The night fell with bicycle bells, the dark had wooden teeth Oh we broke on up to hill country, the air was thin and sweet Lord, the air was thin and sweet
She held onto my coat that night, like a kid lost in her sleeves Oh we warmed the ground, we hushed our sound We slept on walking feet Lord, we slept on walking feet
— “Living Proof” by Gregory Alan Isakov
In 2018, I hiked from Mexico to Canada, April 20th to September 29th. 163 days. 484,000 ft ascent (92 miles up), 483,000 ft. descent (91 miles down). 2,650 miles.
The best part of the journey was the people I met. Here are a few of those magical moments.
I hitchhiked 76 times for resupplies. Lost 65 lbs. (29 kg) of body weight. My gear base weight was around 12.5 lbs. I wore through 4 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of pants.
I encountered 3 black bears, 10 rattlesnakes, 1 tarantula, 0 cats and 0 scorpions. One million mosquitoes.
All told, the trail went through 6 ecozones, 48 wilderness areas, 60 mountain passes, 25 national forests, and 6 national parks.
Oh Darlin, pardon me Can you help me remember When we were all flying free We were dust from our bodies And we were flicker and flame, yeah we burned till the morning Darlin, pardon me But do I look familiar When we were just larkspur and leaves We were strung through the tether And we were all silver and stone We were the lust of the miners Darlin, pardon me
At the Southern Terminus, and 5.5 months later at the Northern Terminus.
I’m very appreciative of the numerous trail angels who lent their support and the friends who came to trail.
Lastly, if you have a leisure hour, these recent films do an excellent job sharing the experience of the trail: It is the People, a beautiful 2019 film by a New Zealander Northbound on the PCT, another terrific 2019 film 4270 KM documentary, a humorous 2018 film by a French hiker.
I had a made a previous attempt in the 2015 season, where I tried to record daily entries.
Here are my final numbers for the 2015 season: 1500 miles (2400 km) in distance. 273,240 ft. elevation gain (83.3 km). 269,715 ft. elevation loss (82.2 km). 34 lbs. of weight loss! (15.4 kg)
2016 update: Last year was a great experience! If any of you are considering doing it, all I can say is do it, do it, DO IT! I am slowly but surely working through my photos, processing them with Lightroom and trying to gradually polish my entries up.
I’ll be posting more in the days ahead about my brief excursion on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in April 2016, and entries from this summer’s adventures! I managed to complete California this past August and drive my total trail mileage to over 2,000. It was another terrific season.
I’m very appreciative of the numerous trail angels who lent their support and the friends who came to trail.