Ziggy and the bear

I slept in a little bit so by the time I woke up the condensation that had fallen already dried up. Pacer broke camp first, I followed about 15 min later, and Sarah went out 15 min after me. I only had one Swig of water left that morning but I wasn't worried because the next water was only 4 miles away. I worked up some pretty good blisters on that downhill the day before so was moving at a pretty slow pace so Sarah passed me in no time at all. When I finally got to the water source I was glad because not only was I pretty thirsty, but I knew that the downhill was finally over. Sarah and I hung out at the water for about 30 min and saw danielle from the night before hobble down. It a huge wake up call for me because it was the end of her hike. Trail angels were coming to pick her up and then she was flying home. She was in tears as she was telling us her plan, not from the foot pain, but from the disappointment of having to leave the trail. I felt very fortunate that my only pain was from blisters, and nothing a days rest wouldn't heal. We said goodbye to danielle and made our way across the desert floor to trail angels ziggy and the bear's house. Sarah spotted a rattler basking in the sun  and it reminded me to watch me step. As we got closer to ziggys, the roar of I 10 grew louder. It was strange Hearing the traffic because it was the loudest noise I had heard in two weeks. It was almost deafening. Crossing under I 10 it was weird to think that i could take it all the way to my house in houston. Ziggys was just passed the interstate. We were greeted by ziggy and the bear with an ice cold gatorade. They had us sign in and took our picture.  I was hiker 994 that had stopped by their house. I couldn't believe that many people were already on the trail, and the were probably just as many behind me.  Sam and Roman were already there so it was great to have the whole group back together again. There were also many other new and familiar faces there as well. All the hikers had to stay outside in the backyard, but they had big tents and chairs to sit in the shade. Also their whole backyard was carpeted so i could walk around barefoot. i was able to wash my clothes and take a shower which felt amazing. i love having clean feet and socjs. We all relaxed in the shade for most of the day and discussed our plans for the fire closure coming up. There were three options. 1. Just go through the closure illegally.  2. Take an alternate which involved a long waterless road walk. Or 3 skip it and take a shuttle to big bear lake further up the trail. Our group opted to take the alternate. After devouring an entire hot and ready pizza picked up trail angels, our group decided to head out and do a little night hiking to beat the heat and get a head start for the next day. We added a new person to our group named trigger, and he led the way with a head light. The rest of us just followed the person in front and called out rocks and other tripping hazards as we saw them.  We went about four miles in and called it a night. Everyone cowboy camped and had great views Of the stars again. 

Day 15 - 14 miles

Mt san jacinto

Everybody trickled out of the cabin at their own pace this morning. We all had a few last minute errands to run, so we agreed to meet outside the library at 11 to start hiking. During the road walk to the trail head, we came across a car that had gotten stuck in a ditch. We dropped our packs and got it out in no time. They offered us a ride for helping, but the trail was just a few hundred feet down the raod. The trail was straight up. It was our first real significant uphill climb we had encountered. As we ascended the temperature dropped quickly and we came across snow on the trail for the first time. We had a few snow drifts to walk over, but nothing too treacherous. Eventually we were hiking in a a cloud. The clouds block the view, but they give the forest a mysterious look. Soon enough though we got above the clouds and the view of the desert below us was spectacular.  Near the top there was an emergency shelter that we decided would be a great place to spend the night. We dropped our packs, grabbed some snacks and went for the top.  At the peak there were 360 degrees views. To the east was the desert, and to the west was the coast covered in a bkanket of clouds. We watched a spectacular sunset above the clouds and then retreated back to the warmth of the shelter for the night. Day 13 - alot of miles

The shelter was warm, but it was really loud anytime someone moved on the creaky bunk beds. "NTN" short for no trail name shared the cabin with us. He is such a cool dude. He is probably in his sixties hiking the trail solo. He moves at a pretty slow pace but we always seem to bump into him. He must wake up really early and just hike all day. We emerged from the shelter and caught the tail end of the sunrise and then started off on a 20 mile, 9600 ft waterless decent back into the desert. About 2 miles into the hike we came upon our last water source. We heard from people ahead of us that they carried 5 liters with them and it wasn't enoigh.  I decided to camel up at the stream and only carry 4 liters since it would all be downhill. The decent was rough, especially with all the water and food I was carrying. I hate downhills,  because they are usually where I get most of my blisters. After a few hours, the Sam Gabriel mountains to the north came into view, along with I 10 at at the bottom. It was weird to think that i got hop on that interstate and go all the way to my hometown in houston.  The trail seemed to go on forever.  I was doing fine on water, but my feet were starting to hurt. As I hiked, I 10 didn't seem to be getting any closer. I decided to just slow down and take it easy to save my feet. Sarah from our group caught up to me and we did the last 5 or so miles together. Usually when i hike with someone it goes by so much faster, but but today with all the downhill it just dragged on. We came across another hiker named danielle who appeared to be struggling down the trail. Turns out she had two broken bones in her foot. The doctor in idylwild told her to take 4-6 weeks off in a boot, but she was determined to keep going. However, after that long descent she realized she wasn't going to be able to continue.  She looked absolutely crushed. It really put my my blister pain into perspective because because all my sores could heal in a day or two. I would be devasted if I had to cut my journey short due an injury. Luckily all my bones, ligaments and muscles are doing fine, just a little tired is all. We made it down about 4 miles from the water and found "pacer" from my group. I was so relieved because I thought he was going all the way down to the bottom, amd i dont think I vould have taken 10 more steps. The three of us cowboy camped in a great spot without any windand a great view of the stars. I felt the condensation starting to fall, but I was already warm in my sleeping bag, so I just decided to worry about it in the morning. My feet hurt but it was a pretty good feeling to see mt san jacinto way up behind us knowing were just at the top that morning.

Day 14 - alot more miles....all down hill

Idle in idylwild

I slept in late today until 8 am haha. It was the latest I had slept in since I started hiking. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my tent had kept me almost completely dry through the rain.  We were all moving slow since we knew we weren't doing any hiking that day.   I walked to to the laundromat with a couple other hikers and the three of us shared a washer. I watched the water turn from clear to brown as all the dirt from our clothes leached into to the water. After washing our clothes we went to the grocery store to resupply our food. I should have eaten something before I went in the store, because everything looked sooo good. After buying way too much food, a group of 8 of us walked over to a cabin we rented for the night. We dropped our packs inside and everybody immediately crashed on every bed and couch available.  It felt strange but also so good to just sit and do nothing for a change. It was really cool how nobody wanted to watch tv. We hadn't seen a tv in almost two weeks, but  no of us had any interest in it. We all just sat around reflecting on how far we had come. Later, everybody laid out like sardines on the cabn floor. Even with the day off we still went to bed a 9 pm. Day 12 0 miles!

Our first big test

The pct really threw it at us today. We woke up the next morning in a cloud again. The weather report said said it was supposed to thunder storm so we got going as early as we could. We decided to meet at the paradise cafe 5 miles as head to decide what to do about the upcoming fire closure on the trail. We stayed dry until we got to the cafe but we could see the weather was blowing inn. We had a great breakfast at the little diner and discussed our plans. Roman and Pacer  decided to skip closure because of the bad weather coming up and some knee problems.  Candyman, Milk Bag and I decided to hike to the closure and take the alternate into idylwild.  The trail started of really pleasant. We were getting higher up so we seeing some subalpine forests for a change. There was a steady drizzle, but we were enjoying the misty weather shrouding the mountains. We were low on water so we had to hike off trail a little bit to a spring. We were foolish and brought our packs all the way down the poorly graded trail. We could have just left them at the top and carried our water bottles down. Turns out we wouldn't even need the water later on because we ended up so cold and wet we didn't even think about drinking water. At the top of Apache peak the rain got heavier and steadier. It even began snow a little bit. I was glad the three of us were together because had we been alone, we probably would have had a horrible time. It was just above freezing and the wind was driving and the rain was steady. My feet and legs were soaked, my hands and lips were numb, and we didn't have a definite plan of what to do. We  got to the closure and looked at our options. We could either camp there or start hiking the alternate off the mountain. Roman sent us a text saying the snow we expected above 5000 feet. We were at 6500 feet and already cold an wet so we opted to take the alternate even though we had already hiked some pretty solid miles and it was getting late. We defended down into the valley. I was relieved to feel it getting warmer, and the rain start to ease. But with wet tired feet, I dreaded every step downhill. I wanted to avoid getting blisters with my wet feet so I just took it slow. The alternate led us to a road walk. Milk bag and I were pretty defeated, but Candyman want to keep pushing on. To be honest I could have set up camp right at the the parking lot ofthe trail head I was so tired. Fortunately a car came by and offered us a hitch into idylwild. It was bittersweet because I wanted to hike the entire alternate, but I was miserable and everything was wet. In the end I is glad we hitched, because seeing the road walk where we would have been hiking just seemed pointless, and also probably dangerous. We thanked our trail angel driver and set up camp in the state park right outside of idylwild.  We all went into town to meet up with roman and Pacer at a local bar. Two other friends of ours were there as well andit was karaoke night as well! Being in a warm place with friends and hilariously bad entertainment lifted my spirits back up. We stayed at the bar as long as we could to stay warm and dry. However, we didn't even make it to 1030 because we were all so tired. We hurried back to our tents and got inside them as quickly as possible to avoid the rain. I was thankful to have warm dry clothes inside my tent, I looked forward to taking a zero the next town. Day 11 - 18 miles

Hiker lingo

I'm taking a zero in idylwild right now so I thought I'd define some of the hiker terms that get used on the trail.

Zero day - a day where you don't hike any miles, typically spent in town, but could also be spent on the trail

Nero day- a day with only a few miles hiked

Hiker box - usually located in town near or reuspply point. Its a box full of donated items from hikers that they don't need or want to carry anymore.  Can have food, gear items, toiletries, books, and random weird stuff that really makes you wonder why they packed it.  

Trail name- a name given to you by other hikers on the trail. You can't name yourself, but you can sometimes veto a name given to you. Usually characterizes some defining feature about you, or an embarrassing moment you had on the trail.   

Camel up - drinking as much water as you can at a water source so you don't have to carry as much in your pack to the mext source. 

Cowboy camp- sleeping directly under the stars without a tent.  Watch out for condensation in the morning!! 

Hiker hunger- a hunger that can strike at any moment and requires massive amounts of snacking to satisfy. I've had it strike in the middle of the night

Good pitch/bad pitch - when you set up your tent or tarp you want to have a good pitch on the rain fly so that it doesn't flap in the wind or drip water on in the rain.  

Trail angel - someone who helps pct hikers on he trail. They provide rides, food, restock water caches, housing, information and trail magic etc. 

Trail magic - when you come across an unexpected pleasant surprise on the trail such as food, beer, cold drinks,  candy bars, etc. Could be as simple as a box of snickers under a tree, or a big party with all of the above right off the trail. Huge morale boost

Base weight - the weight of your pack with all its gear in it minus food and water.    

Water cache - water jugs that are carried out near the trail by trail angels. Can make the waterless stretches in the desert a little easier/safer. Always pleasant to find but depend on them as they can easily run out given the number of hikers that go through.  

Dry camp - camping far away from a water source. 

That's all I can think of for now but I'll put more up as I think of them.  

Into the sun

We all broke camp at different times the next morning. It was a cold morning and I took forever to break camp so I was the last to leave. It felt good to sleep in a little, but by 9 am I was already feeling the heat on the trail. Despite the heat, I was in awe of how much the scenery had changed. It has all essentially been desert from the beginning so far, but it is amazing at how diverse and different it is around every corner. Great conversation with other hikers distracted me from the heat until our first water source at lost spring.  It was one of the more murky water sources I had come amazing cross yet. The spring was barely a trickle that had a cement trough built around it to collect water. I opted to use my sawyer mini filter instead of my steripen because of all the floaties in the water haha.  It definitely had an earthy taste to it.  After some lunch and blister repair I took off on the trail again. Again the company and conversation from other hikers distracted me from the heat, which was great because it was one of he hottest days yet. Around 4 I rolled into local trail angel Mike's  place. We missed the beer but there were till some refreshing sodas leftover that really hit the spot.  Mike's place was unreal. It's impossible to describe so I'm jot going to even try. They were making wood fired pizzas for everyone, but we had so much food from our resupply we opted to hit hit the trail again . On the way out we ran into Turtle Don. He was 82 years old and was section hiking part of the pct. It was easy to see how he got his name because his pace was about that of a turtle. But hey more power to him. I hope I'm on the trail like him when I'm 82 years old. We made it up to a ridge to camp and had some awesome views of the valley below. All of cowboy camped that night andstayed up late talking. Our group has grown to five now, and they are really great to camp with every night.  Day 9 - can't remember the miles

After cowboy camping we were woke up in the middle of a cloud. All of our stuff was damp and it was pretty cold. I did my best to break camp quickly but I still didn't get in the trail till 7. The water report said the next source might be dry so I did my best to conserve water in case it was. The spring ended up being dry but luckily a trail angel had out out a small water cache nearby. I try not to depend on water caches because they can run out quickly with so many hikers going through,  but I always appreciate them when I come across them. As I hiked on the heat began to bear down on me. I was having some blister pain so I slowed my pace down so that I could step more purposefully instead of just plopping my feet down. Walking slower felt so good,but i fell back from the group so i was on my own. The heat was really bearing down and i was drinking my water too fast. At the next good shade i later my tyvek ground sheet down and took a little siesta from the heat. It felt amazing to take a nap on the trail. I awoke a little stiff, but refreshed, plus the temperature had cooled off significantly. We came across two more unexpected water caches. I had been pretty good with my water so I only took  1/2 liter. Our group reunited around 5 at a great campsite on top of a ridge. We all ate our meals together, and discussed the plan for the next day. We were coming up on a fire closure and needed to decide whether to take the alternate and 7 mile road walk, or just hitch around the closure. We choose to decide when we got there the next day. Day 10- at least 16 miles

The Warner Springs Spa

I awoke to the sound of people packing up their tent the next morning. Seeing them pack up gave me a huge sense of urgency to hit the trail again. But I knew my body needed rest so took my time getting out of my tent. The community center at warner springs is truly amazing. It runs completely off volunteers again mazing nd donations. All the volunteers were so welcoming and helpful. They gave us buckets with Epson salt and warm water to soak our soar blistered feet in. It was quite a sight seeing 5 or 6 hikers all sitting in the shade soaking their feet in buckets.  My feet felt so refreshed afterwards. Later i did laundry, and the center even had clean clothes you could wear while you washed your dirty clothes. I took a bucket shower and washed all the grime that had built up on my legs. It was a strange feeling walking around in clean clothes,  with clean hair and fresh feet. A volunteer took us to the post office to pick up our resupply packages which saved us a 2.5 mile walk roundtrip. After organizing my resupply i cringed at how heavy my pack was going to be with 5-6 worth of food. The volunteers cooked us hamburgers that evening and we left for the trail after eating. It was hard to leave because it was so relaxing, but we didn't want to get sucked into vortex and get stuck there. We only hiked three miles that evening but it felt good to get back on the trail. That night we had a great campsite by a creek and had a small campfire. After sharing stories and getting to know eachother more we finally went to bed at 10, which felt like 2 am because we had been going to bed by 8 every night so far. I cowboy camped and had great views of milky way that night.  Day 8 - 3 miles 

My first 100 miles!

I woke up at the rv park on day 6 not knowing what my plan was going to be. My feet were a little sore, and I was a little low on food. I was going to wait for the little store to open, but a lady drove up before a finished breakfast offering hikers rides to the trail.  Hitchhiking isn't always a guarantee so I quickly shoved everything in my pack and hopped in the car with 5 other hikers. I told I was a little low on food so she offered my some fresh oranges. She said she shuttles hikers back and forth all the time during hiker season. We all thanked her and started on the trail. This section of trail was through one of the most diverse cacti groves in the country. I came across a massive bee hive 2 miles in. Luckily someone had left a note on the trail warning me about it because my pack probably would have brushed up and agitated them as I went by. It was a really hot day and difficult day, but as I saw the Laguna mountains, from which i had just been 2 days ago, disappear behind me it gave me a huge sense of acomplishment. Water was scarce on this section of trail, and the only source was a cache maintained by trail angels about 14 miles in. They had trucked in a couple pallets of gallon jugs where the trail came close to a road. You try not to depend on water caches because they can run out quickly with so many hikers on the trail.  I had enough for the night but I checked it out anyways to make it a little more comfortable the next day. I soon as I got to the cache, a little thunder shower started to dump on me out of nowhere. I looked around and it blues skies all around except for about a two mile radius above me. I was in the desert so all my rain gear was at the bottom of my pack. I decided to just embrace it and just kept hiking through the rain. I was soaking wet and a little cold but my spirits could not have been higher.  I found an awesome campsite up on a ridge  with amazing views and camped by myself for the first time. The rain stopped just long enough for me to dry everything out. Since I was alone I decided to practice the harmonica my neighbor Russ back in Denver gave me. Luckily I have a long ways until Canada because I goingto need some more practice hahaha! Day 6 - 15 miles 

The next morning I took it slow getting out of the tent. I was surprised when Candyman and Pacer walked by me because I was sure that they were ahead of me. The trail was mostly downhill today following the top lines in and iut of all the ridges. I passed by several new hikers that I hadn't seen before and had some nice conversations the miles always seem to go faster when you are deep in conversation with someone. Before I knew it I was at mile 100. It had been marked by a hiker with some rocks. We all took our pictures by it and continued on. Everyone kinda bottle necks at the water sources and it was no different today because they were about 8 hikers at the barrel spring trough when I got there. After the spring the trail led through some beautiful meadows.  The seemingly endless waves of golden grass back dropped by mountains all around was beautiful.  We came across the famous pct landmark eagle rock today. It a granite boulder formation that looks just like a bald eagle with its wings spread. It had some great shade so we took our pictures an hung out there for a bit.  The town of Warner springs was just 3 miles aways so we were ready to get there for a much needed Nero day (a day with only a few miles hiked). We arrived at the community center and we're greeted by about 25 other hikers. It was tent city at the hiker friendly community center.  Volunteers cooked hot dogs for us as we scavenged through the hiker boxes looking for rejected treasures. Our friend Pacer found a guitar and had a little jam session. It was great meeting new people and catching up with hikers we hadn't seen in a while. Whenever everyone went to bed it was so neat seeing 25 tents all glowing with lights inside that night. I went to sleep looking forward to nero day the next day.  Day 7 - 17 miles 

What a start!

Once I began hiking tuesday, all the nervous jitters I had leading up to the start melted away.  Five of us started out from the monument and quickly formed a close group. It was a pretty hot day, and we were all carrying a ton of water and food, But the views were great and everyone was getting along in our group. Four of us ended up camping together the first night. We ate dinner together in a little circle, swapping hiking tips back and forth.  I love to cowboy camp (camp under the stars without a tent) and it seemed like it would be a nice night to do it. Boy was I wrong! I woke up the next morning with my sleeping bag and all my stuff soaked and covered with frost from condensation. I was a little made at my self, but I knew it I would be able to dry out everything during lunch.  Day 8.5 miles.

Everyone broke camp the next morning at different times l, but we all agreed to meet at lake Morena for lunch.  I got a late start but we all ended up getting to the lake at about the same time. Everyone dried out their wet gear and we hung out in the shade to avoid the heat. After everything was dry the four of us went to the little deli down the road to get a bit to eat. "One day in and I'm already eating out?!"  I thought to myself. But the smell of sweet potato fries was too tempting.  After lunch we packed up and hiked on.  The desert was hot, but the all the different cacti, wildflowers and great views kept me going. We ended up calling it a day at a local campground. We almost wanted went on, but the idea of a table, a water spigot,  and a toilet was too appealing. I figured we should take all the easy nights we could get. Day 2- 18 miles

We broke camp the next morning in just about the same order as the day before. Roman and Candyman as they would come to be called left first. And Special K and I left about an hour later.  It was all uphill on our way to mt. Laguna. Fortunately though, we had cloud cover the whole time. It was soo cool to see the vegetation change as I gained elevation. Near the top, the desert changed to forest. I was hiking in a cloud and the mist gave the trees a very mysterious feel. It looked like what I imagined the Highlands of Scotland to look like. Everyone in our group had separated throughout the day, but we all met up again at the top. There is a great restaurant at the top we all ate at. And while we were eating the owner said that we could sleep in the dining room that night since the weather was supposed to be pretty cold and wet. At first i was hesitant bbecauset delt like cheating, but the idea of  warm dry night getting to know more hikers sounded pretty good. That night 25 hikers had a big slumber party in the dining room. It is soo great meeting all these people. Everyone is incredibly nice and have great stories to tell. So far I've met hikers from all over the US and the world. Only downside to the slumber party was that somebody was always moving or adjusting and our sleeping pads can be pretty noisy.  Day 3 - 16 miles

It was pretty easy to wake up the next morning warm and dry. I even got to have a free cup of coffee.  I lost my sunglasses somehow the night before, but as I was leaving I found a pair I'm a a hiker box (a box where hikers leave things they don't want anymore). A started off by myself but met up with several new people as I hiked. Hiking with someone else is always way ore fun and makes the time go by faster. I hiked with 4 different people that morning and before I knew it I had already hiked 13 miles before lunch! I met up with our group again. We lost one, but picked uo another. Everyone was feeling good so we decided to go for our first 20+ miler. They were some tough miles by the endnof the day, but we had some amazing views and we were able to get low enough of the mountain that the wind wouldnt keep us upball night. Decided to cowboy camp again since i knew the breeze would keep the condensation from falling. It was so great to just open my eyes in the middle of the night and see the milky way and countless stars in full view. Day 4 - 22 miles

I woke up the next morning to discover my first blister.  All in all  though my feet have been holding up pretty well so far and Icant complain. Started out a little slower than I wanted, I knew I would be doing less miles today so I wasn't worried. As  I descend off mt Laguna I was greeted by sweeping views of the desert and mountains to the north.  At the bottom, I walked through the first true desert so far. The vegetation is all so unique and interesting here. At a road crossing I encountered my first trail magic! Trail magic is where someone leaves a cooler of cold drinks or a stash of candy bars etc for hungry hikers to take. This particular trail magic was amazing.  They were set up in the shade under a bridge in the shade. They had cold beer, margaritas,  fresh fruit and veggies, grilled cheese, oreos and chairs! How i llove sitting In chairs!  It was relaxing just hanging out under the bridge with 20 other hikers and a belly full of free food and beer. It felt like a vortex becaise it was so hard to leave. Luckily though my group was heading to an rv park to resupply and rest up a little so we didn't have to get right back on trail. We split up to make hitching a ride easier, but didn't have much luck. We finally got picked up but not until after road walking for 2 miles.  Though I'm very thankful for the guy who picked us up because we were able to get to the little store before it closed. The rv park has been great so far. Free wifi and showers!  And laundry!  Such luxuries!  Don't know when I'm heading out tomorrow, but I'll try to keep updating when I can. Day 5  - 14 ish miles

It finally begins

After months/years of planning and a hectic last week of preparation I'm finally on the trail. As my birthday (and also my start date) approached a mixture of nervousness and excitement began to fill me. I kept thinking of little things I needed to do/buy before I left.  In typical Darren fashion I did just about everything last minute (probably why it took me 9 years to finish college ha!) But in reality there is only so much planning you can do. It's impossible to know where I'll be 3,4,5 months from now, or what food I may be craving or sick of. I just got as much done as could and figure out the rest on the trail.

When I got off the plane in San diego, my stomach was full of knots. Knowing what I was about to undertake by myself weighed heavy on me. Fortunately, within 10 minutes of waiting for the bus another pct hiker walked up (we are pretty hard to miss with all our gear). Seeing someone else doing the same thing as me really out me at ease. Later that day at the train station I met 5 more hikers. The nervousness I was feeling was quickly melted away and was replaced by excitement. I spent the night in El cajon doing a few last minute errands and prepared for my departure the next day.  

The bus ride to El campo pumped me up even more.  Four other hikers were in the bus with me. Each of us were sizing up each others gear and getting know eachother  on the long dusty bus ride.   In town We topped off our water bottles inthe little store as It would be 20 miles until our next water source.  . It was very surreal finally standing at the southern terminus after years of waiting for this day.  We all took our pictures and signed the register at the monument.   I signed Nathans name at the register next to mine and then we all started out together. There was a huge sense of comradery between us all as we hiked. It made the daunting taskof what lay ahead of us seem a little easier

To Darren and everyone who loves him

I am Michael Plunkett and I wanted to take an opportunity to start off his journal.  First, I would like for you to know that Darren has now made it to his first campsite on the PCT and I am sure he has already found friends on the trail.

For those who don't know, Darren has been living with me and my wife (Anna) for the past few months here in Denver, Colorado.  He is a part of my family and I have been so grateful to have him here staying with us.  His consistent positive attitude and love for life (and the outdoors...it is Colorado!) has made our transition to our new lives that much easier.  I don't think we can thank him enough for deciding to come out here and join us on our adventure.  When he finishes, I hope he decides to come back and stay with us for a little while longer.

If you haven't yet, please go to the About Me page and read a little about why Darren is completing the PCT.  Darren is known to wear his heart on his sleeve and the past few years have truly been tough.  As he hikes this trail, I hope you join me and keeping him in your thoughts, keeping him in your heart.  Hiking can be healing to the soul and the connection to nature is one of the many things that makes Darren the happiest.  And I know how ever far he gets will help him heal.

Here's to you, Darren.  It's probably only a mile, mile and half to go.

And to end with a quote Darren from today:

"Wander a whole summer if you can. Thousands of God's blessings will search you and soak you as if you were a sponge, and the big days will go by uncounted....The time will not be taken from the sum of your life. Instead of shortening, it will indefinitely lengthen it and make you truly imortal" - John Muir