My Journal Entries

Outpost Camp to Mammoth I woke up and the sun was already up. I had slept all the way from the moment I got into my tent to when I woke up. I rolled over to see what time it was. 7:20AM. Wow. A 12 hour sleep with no bathroom needed. My body needed that… Read more

Guitar Lake – Summit Mt. Whitney to Outpost Camp I woke up at 3AM. Looked out my tent and decided no to the sunrise. It was cold and I wanted more sleep. I woke back up around 7. Poop. That was longer than I wanted. I stuck my head out and saw that most of… Read more

Tyndall Creek campsite to Guitar Lake I woke up and felt numb a bit to the experience. It was ending soon. I laid on the sleeping pad and hid under the sleeping bag. The sun was coming up and I hid from it rather than greeting it like I have been for most of the… Read more

Vidette Meadows to campsite before Tyndall Creek I woke up and immediate was thankful. Nothing woke me up from last night, so bow and arrow man may be in the past. I reached over and inReached Katie. “Everything is okay, thank you for praying.” That was the weirdest and scariest moment on the trail for… Read more

Williamson Hotel to Vidette Meadows I woke up with a start. I had planned to get up at 6:30 to pack my bag, but didn’t wake up until 7:45. Breakfast was at 8. When I jumped out of bed there was relief that past me took care of future me. I had packed the bag… Read more

Kearsarge Pass to Mt. Williamson Hotel Independence, CA Resupply day! I woke up sleepy in my tent in the middle of a dream. It was a conversation that I was having with my sister about normal things. It was as if she was right there with me. The thing that made it exceptions was that… Read more

Rae Lakes over Glenn Pass to Kearsarge Upper trail I woke up from my zero day ready to go. A day of rest for my feet and my ankles was good. I felt like I had a lot of energy. I got up and made one of the coffees I had left. Then started to… Read more

Zero day at Rae Lakes It was cold this morning, but the lake and the sun were so pretty I wanted to get out of my tent. I grabbed my sleeping bag, tent foot print, bear can and found a spot on the rock to have breakfast. I was heating my water digging through my… Read more

Woods Creek to Rae Lakes The night passed with a lot of dreams and memories. Perhaps the fall and the need for comfort stirred up a lot of them that had been settled like sediment at the bottom of my mind. As I woke I was thinking about Kaitlin Scheff. This was a girl that… Read more

North of Lake Marjorie to Woods Creek I woke up debating a 10 mile day. all of the extra miles the day before and 10 miles would give me a comfortable time to get to Rae lakes to do a zero. I haven’t done an actual zero before. Packed up and got visited by deer… Read more

Palisade Lake over Mather Pass to North of Lake Marjorie Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/0mqDhUDKwpnDvIFoQYR524?si=n1cSu2DwQHqCnS4xPPrF0g The cowboy camp ended up okay. The only issue was the moon. It was so bright it kept me up until past 1. Even through my buff over my eyes, I couldn’t block out the light. Around 4 the moon went behind the… Read more

Palisade Creek to Palisade Lake Camp Site (prepare for Mather Pass) I had a fitful night of sleep. When the morning came, I realized I slept past the sunrise and didn’t want to get out of my semi warm tent and sleeping bag. “I don’t want to hike today.” Then my body chimed in…” but… Read more

Lake Helen to Palisade Creek Tent site After the harrowing experience of coming down Muir, I decided not to repeat that for Mather. I would make sure to camp close to the pass and then do it in the morning vs trying to do a pass in the afternoon. When I woke up Becky and… Read more

Evolution Lake to Lake Helen The morning was a lazy one. Marilyn and I decided we would separate after Muir and get back to our solo adventures. However, camping at lot “on top of the world” camp site had cost us miles (she wanted to be at Sapphire the night before) and we wouldn’t be… Read more

Evolution Creek to Evolution Lake I slept far better than I did the night before and when I opened my eyes, I was instantly grateful. Today was Evolution Creek. The big three hazards that southbound JMT’ers worry about is Bear Creek, Evolution and Muir Pass. Basically if you do these three, then the likelihood you… Read more

MTR Hot Springs to South Fork San Juaquin River camp site Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/2BuhGnXpqMQ8BvOUZpmaVl?si=x3CYb9DLTqia5WCJj8irrA The night was miserable. Being a lower elevation meant that it was warmer and more humid. I spent most of the night alternating between extremely hot and sweaty, to cooling off too quickly and getting cold and clammy. I checked the weather… Read more

One of my favourite things about Creation is how it continues on without my input. I think I often fall into the trap of believing that without my efforts, everything will fall apart. That’s been true for a lot of my relationships, friendships and work life. It’s true that contribution is key, but contribution is… Read more

Heart Lake to Muir Trail Ranch Resupply Day! I started my day with Butternut Squash soup. I learned that Marilyn makes all of her own backpacking food. She introduced me to her “soup course” which aids digestion and helps pass the time while the food is rehydrating. Lucky for me, I dehydrated a soup on… Read more

Bear Creek Ridge to Heart Lake I woke up and watched the sky turn pink and purple. I really could never get tired of watching the sun wake the world up. Marilyn and I got moving around the same time. I learned more about her over dinner last night and breakfast. She had connected with… Read more

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jJk9tsYXCy0&feature=youtu.be (Heads up… I’m at 13:35 ish bit worth watching the whole thing!)

Silver Lake to Bear Creek Ridge https://open.spotify.com/track/51ndwDACfzlvfOYnwp4ryn?si=hhmj8vh1TtKDydiv2AfF1w 4:00 AM I woke up with a start. There was howling and then a series of barking. The howling was coming from my left, it felt right next to the water I was camped 100 ft away from… the barking from the hills up on the right in… Read more

According to the app Cairn, there is no AT&T service until after Kersarge Pass. Which means likely there will not be any updates until then. Otherwise if there is rouge signal, wordpress should be uploading the posts in the background and you will see updates!

Dear Body. We have done a lot on this trail. You are sunburnt. Sleep deprived. Sore. Achy. Wet. Bitten. Yet you keep giving me what I ask of you. It makes me realize you have been doing this our whole lives. Despite the times I have ridiculed, coerced, violated and allowed others to do the… Read more

Lake Virginia to Silver Lake Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/1sqzBd8hkffCShBjFsKHIJ?si=i2L8XGlKQtW90wshDOpRlA Slept with the tent fly off and it was mixed. The stars, my the stars were so wonderful. There isn’t a moon right now so as I laid in my tent I could see the Milky Way and wonder at each of the points of light. But the… Read more

Deer Creek to Lake Virginia Verses: Song of Songs Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/0J9TFCYyjLHYJOcenwxblB?si=PVQP5AY5RBqtqAKrKixUzQ Today, after the struggle bus from yesterday and losing my flip flop… was an easy day, so I took extra time with morning prayer time to find a place that was particularly beautiful. A small meadow on the other side of the bridge for… Read more

Red’s Meadow to Deer Creek It was really hard to get out of the bunk. My plan was to be up at 6 and leave at 7AM. I didn’t get out of bed until 7. Then I took my time to pack, which meant I didn’t get out of my cabin until 8:30. I think… Read more

Gladys Lake to Red’s Meadow Resupply day! Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/2BuhGnXpqMQ8BvOUZpmaVl?si=XQkVTBF0RR-Hc-2b4UxGgQ I woke up to the sunrise. As I was watching the colors change, I decided to take my sleeping bag, sit on the edge of the rock and be one of the first things to feel the rays. I really love the sunrise time to connect… Read more

Garnet Lake to Lake Gladys Junction Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/1MX4dx6yNvAH2GjIVsUF4h?si=WttgYPjcRPuqB5A90PSvow Verse: Psalm 91:4 I woke up around 8 from my under the tree camp site. I probably went to bed around 7PM and my body was feeling a lot better than the night before. One of the things I was forced to notice was a rather severe… Read more

A lot of the time when I want to describe something, I feel a struggle to accurately transcribe what is in my mind to another person. I think and feel in images and experiences. I used to feel a lot of shame in the way that I wasn’t able to clearly articulate what I am… Read more

Has it really been a week? I woke up to the lightening of the tent. I really like waking up with the sun. It’s like a gentle warmth that gradually nudges me awake. Once I was awake and coffee started, I noticed Melissa and Eagle packing up. We briefly talked. The PCT route was 14… Read more

Donahue Pass to Island Pass I loved having the night to my own. I got to have my baby wipe shower and a lot of time to think. I’m not sure what it is, but I have a hard time thinking when there are a lot of people around me. I just react and hope… Read more

Tuolome Meadows to a camp site to get ready for Donahue Pass Slower start than I wanted. Last night I found myself socializing a lot more than I desired. It was almomt a need to be polite rather than actually contributing to the conversation. There were a few moments when I got to glimpse into… Read more

Camp Site to Tuolome Meadows Song I started my morning with: https://open.spotify.com/track/1IbzNhKN2E99Iq6hWng3b8?si=EaHtrMJuRi-3f8fsP2XH5w I woke up from the thunderstorm and it was still raining. The urgency to pee made me decide to shimmy into my rain gear and brave the weather. As soon as I got out, the rain seemed to subside (it could be that… Read more

This trip I’ve started to notice the anxiety that I am having that I am not getting enough posts out or that my revelations are coming out jumbled. This morning while listening to “New Wine” (Hillsong) and praying Psalm 91:4 two memories came up. The first is my first solo backpacking trip, where I had… Read more

Quick update. Turns out my battery pack budget isn’t as robust as I wanted it to. I’m saving my phone for navigation and photos, but when I rework my power strategy I’ll resume posting. For now you can see updates periodically on Instagram.

Little Yosemite Valley to a tent site on the way to Tuolome Meadows Planned 7.4 miles Actual 8.4 Song I started my morning with: https://open.spotify.com/track/2Ubie4M6f0fj9PTJHnwfx7?si=VHmgY9VOSji0duw525p8QQ It was a hard day for me with lots of rests and pep talks. I think it’s just the getting into the backpacking groove. I spent the morning chatting with… Read more

Plan: Little Yosemite Valley and Half Dome back to Little Yosemite Valley 7 miles —- The day of Katie and Josh getting married and for me to do Half Dome! I had intended to get up at 5:30 AM to go and do Half Dome, to redeem myself for making a rookie camp mistake. When… Read more

Day 1- official start day Backpackers Camp— Glacier Point — Little Yosemite Valley 7 trail miles (walked 12) The Yosemite backpackers camp isn’t exactly the most restful place you can set up a tent. In the middle of the night several people came in with their headlamps. Luckily for me, I’m able to sleep quickly… Read more

Today is the day. I woke up to messages of encouragement and prayers from dear friends about protection and well wishes. It was truly one of the sweetest ways to begin my day. I left the house in Tacoma at 4:45am. Ryan drove me and brought Keiko. After a quick goodbye and watching Keiko’s ears… Read more

Preparing for a month long trip requires a lot of gear! For the past year I’ve been tweaking my system to get the right combination of function and comfort. I will likely do a more in depth Gear summary when I get back, but for now here is my Lighterpack link with my gear choices!… Read more