McKenna's Map

 In the midst of a crazy month preparing to move, Tyler and I took a few days to unplug in Northern California. We camped at Laguna Mountain BLM campground (free), which had gorgeous views of the rolling hills and green mountains that are signature to this section of California. We visited Pinnacles National Park, which is small but fun! We took a hike up in the pinnacles and through cave with a waterfall rushing through it. The following day we took a beautiful drive down the PCH to Big Sur, stopping at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, coastal areas at Garrapata State Park, the iconic Bixby Bridge, the quirky Henry Miller Memorial Library, and stunning viewpoints at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.

Not so shockingly, there are lots of questions when you undertake something like the PCT!  Here are a few answers to FAQs, plus some general background info on the trail, in addition to many of my own thoughts and opinions: Thru-hiking Thru-hiking refers to hiking point to point, without looping or retracing your route back to where you started. Thru-hikes are typically lengthy by definition. The Pacific Crest Trail is a lengthy for a thru-hike but not the longest out there. My first thru-hike was the Trans Catalina Trail (TCT) in 2023, which is about 40 miles. During PCT training, I completed the Nakahechi Kumano Kodo route in Japan (a little over 40 mi) and Tyler and I completed the West Highland Way in Scotland (around 100 mi). Tyler hiked around 200 mi on a route of the Camino de Santiago (I was injured so I did not). In addition to full thru-hikes, we also hiked sections of the AZT and multi-day loops/out and back trails. Other very well-known thru-hikes in the US include: App...