I left Idyllwild on a beautiful sunny morning — climbing to 8000 feet over several hours to reach the spine of the San Jacinto Mountains. As I hiked the slowly ascending switchbacks, I was struck by the beauty of the abstract patterns in the bark of the cedar, pine, and oak trees surrounding me. I […]
The eternal question
As I hike, I often think about why. Why (oh why) am I doing this? By any measure, a large part of each day is very difficult. My pack is heavy. The trail climbs and descends, climbs and descends, tracing every canyon and gully. And primarily, it is hot. Too hot for this cold-blooded Canadian! […]
100 kilometres and counting
The Pacific Crest Trail runs 4240 kilometres from the Mexican to the Canadian border. Every year, about 700 people set out on this five-month wilderness thru hike, and about 30 per cent complete it. Me — I’m planning to hike for a month. I felt like a bit of a fraud on the first day. Every […]
Heading uphill in Big Bend
My Pacific Crest Trail trek began with a six-day pre-hike in Big Bend National Park — a chance to test my gear and my appetite for solo tenting before heading out on the PCT. I am in Texas because of a new Banff film screening in Midland. This is the heart of oil country. […]