Day 7 on the John Muir Trail… We were tired from our 13 mile hike yesterday, and this would be an easy day. We would feast at the Mulehouse Cafe at Red’s Meadow, pick up our second resupply package, have a surprise visit from some old friends, and hike only half our normal average — […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT, Day-by-Day
Precisely three years ago this day, my girlfriend and I and two hiking friends were driving up to Lone Pine, getting ready for a 22-day thru-hike of the epic 211-mile John Muir Trail. Over the next three weeks, I’ll be sharing a day-by-day guide to our JMT backpacking trek, with each day covered exactly on […]
Hiking the John Muir Trail: What to Wear
One of the questions everyone asks me about hiking the John Muir Trail is “What should I wear?” It’s not usually phrased so bluntly. Sometimes it’s couched in more specific terms, like “Should I wear down or fleece?” or “trail shoes vs. boots?” While I can’t tell you what’s right for you, I will share […]
Movie Review: Tell it on the Mountain
The Pacific Crest Trail is one of three famously long trails in the National Scenic Trails system. It extends over 2,600 miles, from Mexico to Canada. Established in 1968, the trail itself was not completed until 1993 — just twenty years ago. And each year, about 300 hikers from all walks of life step out […]
Movie Review: ‘Mile…Mile and a Half’ Hits a Home Run on the JMT
Hiking the 211 mile John Muir Trail is an epic adventure. It’s also one of the great hiking trails that can be experienced without quitting your job and devoting five months of your life. The JMT is an adventure that lies within reach. I’ve thru-hiked the JMT twice. The first time was in 1980. I […]
Movie Review: Flip Flop Flippin’
Long trails have a gravity that pulls thru-hikers toward them with irresistible force. I’ve answered the call of the John Muir Trail — twice. But of all the long trails in the USA, none is better known than the grand-daddy of them all: the Appalachian Trail — or simply the AT. My curiosity about the AT was first piqued […]
2013 ADZPCTKO in Lake Morena County Park
Each year on the last weekend of April, a motley crew of hikers assemble in Lake Morena County Park, some 20 miles from the Mexican border in San Diego County. The event? ADZPCTKO. Some pronounce it “add-zi-pa-sit-ko.” Some just call it “The Kick Off” as if there were no other. Officially, it’s known as the Annual […]
Book Review: I Hike – Mostly True Stories from 10,000 Miles of Hiking
“I never set out to hike 10,000 miles. It just sort of happened over the course of a decade.” In 1980, I spent 25 days on a thru-hike of the 211-mile John Muir Trail. The JMT was my first taste of long-distance hiking. And it is a truly epic hike. But the JMT pales in […]
