A day in the life: August 1, 2023

I recently found myself struggling to describe how we spend the majority of our time on trail (walking) so I decided to capture random moments throughout one day to provide a better description of what we’re up to out here in the woods. While every day includes some unique moments and surprises, there’s a fair amount of repetition as well.

Here’s a sampling of what happened on August 1, our 88th day since starting the Pacific Crest Trail.

6:27am – start getting dressed and packing away sleeping setup and tent after hitting snooze on my 6am alarm 3 times. While packing up camp we could hear coyotes howling in the distance and one other couple at the same campsites is packing up as well (another hiker left around 5:30am).

6:58am – we are all packed up so turn on our Garmin GPS tracker and walk out of camp, heading north.

7:13am – stomach starts to grumble so I have a bar while walking.

8:50am – stop at a nice campsite by a small lake for breakfast and to filter water. Ate muesli with cold water and a hot cocoa packet (tastes like eating cereal with chocolate milk – delicious). Still hungry so had a tortilla wrap with peanut butter snd prunes. Started walking again by 9:20am.

9:57am – stop for a quick break on a ridge as Jeremy’s phone got some signal to check in on messages and download the latest news/podcasts. My phone does not have signal so I hang out and type this instead 😁 then apply sunscreen.

11:15am – I decide I need a distraction so start listening to an audio book – Remarkably Bright Creatures. It’s quite good.

12:30pm – We stop at buckhorn spring, a water source marked as reliable and close to the trail on our map. We fill up four liters (two each) to filter and have with lunch then carry over the next 5 miles, then we hang out in nearby shade to eat. Lunch today consists of oatmeal squares cereal, peanuts by the spoonful, tomato and basil flavored wheat thins, prunes, and a liter of water with crystal light lemonade. I’m sure I will want a few more snacks before dinner so stash them in my hip belt.

After relaxing a bit we were joined by three other hikers we have seen a few times over the past two days. After chatting we started walking again at 1:45pm.

2:22pm – I started listening to my audio book, getting more invested in the story (continued listening to this off and on until we got to camp a few hours later)

2:41pm – Jeremy finds an interesting mushroom so we stop to check it out.

3:45pm – we have our first taste of ripe berries on trail! There are tiny wild strawberries, native blackberries, and thimble berries.

6:15pm – We get to camp! We decided to call it a day about an hour earlier than normal after walking 16.2 miles as the next marked tentsite site is about 4 miles further ahead (we often find unmarked tent sites but don’t want to risk it today). It only takes about five minutes to put up the tent after deciding on where the flattest spot is…which is one of the hardest tasks of the day 😂.

6:30pm – As we have a creek next to camp I do a little laundry, rinsing a pair of socks, undies, and my hanky in the cold water a few times then hanging them to dry on a tree branch. Before going to bed I will bring them into the tent so they’re not chewed on by local deer looking for a salt fix (it’s weird but it happens).

6:47pm – We start cooking dinner. Tonight it’s mac’n’cheese supplemented with ramen and fresh kale that we packed out of Etna. While it’s cooking I snack on spoonfuls of peanuts, prunes, and a tortilla. After dinner we have a special treat of Turkish delight & chocolate covered walnuts which were an anniversary gift from our good friends and neighbors who drove from Seattle to meet us in Etna the weekend before.

7:30pm – Two hikers arrive to join us at the campsite just as we’re cleaning up. They walked 26(!) miles today and we chat about the ripe berries on trail before leaving them to cook and set up their tents.

7:35pm – We head back to the creek for a little splash bath, getting dirt off our feet & legs and spend a few minutes soaking our toes in the very cold water before starting our bedtime routine. First, I gather all of my things into the tent leaving only my empty backpack & trekking poles just outside the tent in the vestibule to discourage any critters from exploring them. Inside the tent I blow up my air mattress, change into my PJs (which consists of my 2nd shirt & a pair of boxers), and I stuff my dirty clothes & rain gear into sleeping bag sack as pillow then climb into my sleeping bag.

7:55pm – I realize I forgot to brush my teeth! Got out of tent to do that and spit the toothpaste away from camp, then climb back into bed.

Before trying to sleep I spend a few minutes stretching my legs and ankles and massage my toes.

8:15pm – just as the sun is finally about down, I start listening to a nighttime gratitude meditation in the hopes of soon drifting to sleep while Jeremy plays pinball on his phone.