It is not all roses and fun
But at the same time, it wasn’t like all the travel was easy. Throughout those first weeks, I was really questioning myself: Can I make it? Does this even make sense? I felt like I should be having the best time of my life, but in reality, I was basically just walking all day.
It was also interesting because I felt fast—but only because the truly fast people hadn’t started yet. I’ll talk more about that later.
Previously, on day 4, I screwed up my sleeping pad. It took four tries to fix, but somehow it held. Then I tried pitching my tent in insane wind—snapped a pole and tore the rainfly.
So… here we go again. Welcome, Rocky. Are you enjoying the hike? Because if it’s still not challenging enough, here’s a little bonus problem for you. Good luck with that.
So I ended up cowboy camping for the next five to seven days, waiting for a replacement part Big Agnes sent over. Not exactly fun, but hey—it’s the PCT, it almost never rains, so I survived. It was the first time I really understood that no matter what I did, I wasn’t in control anymore. That was a strange feeling. But looking back… it honestly wasn’t that bad. What I have learnt was – the trail provides, even if I suffered some, I knew there are no unsolvable problems.
Moving on, the PCT has some nasty water—especially in the desert. We’ve discussed this before, but take a look at this. A “beautiful,” algae-filled water source. We had to filter this and carry it for the next 40 km, as it was the only water available at the time.
And honestly, that water is still better than average quality; I was early in the season, so I actually had it easy.
What a style, what a looker!
On the flip side of things, I mentioned my broken tent and the forced cowboy camping. I wanted someone to take a picture of what sleeping without a tent actually looks like, just so I could remember the state of it. Take a look.
The funny thing is, I started liking it. After that, I tried to cowboy camp as much as possible whenever the conditions allowed.
Overly enthusiastic
LA aqueduct
Another interesting stretch was the LA Aqueduct. It’s a wind tunnel that hits you right in the face—dry lips, heat, and everyone telling you to cover your mouth and wear sunglasses because it’s “brutal.”
We decided to hike it at night. Someone brought a bunch of glow sticks so we could see each other and not get lost. It probably looked ridiculous, but it was an interesting change of pace. It made me realize one thing: some people hit the high desert later in the season and have to hike through the night just to survive. I never want to do that again.
A rough estimate on how it looked
Last days in the desert
The last few days in the desert were fast. There were quite a few of us hiking separately during the day but camping together at night. Honestly, it was a great feeling—knowing we were getting closer and closer to the real mountains.
Here are some shots from that stretch.
7-8pm was a proper bed time for us
Why would you choose all inclusive when you can hike and camp and enjoy the scenery like this?
We got some amazing trail magic about 50 miles before Kennedy Meadows South—the official end of the desert. This guy set up camp right by the trail and made chili con carne for everyone. He had sodas, and the next morning he even made vegan pancakes.
He was doing it because his daughter hiked a section of the PCT years ago and people were good to her, so now he’s just paying it back. It was a great spot to hit right before the finish line.
Some trail magic and random pictures finishing up the desert section
Daily averages in the desert
I wasn’t in a rush to hit the Sierras. Being early in the season meant if I moved too fast, I’d just be sitting in the snow waiting for a thaw. I treated these first 700 miles as a training camp for the “real” mountains.
There was no goal of pushing the pace, but looking back, I’m actually happy with how I moved. When I started, the sun was quitting at 5:30 PM. By the end, I had until 7:30 PM to keep walking.
Desert Totals: Distance: 705 miles (1,134 km) Time: 43 days Elevation Gain: 88,838 ft (27,090 m)
Desert Daily Averages: Distance: 16.39 miles (26.37 km) Elevation Gain: 2,066 ft (630 m)
Desert Daily Averages (Active Days Only): Distance: 18.54 miles (29.83 km) Elevation Gain: 2,338 ft (713 m)
I wasn’t trying to break records; I was just getting my legs ready for what was coming next. And considering the broken gear and the algae water, I’ll take it.