Bret Bradigan, the publisher of Ojai Quarterly and other magazines, talked to yours truly for a Talk of the Town podcast on my completion of the Pacific Crest Trail. I thought this was an illuminating and even entertaining conversation (although I must stop laughing like a crazy person). About an hour long. [use link forContinue reading “Podcast interview re: PCT completion: Talk of the Town — Ojai Quarterly”
Tag Archives: PCT
PCT 2021: Rainy Pass to the Northern Terminus
High Sierra PCT under snow in 2019
This winter turned out to be a very good year for precipitation in the state of California, as experts working with the California Department of Water Resources kind of predicted last fall. This means that right now, in July of 2019, the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail through the High Sierra fromContinue reading “High Sierra PCT under snow in 2019”
Dirt: People of the PCT (Oregon 2018)
This is Dirt, with whom I briefly crossed paths at about mile TK on the PCT. We had a short but interesting conversation that’s still very alive for me. Our brief dialogue touched on two or three or so topics, but seemed full of the immense uncertainty of human life. Quite possibly I might neverContinue reading “Dirt: People of the PCT (Oregon 2018)”
Great trees of the PCT — honestly, how is this even possible?
The force through which the green fuse drives the flower and this tree — my God Almighty, How is this even possible? The first vegetation of any stature whatsoever seen in miles and miles along the PCT through a laval field.
Cowboy camping on the PCT: from Crater Lake Nat’l Park to Timberline Lodge in Oregon
What does it mean to cowboy camp the PCT? Put simply, it means camping without a tent. Throwing down a mat and your bag (or your lighter and maybe even warmer down quilt) and using the stars for your night light, and dawn for your alarm clock. But expand the definition a little and cowboyContinue reading “Cowboy camping on the PCT: from Crater Lake Nat’l Park to Timberline Lodge in Oregon”
Trail signs along the PCT: Section Q
Just have to say that the trail signs in Section Q — the Marble Mountains — in the far north of California were the best (that is, most Zen) that I have seen along the length of California. They deserve remembering in their own right, so here goes: Next day I after about 5 orContinue reading “Trail signs along the PCT: Section Q”
last morning in California
I’ve now been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in sections since 2012, and have reached Oregon. I’ve been sorely remiss in posting of my progress, which I regret, and will in some measure redress. For the sake of beauty at this site if no other. This shot comes from my last morning in California, asContinue reading “last morning in California”
Thoreau: Craving Reality
The New York Review of Books posts in its entirety a spectacular essay from Robert Pogue Harrison, this time on Thoreau on his centennial birthday, and en or so books and exhibits about The True American. Thoreau (to my blinkered view) is that exceedingly rare writer/philosopher capable of seeing afresh the most fundamental elements ofContinue reading “Thoreau: Craving Reality”
PCT section L: Paradise Lake to Sierra City
Think this might be the shortest and possibly the easiest section on the entire 2663-mile PCT. That’s based on a personal knowledge of two-thirds of the trail in California. That’s all I know, admittedly, with some reading and searching, for instance such as Jeffrey Schaffer’s venerable and helpful set of guides on Wilderness Press. Still. Turns out the sectionContinue reading “PCT section L: Paradise Lake to Sierra City”
Kit Stolz 