Updated as of September 19, 2023
Prior Blogs
I generally don’t suggest that anyone bother with my miscellaneous writing. But, for those who are interested, here is the information:
- My attempt at a backpacking blog for when we started trying to do a thru-hike is at https://ethesis.wordpress.com/
- My Trail Space trail journal entrees begin at https://www.trailjournals.com/journal/entry/596552
- My first blog started in 1997 at http://adrr.com/living/one.htm
- I followed that up at http://ethesis.blogspot.com/ and one for games at http://apostephen.blogspot.com/ — Apo Mechanes Theos was replaced by a Facebook Group.
- Facebook Hiking Page
- I’m a sometimes part of a group blog at https://wheatandtares.org/author/ethesis/
Photo Albums.
- My Appalachian Trail photo album on Facebook. SOBO. 2020. 2021. Arkansas and AT. Virginia. Springer.
- Pacific Crest Trail photo album on Facebook
- https://www.facebook.com/WinandSteveontheTrail/photos_by for the photos on my backpacking page.
- https://www.facebook.com/WinandSteveontheTrail/videos for the videos.
Appalachian Trail
- An old plan for a February start // Jump-start plan (which we used)
- October 5, 2018
- October 06, 2018
- October 7, 2018
- October 8, 2018, a mouse falls on Happy
- October 9, 2018, Enota and a hurricane storm rolling in
- We finished at the NOC, to return in 2019 on the Ides of March // Entry about Enota, pre-NOC
- March of 2019, from practice hikes to the NOC and past Gatlinburg
- April, Damascus for Easter, Grayson Highlands, and getting off the trail for a baby granddaughter
- May of 2019 memories of the AT from prior years, other entries
- June 2019 pictures
- August 2019, back on the trail
- September 2019, Caratunk to the Presidentials
- October 2019, Mt. Washington had 80 mph gusts, then a storm hit further down the trail. Will come back and finish the trail next year (surprise, Covid hit and derailed things).
- ————————-
- Useful links for the Appalachian Trail
- The Trail and the Two of Us
- What New Hampshire Looks Like
- March 2020
- Reflecting on April, 2019
- Hostels on the Trail
- Mile 700 on the Trail
- Improved List of Links for the Appalachian Trail
- September, 2019
- Section Hiking Virginia, September, 2020
- October 2020–Finishing the South of the Appalachian Trail
- November 2020 Another Section Down
- December 2020 — Lewis Falls, Shenandoah
- January 2021 — Snicker’s Gap to Raven Rocks
- January 2021 — Skyland State Park
- Pennsylvania Part 1
- April 2021 links to picture collections
- We Made it to New Jersey
- Pennsylvania Part 2
- Finished New Jersey and Made it to Trail Days
- New York to New Jersey
- Links to Our New York Hiking Pictures
- Next — Bear Mountain
- Heading to Manchester Center
- September 1 and the shelter with a stove
- September 5 and a Zero
- Vermud
- September 12 and Massachusetts
- Coyotes, Mice and Frogs
- Lots of Pictures from the Trail
- Falls Village, Connecticut
- 77 Miles Left to Finish the Trail
- New York
- We Finished the Appalachian Trail!
- Four years ago (or so) on the Appalachian Trail
Food
- Food (as of August, 2020)
- Make your own homemade bars
- Trail Food
- 2018 thoughts on Food
- Cold Soak links (for cooking without a stove)
Gear
- Starting Appalachian Trail Gear // More AT thoughts
- July 5, 2018 on Backpacks (note, things have changed a lot since 2018)
- Rambling advice on tents (refined below)
- Finding the Right Fleece
- How to Follow Someone on the Trail with the Far Out/Guthooks App // and More on how to use the App
- Sun Gloves
- Mod for ZPacks Tents
- My Favorite Hiking Shorts
- Using Bleach to Purify Water
- Ways to Pitch a Triplex for More Headroom
- On Sleeping Bag Liners
- On Tents
- 2018 on tents
- On Stoves and Pots (before I discovered the Stanco Grease Pot)
- Hats
- How to Make Your Own Shoulder-strap Pouch/Bag
- Super Lightweight Tarps on the Trail
- More on Polycro Rain Flies // and more
- A Step-by-Step Guide to Making a Polycro Tarp
- Gear for the PCT
- A Different Look at Tents
- Updated PCT Gear List
- Change ups
- Foot Wraps (for wet trails)
- Revisiting Hats
- DIY Footprints
- Updated Gear List
- Gear changes for warmer weather
- https://adrr.com/d20/2022/09/22/comparing-hiking-pants/
- Gear change ups
- Gear Photographs
- Water bottle holders
- Shoes // More on shoes // More on shoes
- 2018 on rain gear (with data from surveys) // More on rain gear
- Current PCT Gear List, Part One
- Current PCT Gear List, Part Two
- Gear—Fleeces
- Stacking bags or quilts
- Gear — Headlamps
- Gear — Base Layers
- Gear—backpacking towels
- Gear—rain pants
- Gear—hiking shorts
- Gear—Backpacking knives
- Gear—Shoes
- Inexpensive cook/cold soak kit
- Hiking Poles according to Skurka
- Gear: pictures and adjustments
- Gear. Our new stove. Gas One GS-7900
- More fake reviews—a warning
- More on Stoves– thinking about weight
- Pitching and taking down an X-Mid Pro 2P
- Cuben Fiber (Dyneema) Tents
- Foot wraps
- On hats (revisited)
- Gear: tchotchkes // Training complaints
- On Backpacking Stoves
- Updated gear
- Gear: inexpensive options
- Gear: Shoes, failing at 300 miles instead of 700
- Gear changes
- Gear changes, Updated //more comments
- Gear: Tents—a survey of currently available lightweight tents for thru-hiking couples
Miscellaneous
- An Interview
- PSA on Fundraising and Long Trails
- Leave No Trace
- A Review by Wings
- How Much It Costs Me to Hike the Appalachian Trail
- July 2021
- Facebook Reels
- Reflections about the PCT
- Reflections/More lessons learned from the PCT
- May 2019 Reflections
- On Social Media Campaigns (or why you can’t trust so many reviewers)
- And I’ve finished a Table of Contents
- General advice —how not to fund a thru-hike
- My next blogging step
- Pecan Pie Cobbler Recipe–Off Topic but a great food item for Thanksgiving Day
- Yogi’s advice on Permits
- Berry Cobbler (for after hiking)
- The 2022 survey is out
- One person’s budget
- Off to the Southern Ruck this week
- At Laughing Heart
- More fake reviews—a warning
- Looking towards April 13
- Interesting links
- How much it costs me to hike on the trail
- Off Trail updates
- June 16 — Current plans
- Volcano National Park
- Gear changes, Updated //more comments
- Gear: gaiters
- Gear: dry sacks
- Gear: Rain jackets
- Gear: Tents—a survey of currently available lightweight tents for thru-hiking couples
Other Trails
- Stansbury Front Trail
- Paria Canyon
- Recent hikes in Big Bend & Gila
- Pinhoti — Training and “camping” at DFW
- Bound for the Pinhoti Trail
- Pinhoti, Day One to Mile 12.1
- Day two, Pinhoti Trail. Mile 23
- Pinhoti Resupply
- Day three. Mile 36
- Day four, to Mile 50.9 on the Pinhoti Trail.
- Day five on the Pinhoti, to mile 60
- Day six, 15.7 miles to mile 75.7
- Day eight (after a zero on day seven) mile 88.8
- Tuesday the 24th, to Heflin and mile 104
- 104 to 125 then 125 to 142
- January 28 to Mile 159
- January 30 to 174.3
- January 31. Just passed Mile 190 into Cave Spring
- Back from the Pinhoti
- Stansbury Front Trail
- Heading back to the trail (but the Oregon Coast Trail until things melt).
- Oregon Coast Trail: June 5&6
- June 7. It wasn’t ten miles 🙂 🙂
- June 8. Manzanita and snakes on the trail
- Oregon Coast Trail —June 9—Garibaldi
- Oregon Coast Trail —June 10, Cape Lookout State Park
- Oregon Coast Trail—June 11–Pacific City
- June 16 — Current plans, leaving the Oregon Coast Trail
Pacific Crest Trail
- Our April 2020 planning for a PCT Route
- PCT Wiki and More Links
- Gear for the PCT–Planning
- More Resources (Links) for the PCT
- Mailing Labels for the PCT
- Updated PCT Gear List
- Oregon Resupply Plan
- PCT Videos
- SQL Errors and Recovery Lost Many Posts
- More Details on the Hosting Errors
- Day 3, 24.5 miles
- Day three—Christi’s Spring 24.5 miles?!?
- June 20, Day 7, Saied Valley
- Pictures from Saied Valley
- June 21, Day 8, Rest day, leaving the Valley
- June 22, day nine, snow, blowdowns and overgrown trail
- Etna Reached
- Day 8, 14 mile Nero
- June 22, Day 9
- [We got down to Tuolumne Meadows, lots of lost posts] [Bottom Line, beautiful vistas, fires, smoke, ash on the tent, decided to flip]
- Our Trail Angel
- On the Road from Reno to Fish Camp (Oregon)
- To mile 1776
- July 26, 23.4 miles
- July 27, Crater Lake
- Hiked Around the Fire
- July 29
- July 31, Safe at Shelter Cove
- August 1, a zero while watching the fire
- August 2, start at 5:30 AM, end at mile 1930.6
- Mile 1952, more fire, divert to Elk Lake
- August 4, Bend to Portland
- August 5, with family in Portland
- August 6, Timberline
- August 7, nine miles to go to Cascade Locks
- August 8, Cascade Locks and Bridge of the Gods
- August 9, mile 2163
- Augst 10, 26 miles, 6,800 feet of ascent
- August 11, 25 miles
- August 12, to Trout Lake and beyond
- August 13, terrible mosquitoes and two months on the trail
- August 14, Goat Rocks and Knife’s Edge
- August 15, Packwood and lots of pictures
- August 16, hike 17 miles past Cracker Barrel
- August 17, camped at a piped spring
- August 18, trail magic twice, pictures
- August 19, laundry, start of shin splints (which I didn’t realize)
- August 20, Snoqualmie, repair deer damage to hiking pole, zero day
- Link to PCT photo album
- August 21, off trail to get treatment for shin splints
- Visiting friends and family
- Rest, Ibuprofen, Compression Socks (and a cat picture)
- Amtrak to Sevens Pass
- September 2, back on the trail
- September 3, so much mist
- September 4, thigh deep water crossing
- September 5, mile 2536, what a day
- September 6, Stehekin in 12.6 miles, pictures
- September 7, Stehekin
- Reflections on the trail
- September 8, leaving Stehekin, swamped in smoke, pictures of the ferry
- September 9, off the ferry, getting ready to head south to Tuolumne
- Visits, Little Falls campground
- September 11 & 12
- September 13, on the bus to Tuolumne Meadows
- September 14, altitude sickness
- Off the trail, home until next year
- Reflections/Lessons learned from the PCT
- ————————
- On the PCT desert section (links)
- Sierra videos (links to other people’s videos)
- Abear in the woods trail journal (we hiked a while leapfrogging he and his trail family)
- Quick visual guide to the PCT
- PCT Wiki (not mine)
- ————————
- We got our permits for the PCT in 2023
- Yogi’s advice on Permits for the PCT
- The 2022 PCT survey is out
- Resupply statistics
- Trail conditions as of March 1, 2023
- Planning. Sierra Passes
- Sierra Resupply
- Getting close
- PCT April 11, t minus 2 days. We fly out Wednesday and start Thursday
- April 12, Day zero, plan was Campo to CLEEF .3 miles, reality was 11.5 miles
- April 13. Day Two. Mile 11.5 to Mile 26.1 at Boulder Oaks
- Day 3, April 14 to mile 41.5 Mount Laguna. 3600+ vertical feet of ascent
- Mile 59.7. April 15. Day 3 1/2 (since we started with a half day). 19 miles.
- April 16 and into Julian at Mile 76
- April 17. Scissors Crossing to Third Gate water cache. Poppies in bloom. Mile 91.2
- April 18. Mile 100 and into Montezuma Valley Market at mile 101
- April 19 Ranchita to Mile 117.3 (includes Eagle Rock)
- To Mile 136.9. April 20. Tuli Springs and Mike’s Place and on to PVC at 151.8
- Mile 2010.2 Cabin and spring. We flipped to Walker Pass and headed south
- Sunday, April 23–Day 10 on trail and mile 2029.7 Twenty miles including the off trail miles
- April 25, Mile 2071.9. Roughly 22 miles with about 3,3k ascent and 4k decent. A long waterless stretch
- April 26. Golden Spring to Tehachapi. 16.75 miles in six and a half hours. With pictures
- Video from the trail
- Left Tehachapi and headed SOBO–8.4 miles after 4:00 p.m.
- 23 miles to the Aqueduct and then get up at 2:00 am and do ~17 miles to Hikertown
- Hikertown & a Lancaster address, our first zero
- 2157.1 for the night and a mile round trip to water. 4.7k feet ascent for the day (if you wear a Fitbit that is 470+ flights of stairs)
- May 2 and the Ostrich farm. Mile 2169.5 Lake Hughes Road
- May 3–terrible weather—waiting it out
- Ughh. Snow and weather
- At 2189.6. Just over twenty miles from Lake Hughes. 47 NOBOS
- On to Action with over twenty miles and then from Action to Messenger Flats the next day. Only fourteen miles on day two but over five thousand feet of ascent
- From Messenger Flats 2224.8 to Sulfur Springs 2248.6. May 8, then to 2281.2 on May 9
- May 10, into Wrightwood
- Posts from Happy
- May 11, heading out of Wrightwood
- May 12, into Cajon
- May 13. 22 miles from McDonald’s to camp at 2235.1
- May 14 —Mother’s Day at Mile High Cafe
- May 15–no one told me about all the water crossings in the desert. Mile 2371.9
- May 16, into Big Bear
- May 17. A zero in Big Bear
- May 18. Some slack packing and some hiking, less than a hundred miles back to Paradise Valley Cafe.
- May 20. Back in cell service (many pictures)
- May 21, back to NOBO from mile 151.8 or Richard’s
- 17.32 miles + .9 leaving town +.6 for water over 4600 feet in ascent (+500 for the water). May 22 was a day
- May 23. Spitler Peak Trail, Idlewild and Black Mountain Road tomorrow
- May 25, in Palm Springs after escaping from Morder
- Off Trail updates
- Headed to NTRPGCON, then back to the trail, waiting for Hart’s Pass to melt out
- Saturday June 24. To mile 2640 from Hart’s Pass
- June 26. 16 miles, then 25 miles then 19 miles and back to Lion’s Den
- June 28, 29 & 30, Hart’s Pass to Stehekin, 50 miles
- July 1, getting things done. Town day before lunch
- Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie
- Headed to Timberline
- To Horse Camp Mile 579.3 from Timberline Lodge
- Horse Camp 579 to Olallie 606.9 and beyond
- Big Lake Youth Camp
- SOBO Mile 658 to 678. Day one out of Big Lake Youth Camp, 4k ascent and ~20 miles
- So we hiked into Elk Lake — only the Sierra section remains on the PCT
- Possible Sierra Section, Mammoth to KMS starting August 1
- Thoughts — still too sketchy
- Pacific Crest Trail: useful links
- Sierra Permits six months out
Training
- Training hike
- Another Practice Hike — May 13, 2020
- PCT Training Plans — pretty much how we started with 20 mile days (except I did not get the stretching in).
- March 1
- More Training
- Adjustments
- Stansbury Front Trail
- October 21 training hike
- Another training hike in November, 2022
- Training–long essay
- Today’s training hike
- New training video
- More walking
- Gear: tchotchkes // Training complaints