I’m back! – The walk

Catmando is back! Since I last blogged about Trek, I’ve been busy hiking and living the dream! My AT hike concluded in 2019, but it only fueled my desire to return to the mountains and our amazing hiking community! In 2020 I hiked the Long Trail, with Covid there were some interesting challenges but a positive was that I had Mount Mansfield completely to myself and did anyone remember that spring? In May, no insects, no mud and no people! I only saw one other hiker!

The following year (2021) I started the Harts Pass PCT SOBO. Snotel was at zero and I sailed in very little snow in the Cascades! Washington was glorious! Oregon was amazing but the fires were starting! The Dixie and Caldor fire complexes had the trail closed for 600 miles. I reached the Seiad Valley, where the trail would temporarily end. I returned to Oregon with Guinness and we hiked the California Coastal Trail for a couple hundred miles! We then took a train to Reno and took a shuttle to Sonora Pass! A couple of pulls later we were at Kennedy Meadows to the north! The Sierra was phenomenal, until we reached Tulomne Meadows and discovered that the government closed the PCT for an undisclosed period of time. (It ended up being more than 5 weeks) I flew home and I was not a happy hiker! Fortunately, my wife understands me and encouraged me to walk! She is the best! So I headed to NOBO on the BMT (Benton McKaye). The trail, the fall colors, and the lack of other hikers satiated my disappointment at being kicked off the PCT!

Spring 2022 arrived and after training for the trail I started the PCT reversing directions: now a NOBO that starts in Campo! Lihat juga hgtgdfgdtr18. I started the trail literally running with a week of twenty mile days and caught up with trail friends I would hike with to Kennedy Meadows to the south! The desert was amazing! Perfect weather!

The Sierras were amazing! The snow was a challenge, the water crossings were refreshing, and the scenery was beyond majestic! Upon reaching Northern California I was able to hike everything that was previously closed, so by the time I finished in Siead Valley I had over 2,750 miles logged, not that it matters, I finished 12 days before starting a year ago! I had 3 hours of rain on the entire trail, a bit different than the 45 days of precipitation on the AT! I finished 124 days on the trail, one day longer than the AT!

To be continued…..

Happy trails!

Cat

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