In the 10 miles I hiked before 10am this morning, I experienced the full spectrum of emotions. Here is a small taste…

From irrational anger:

To inspiration from this song which you must listen to before viewing the next video. Those who experienced the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics will understand why I cried tears of joy listening to it, but I think anyone can appreciate the beauty of this tune.

http://vimeo.com/m/9765502

This song now has so many new meanings for me out on the trail.

Transformation to pure happiness and tears of joy:

What a roller coaster!

These were two of the most unexpected items I found in the hiker box at Donner Pass today. Unfortunately the box of fortune cookies was empty and at present I don’t have a use for the candles. The best surprise at the pass after hearing the lodge nearby was actually closed, was meeting Dave the trail angel who coincidently has read my blog through UB’s.

Today was a random one indeed. I woke early but broke camp later than the boys because once again I was ‘blogging’ (cell signal = less miles hiked). When I did hit the trail though it was like a lightning bolt, I had so much energy from breakfast and coffee that I flew through the first 5 miles and caught up to Leaky and Moonshine sitting at the top of a ridge overlooking the valley.

Once again the trail and the scenery were magnificent. We crossed some amazing ridges where the wind was a little pushy, but after Tehachapi this felt like a slight breeze.

I pretty much had signal the entire morning, but because of the issues I was having with posting videos, I wasn’t making much ground. I’m not sure if it’s a WordPress thing or not, but hopefully the viewing problems were isolated to today. Thanks for your feedback as it helped me try and rectify the issue by reposting it three different times until it finally worked.

On a complete side note I’m writing this from my sleeping bag where one die hard mosquito has been dive bombing my face for the last half hour and a deer just stumbled upon my bed, realised I was alive and darted off into the bushes.

Being so close to major roads and trailheads today I met some amazing day hikers along the way. Most notably were three wonderful women named Marilyn, Karen and Shirley (I’m terrible with names ladies so please correct me if I’m wrong). We got chatting about the trail, the book Wild and the mosquitos in Yosemite. When I told them I didn’t have a long sleeved shirt to keep the mosquitos from biting my arms, Karen dug into her bag and whipped out a beautiful bright blue shirt which she insisted I take. It fit and felt perfect, and the colour matches the blue from Muk Muk’s beenie, it was meant to be. The three ladies were enjoying a girls only trip in the woods, hiking, kayaking and eating good food. They told me they were desperately missing their husbands though (wink wink). Such amazing women, thank you so much for your gift and encouragement!

Despite all the chit chat down the trail I did bump into Leaky and Moonshine again sitting on a huge rock on the side of the trail, but by the time I made it to Hwy 40 I heard from Fuller they had hitched into Truckee. It will be interesting to see if our paths cross again. The trail is amazing in that way, you can be two hours ahead or behind someone and not see them for weeks, or you can bump into people on numerous occasions in a single day. The trail seems to determine this fate.

When I bumped into trail angel Dave he pulled out a chair for me to sit on and offered me a beer. We talked about the events of the trail, UB’s new venture south bound and hiking in general. During our conversation a car pulled up to drop off Ninja Tank (JT) back to the trail from Truckee. He’d been there a while waiting for new shoes to arrive. Then Fuller popped up out of nowhere so we all chilled drinking beer and soda and eating bagels and cream cheese left by trail angels.

After leaving the comfort of Donna Pass I started to experience something I term PTB (Post trail-magic blues). I’d been on such an incredible high all day that I started to crash a little. This was of course until I went through the Hwy 80 underpass and discovered more trail magic in coolers on the other side. Another soda and a choc chip muffin was all I needed to get me going again.

Not far up the trail I was heading to the I-80 rest stop when I bumped into Fuller again. We had another great chat about the mysteries of the trail and it’s healing powers. He told me he has learned not to fight the trail, to let it crush you when it chooses and to let it lift you when you’re down. He’s absolutely right, ride the highs and overcome the lows.

So here I am at the Peter Grubb Hut (aka Blair Witch film set). I’m very low on water as the source is a mucky little stream close by. I didn’t have enough water to cook dinner so I ate two tortillas with Nutella which will hopefully hold me until tomorrow morning. Halfmile says I’m 6 miles from the next source so it’s going to be a thirsty morning. I plan to be up early so I should make it before the sun creates too much heat tomorrow. I’m camped in eyesight of the hut and heard the creek of the toilet door a couple of times as the sun went down. I’m curious to know if anyone’s actually sleeping inside!

Super creepy, don’t watch before bedtime. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow send a search party!

WordPress is definitely wigging out today, hopefully this video works…

(PS – I think it’s a bit cheeky that WordPress makes you pay to take adds off the videos when you pay for the function to upload them. That’s my little gripe!)

When I woke up this morning and took the bandana off from over my eyes, I was shocked to see how light the world was outside my tent. I reached for my watch which told me it was already 7am. I think this was one of the longest sleeps I’ve had since my first few days on the trail. I decided with the amount of mosquitos about that I’d just eat a pop tart and hit the trail. It still took me an hour to break camp so it was already 8am when I took my first stiff steps over the creek and up the mountain.

When I hit the Barker Pass PCT trailhead I’d already listened to my Missy Higgins album and was wondering how I was going to pass away the remaining 18 miles for the day. As I crossed the road I figured I may have signal and sure enough I did. It was then I received a text from UB telling me about his new south bound challenge. Feeling low on inspiration, motivation and calories most likely, I burst into tears. The realisation that I would really have to hike the rest of the trail alone hit me all at once, and at that moment it was all too much to bare.


I called UB immediately and through my choked up spluttering managed to at least say hello and ask what his plans were. I understood his reasoning completely. From the day I met him and ever since, the 90 day challenge has been haunting him. As much as I’ve witnessed UB enjoy the trail, the people and the surroundings, I always knew he felt he had failed in achieving what he really set out to do. Hearing that he was going to start fresh from the border of Canada and head south made me both proud and excited, because the determination and passion in his voice made me realise he had made the right, courageous decision.

When I hit the trail again I felt like it was a new beginning. I felt inspired, empowered and excited to be in the driver’s seat of a hike that will take me all the way to my second home, Canada. Not only did I draw on UB’s energy, but I also had so many wonderful comments from those following my blog that I spent the next 2 hours walking and digesting it all. I’ve honestly never received such praise and support before, especially from people I’ve never had the chance to meet, and yet feel I already know. Sometimes it feels like a dream.

The scenery today was a stand out! The views back at Lake Tahoe were breathtaking, and walking along the ridges covered with windflowers was magical. The drastic change of mood meant I wasn’t counting miles, I was rather thinking ahead to the next section and mentally preparing for a fresh new hike. I know I need to challenge myself to stay motivated, so I’m going to aim for 25 mile days from Sierra City and see how my body feels. I know it’s achievable, especially if I get an early start in the mornings!


When I was crossing one of the ridges I was surprised to bump into Leaky and Moonshine, considering how much time I’d taken on the phone, blogging and making a late breakfast at 11am. They had just finished lunch and were about to head off when I realised I had phone service again! More comments were flooding in and I had to fight the urge to walk and write as I have a hard enough time staying upright with shoes three sizes too big for me as it is.


At 3:30pm I stopped for lunch at a creek where the boys were resting and Fuller had just completed rinsing his clothes. I rehydrated some bean, rice and mince mix from UB but was so hungry most of the ingredients were still crunchy because I didn’t let it soak long enough. Tasted good anyway! I also soaked my feet in the cool stream as I have two giant mosquito bites on them the size of quarters which hurt like crazy.

I was a little sluggish after lunch but enjoyed the 3 miles of climbing above Squaw Valley where the Winter Olympics were held in 1960. The ski lifts were so close there were even high voltage warnings along the trail. At 6:30pm I caught up to the boys again and we found an awesome campsite with a fire pit half a mile up the trail next to a little stream. Such a contrast to where we slept last night. I combined two dinners of cous cous and mash potato, drank a hot chocolate and had a chunky Kit Kat for desert. No hunger pains for me tonight!

When I woke to Leaky and Moonshine packing up and making breakfast I felt like I could have slept for at least three more hours. Not having the opportunity to catch up on lost sleep from the last section is really taking its toll on me mentally and physically, so tonight I’m going to try to be ready for bed by the time it gets dark.

Moonshine made coffee before we left camp and I tried a new combination of oats, Carnation Breakfast mix and granola. It was delicious! Then it was time to hit the trail and climb 3 miles up to Dicks Pass. I had the sneaking suspicion that I might get cell reception at the top which was definitely a motivator, and I was right.

I took a break at the top to send out my last blog post. When I was in Tahoe I had a chance to check emails and comments on my blog, but I simply didn’t have the mental capacity to respond to most of them. Sometimes it’s really hard to even digest the events of each day and in town the sensory overload often gets the better of me. I was particularly brain dead in Tahoe so please forgive the delay. I definitely needed some words of motivation and inspiration so thank you all so much!

Leaky and Moonshine soon caught up and took a break too. Leaky had carried extra water up which meant we could have another cup of coffee! Heaven. Then Fuller arrived on scene, beaming from ear to ear and looking like a new hiker after our chat yesterday. That absolutely made my day!


From the Pass it was 3 miles to the next water source, from there it was 4 miles until lunch, and from lunch it was 10 miles to the campsite. Sadly this is how my brain now operates on autopilot. I listened to Missy Higgins coming up the pass which has become my morning ritual. Then I rode the caffeine high to the water. Between water and lunch I was counting miles, getting upset at my new shoes which are not only a size too big (I think), but are too lightweight for rocky trails like the ones through Desolation Wilderness. I think the insoles Dirty Girl has forwarded to Sierra City will help, but it’s still a long way to go and my feet are hurting like the first few weeks. Not good!

The boys had stopped off trail in the shade for lunch with Mehap who I met in Yosemite and Noday who I only just met today. We did a little bartering of food over lunch. I swapped a drink mix that Chris gave me for a handful of starburst jelly beans, and a peanut butter and jelly bagel for a salami, cheese, avocado and coconut oil tortilla. I also swapped one Carnation Breakfast packet for two packets of oatmeal. I think I did well. When Fuller caught up we had a good reminiscing session about the early days of the trail. He also said he wanted to learn the Canadian National Anthem so he can sing it when we crosses the border. I gave them a rendition of the anthem I almost know better than my own after singing it at least 100 times during the torch relay across Canada in 2009/2010. I still need to learn the French version!


I had a decent lie down after lunch to let my food settle. I still feel ancy when I rest on the trail, but my only hurry is making the post office in Sierra City by Friday afternoon which I will do easily providing I walk 20 miles each day. The physical challenge of walking 20 miles a day from this point seems to be easy enough, it’s the mental challenge which is really starting to take its toll. The 10 miles after lunch were relatively flat and mainly through the forest where the only real obstacle was the number of trees fallen across the trail. I listened to music most of the way but started getting frustrated at the repetitiveness of the same music over and over.


Just when I was about to whip out the video for some mental relief I saw the boys by a lake. They had just been in for a quick dip which is exactly what I needed to spice up the afternoon, refresh and wake up from the afternoon slump. The water was quite warm and had the desired affect on my mood, but the last 4 miles were still a battle. Especially when the campsite we hoped to stay at didn’t really exist. Even worse, the one another mile up the trail wasn’t any better, but none of us had steam left to go any further so we made do. Even the mosquitos here are bad. I cooked from inside my tent but have hidden my food under some logs so hopefully no bears are in smelling distance. It’s the first night I’ve slept in my tent for a long time. Speaking of which it’s 21:45 and already dark, so goodnight from mile 1125, until tomorrow!

The night before a town stop is usually a restless one. It’s like Christmas Eve, when all you can think of are the goodies the following day will have in store. When my alarm went off at 4:30am I didn’t even hit snooze. I was prepared to sleep walk to make it into town as early as possible.

The trail was incredibly flat and I was at the 5 mile mark before I’d even considered filling up with water. My pack also felt considerably lighter with only a little bit of extra food left in comparison to 10 full days. I caught up with Carrot around 7:30am and by that stage had hiked close to 8 miles which meant I only had 6 to go. We stopped for a quick coffee break as I’d already had a Carnation breakfast and a few handfuls of granola before I left camp and I was out of my usual oatmeal.

Time flew between chatting and hiking on the mostly flat trail and by about 11am I was 0.5 miles from the highway. I excitedly called UB to see where he was at, expecting he would waiting close by, but he told me he was at the Echo Lake Lodge where he’d dropped Wendy back at the trail head. The Lodge was less than 2 miles from the highway but it was a completely mental battle. Kinda like telling someone whose just crossed the finish line after running a marathon that they actually have two more miles to go. It broke me.

After 10 challenging days out in the wilderness I sobbed my way through the last two, realising just how much the 180 miles had taken a toll on me physically and mentally. When I finally reached the lodge I realised UB had texted me to say he’d come pick me up from the highway but I hadn’t seen it, so I was wandering around the parking lot when he pulled up, having run into Carrot who told him I’d headed up that way.

I was so relieved to see him and his puppy Bernard! He had brought beers, cookies and cupcakes for the hikers arriving at Echo Lake, so I grabbed some of the trail magic before we headed to the Post Office. I thought there was a package for me from Jimbo at the Echo Lake PO but they said they didn’t have anything. Then at the PO I discovered one of my packages was at the UPS depot and the other from Dirty Girl had been returned to her. The rumours of the Sth Lake Tahoe PO not being hiker friendly was close to the truth, but my resupply box, tent and gear were all there, phew!


We headed up to King’s Beach on the north side of the lake and I had to visit the Thrift Store to buy some cheap clothes so I could shower and clean every piece of clothing I’d been wearing for the past 10 days. The traffic was mayhem and the prices of the motels extortionate because of the July 4th weekend, but we at least managed to find a room near the lake. By the time we’d decided what to eat for lunch it was nearing dinner time, so we grabbed some sushi before heading down to the beach for sunset. We got kicked off the beach by a cop because it was private and dogs aren’t allowed, but the guy was really friendly and thankfully didn’t write us a ticket.

The next day was a full zero day, but after waking up around 10am I had so many things to do I barely rested the entire day. I needed to buy new shoes and a Steripen from the outfitters, lunch food, HEET and toiletries. Then I needed to spray down all of my clothing and gear with Permethrin that trail angel Jan had ordered me from Amazon (thank you SO very much!!). I was lucky I could hang my entire wardrobe out to dry on the balcony of the motel. Then it was time to figure out my food for the next five days. Ladybug had kindly sent me my resupply box and filled it with some additional surprises like Oreo cookies and Nutella!

I was up until 2am, trying to update my blog, opening an Instagram account (MukMukPCT) and applying to be an ambassador for Gossamer Gear (Carrot told me they give you a free backpack and like people who blog regularly). Unfortunately they rejected me (their loss I say), so I’ll be sticking with my ULA Catalyst which has seen me through the trail well, it’s just in need of a mega clean as it smells worse than me! The guys at ULA also exchanged my hip belt for free which really impressed me, and sent it to me on the trail within a week. Thanks again Chris!

Today I had a nervous belly heading back to the trail. UB still needs to figure out how he’s going to get back to the trail and when, and the memories of my 10 days solo were still too fresh in my mind. When we reached Echo Lake again my heart sank. It wasn’t until I ran into Spark, Leaky and Moonshine that I felt any comfort in hitting the trail again.

We had discussed trying to go around 10 miles as it was already close to 3pm. About half way I saw a familiar face coming south bound down the trail. It was Fuller who I’d shared a shot of Crown Royal with at the 1000 mile mark. I said a big hello and asked what he was doing. He told me he was quitting. I immediately threw my pack down and insisted we sit and talk. We both shared our woes, as I was feeling extremely unmotivated being back on the trail. I think some of the most important things to remember on the trail are: 1. You’re never alone in your struggles, 2. Everyone will have a day when they feel like quitting, 3. The trail will beat you down but always provides when it’s needed most, and 4. Never quit on a bad day.

Fuller was extremely appreciative of the talk and decided to continue heading north. This also helped to motivate me and gave me purpose for being on the trail at that time and place. The trail honestly does provide in weird and wonderful ways just at the right time. I still struggled through the last five miles to camp but was relieved to have the company of Leaky and Moonshine to cook dinner with and camp next to. We shared many a laugh, especially when they said they’re still wondering what I want from them, as this was the second night I chose to camp with them. I told them it was for their superior coffee, but honestly they’re great company, and a fresh breath of youthful air on the trail. I also get to act like an 18 year old again!

I had wished I could make it to South Lake Tahoe for the 4th of July, but instead I am eating tuna casserole for dinner at a picnic table in front of the closed visitor centre on Hwy 88. Yogi’s notes say there are lots of mosquitos past this point so I figured it would be better to eat here and hike till dark again. I have to say I’m feeling a bit anxious being this close to civilisation, especially as it’s getting dark and I’m feeling very much on my own.

I did experience my own version of trail magic though when I was less than a mile from Carson Pass and I bumped into Francoise and Thomas who had been bird watching down by the lake. I walked with them back to their car chatting about the PCT and Vancouver Island where Francoise currently lives. They asked if I had enough food and despite me saying yes, Thomas brought out an entire watermelon from his car which he divided up. It was my first fresh fruit in almost 10 days and tasted spectacular!

Leading up to this encounter I was up on a ridge where I bumped into some day hikers and the girl who is riding her horse along the entire PCT. I was amazed at the organisation that goes around doing such a thing. Her brother meets her at each road crossing with the horse trailer, food etc. She said the desert section was hard with such little water but the snow crossings and steep sections in the Sierras were also challenging. I was honestly blown away.

I had phone signal on the ridge and managed to post another blog entry before the Andrews caught up to me from out of nowhere. They went into Bridgeport so I must have passed them at Sonora Pass. It was awesome to see such familiar faces again and fun to catch up on how their hike has been. As it was the 4th of July they had three packets of Pop Rocks which were meant to simulate fireworks in your mouth when you eat them. I took a video but we were all a little disappointed at the effect (obviously designed for kids aged under 30).

Going back to the start of the day, I woke up at 4:50am and broke camp just before 5:45am. I didn’t feel as tired as I had expected and polished off the first few miles easily until I reached the first water source. I planned to go to the following creek for breakfast but just before dipping back into the valley I got mobbed by mosquitos and found salvation in the most gorgeous group of rocks overlooking the entire valley. There was a breeze and a hiker heading south said the mosquitos down the trail were ‘thick’, so I opted to remain on my beautiful rock ledge.

I was determined to eat more today to avoid the slump I fell into yesterday afternoon. I had my usual oats, granola and coffee and felt really good when I hit the trail again at 9:30am. There was a waterless stretch for 8 miles coming up so I planned to stop and have an early lunch at the last source and bumped into Spark who had the exact same intentions. I lent him some of my Pristine drops to treat the water as there were many floaters and a large frog sitting just above the spot where we collected the water from.

I had two burritos with tortillas and dehydrated beans that UB had left over in Mammoth Lakes. I even had mild salsa to put on them so they tasted like ‘real’ food! Carrot caught up to us while we were eating and offered me some chocolate and flattened banana which was delicious. I let lunch settle and then headed off for the 12 miles to Carson Pass, mainly uphill. I had so much more energy than yesterday so food is really the key and something I need to pay closer attention to, especially lunches.

It wasn’t long after that I stopped at the top of the ridge to blog. After bumping into the Andrews we headed to the next water source, but I lost them soon afterwards as they went off to a lake to make dinner and I carried on to Hwy 88. I managed to cook, eat and clean my teeth just before dark and found the perfect place to camp just up the trail. I can hear the cars speeding by pretty loudly but I feel comfortable where I am now, and just had enough light to change and set up camp. I’m going to get up super early tomorrow and push to do 15 miles by about 1pm. Goodnight from mile 1078!