1067.9 - 1077.7

At midnight I was in an incredibly deep sleep when someone shook me awake. Dennis had lit a candle I found in a hiker box and was singing me happy birthday in Russian. I quickly fell back asleep and woke up again at 6:30 am just to receive a second candle lighting. Dennis and I left camp by 8 am and had a relatively easy day ahead. We hiked 10 miles to Carson Pass.

When I got to the top of the pass I waited for Dennis who had gone geocaching. He had a present for me, a present YAY! I closed my eyes and he placed a tin foil wrapped burrito into my hands. He had met some people camping by the lakes with an impressive spread of food. We ate our burritos and some cookies before descending to the information center at Highway 88. We decided we would hitch into town to celebrate my birthday instead of crushing another 25 miles. At the information center there were a bunch of retired people giving out trail magic. I grabbed a celebratory soda and a banana, signed into the log book, and bought some pre stamped post cards. Dennis and I then struggled to find a hitch for about 30 minutes before being offered a ride by people with the cutest mini Australian shepherds.

They dropped us off in town by the post office so Dennis and I could grab some packages. Unfortunately our Kennedy Meadows ressupply box did not arrive, but I did receive a beautiful birthday card and some sauce from my high school bio/anatomy teacher! Thanks Mrs. Cox! Right about now I lost all energy and had a crazy bonk. Dennis and I found a pizza place and silently ate our slices of pizza. We then ubered with Flo and Pablo to Rincon Bay to see my family for a birthday dinner! Nonie made a delicious Chicken cacciatore and we shared lots of laughs. 

Day 71: 7/20 rest day

To keep it brief today was a town day. We ate a delicious California Girl breakfast overlooking Lake Tahoe and then made lists of what to buy at the grocery store. We were buying food for 4 ressupplies because a lot of NorCal requires mailing packages ahead. Thankfully we were introduced to Grocery Outlet which had prices that made us feel like we were robbing the store! I bought 36 large packets of fruit snacks for $5, that feels like it should be illegal. Unfortunately while we were at the store, Pablo broke his phone. We had to run a few more errands after that to find a replacement. Dennis and I ate a pizza while we waited and once everyone was ready we headed to the Camo Richardson ice cream parlor for delicious giant ice creams.

I had been talking about swimming all day so finally by 5:30 pm we had returned to the house and everyone took a walk to the lake. 

Day 72: 7/21; mile 1077.7 - 1097

This morning I woke up to bear talk. Apparently a bear broke into Nonie’s car last night and rummaged through her things. There were huge paw prints along the interior.

Today we took forever to get ready and once we had Tetrised people and backpacks into the 4Runner we took off for the post office.

We had to send some packages ahead to various locations in NorCal, and yesterday was Sunday so we had to wait for the post office to reopen. It took at least two hours until we were done sending packages. Dennis was still waiting for some new shoes to arrive at the post office, so Flo, Pablo, Dad and I left for Carson Pass. We arrived at highway 88 around noon, ate some lunch, and began a late day of hiking. Dad hiked in a few miles with us, and since we had a professional birder in our midst, he pointed out some Sandhill Cranes. Wow, incredible, they should be in Alaska by now!

Eventually it was just Flo, Pablo, and I. We got a message that Dennis was going to stay overnight in Tahoe, so we would be on our own until he caught up.

To accommodate for the change up we had all swapped tents. Pablo owns a 1 person tent, Flo has a 2 person, and Dennis and I have a 3 person. We all have varying sizes of the exact same Big Agnes tent, the Tigerwall Ultralight, so we all know how they set up. Since Dennis was on his own he kept Pablo’s 1 person tent, I took Flo’s 2p tent, and Flo and Pablo shared my 3 person tent.

When we got to Echo Lake we sat down on the water taxi dock and stared at all the beautiful homes built into the side of the lake. Then we hiked on to Tamarack lake and set up our tents in the only site we could find. Flo and Pablo shared their fuel and stoves with me for the next few days because Dennis was gone. They took such great care of me!

Day 73: 7/22/2025; mile 1097 - 1123.2

This morning I woke up to a coating of dirt in the tent from the forceful winds from last night. I took my time and was ready to leave camp by 8:30 am. Not too bad! My goal was to leave before 9 am and I succeeded.

We made a plan to eat lunch in 11 miles so I set off first to make progress as the slowest member of the group. After a few miles I ran into Rabbit who joined me for the next few miles. He’s a speedy guy, so thankfully we were walking on flat ground as it was the only way I could keep up.

Today was perhaps the most beautiful and chill day so far. The climb was relatively flat and there were no mosquitos, which made perfect conditions to hike in. Around 1:30 pm I finally caught Flo and Pablo for lunch. I ate two delicious bougie tortillas and took a mini rest, but departed before them so I could filter water at the nearest lake. It has been cloudy since I woke up which has made it difficult for me to decide if I want my jacket on or off. It’s like playing a game to find the right temperature! The rest of the day was beautiful.

I received a text eventually saying Dennis would catch up to me tomorrow, so I pushed on ahead to stay with Flo and Pablo. I don’t like hiking alone at night, so I especially tried to make it to camp before dark so I could set up my tent without a headlamp. We hiked a marathon today, so by the time we arrived at camp and I set up my tent, I flopped on my mattress for a few minutes without moving. It was heavenly. 

Day 74: 7/23/2025; mile 1123.2 - 1145.6

This morning I was ready and out of camp by 7:45 am. I had a good feeling that today would be a great day. I hiked through the peaceful woods for a few miles before coming across a Dutch guy named Overflow and we hiked uphill together for a few miles. It was nice to have someone new to chat with to make the miles fly by. The views today were mostly of Lake Tahoe.

It seemed that the more I walked the better the view of the lake got. I found a ridge mid day that had great phone service and I uploaded the last blog.

Then, I hiked on to the nice lunch spot Flo, Pablo, and I picked out at mile 14 for the day. We took a long rest there before crushing the last 8 miles. Today was such cool hiking because I hiked under some chair lifts that I ski at Palisades Tahoe.

It’s crazy to see the runs with no snow because they look so different in their dirt form. Finally around 7:30 pm I made it to camp and had another lovely dinner with my friends. Since Dennis has been on a mission to catch up, Flo and Pablo have been very generous with their sharing. They make me laugh so much and it’s never a dull moment around them. 

Day 75: 7/24/2025; mile 1145.6 - 1165.4

Dennis finally arrived around midnight and gave me a big wake up hug. I quickly turned over in a sleepy haze and went back to sleep. We ended up having a slow relaxing morning before arriving at the Donner Ski Ranch restaurant on highway 40. When we were 2.5 miles to the bottom dad was hiking up to greet us!

He continued on up the trail to greet Dennis and they’d meet us at the bottom. I encountered a trail angel on trail who gave me a cold soda, and another at the parking lot. Dad even brought the now updated care package box! What a lucky day!

When we arrived at the ranch we signed in to get our free 40 oz beers. There is the 40 on 40 challenge where you drink 40 oz of beer at highway 40! We were fair game. We ate some delicious burgers and hung out at the ranch for a while. It takes some time to drink 40 oz.

After, dad and I headed back out so I could make progress on trail. I spotted the train tunnels we used to hike in during XC camp every year!

It was a pretty easy climb for the rest of the day and I spent the time alone once dad turned back for the car. Dennis and Pablo caught up in time for us to find a campsite and cook dinner. 

Day 76: 7/25/2025; mile 1165.4 - 1196.5

Today we planned to crush some miles. 30ish mile day? No problem. Wellll slight problem considering our 5:30 am wake up attempt failed and we left for the day at 8 am. Dennis and I walked together for the entire day. From 10 am onward huge thunder clouds gathered overhead and the sound of thunder clapped for hours.

We ate lunch around 3 pm, and had a long coffee break around 5:30 pm. We really wanted to hike into Sierra City (population 235) by nightfall so we could sleep in a bed and have a nice breakfast in town.

Lucky for us there was some trail magic waiting for us nailed to a tree. We stopped at 9pm for a Gatorade and orange, and continued on to Sierra City.

With 33.9 miles under our belt we miraculously arrived by 10pm and were able to check into our room at a cute western saloon building that made it feel like it was still the early 1900s. We were fast asleep by 11 pm.