Pacific Crest Trail
In 2025, my partner Anna and I once again left our jobs, sold the car, stored everything, and successfully hiked the 2,650 mile long Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT runs along the mountains of the American West Coast, starting in Campo, California, on the southern border and extending all the way north to the Canadian border, deep in Washington State's North Cascades. Along the way, I kept a daily journal to remember our hike better, share our adventures with others, and hopefully inspire them to explore and protect the unique wilderness areas of the United States.
PCT Days 0 to 9 - Snakes and Sunburns
Day 0 After weeks of planning, moving into storage, and driving my pet turtle across the country, today is finally the day! Anna and I woke up bright and early and got a ride to the airport from my Mom. The flight happened without any issues, and then we landed
Ryan Gallagher
PCT Days 10 to 19 - Snow in The Desert?
Day 10 The wind rattled the camper for most of the night, but all three of us slept soundly, and at 5am., we woke up to a wet and windy morning. Anna and I said goodbye to Felix, and then hit the trail, eager to get to Paradise Valley Cafe
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PCT Days 20 to 29 - Finally Getting My Trail Legs
Day 20 Zero day! We slept in nice and late until 6:30am in our cushy king bed, and then I snuck out to start on breakfast. Anna woke up shortly after to make coffee and then took over on watching the biscuits as I ran to the store to
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PCT Days 30 to 39 - Is it Winter or Summer?
Day 30 Due to my ankle and feeling overall beat up from the last couple of days, we slept in late and decided to zero at Serenity’s Oasis. Once I finally roused myself out of bed, I took advantage of the empty campground to finally do some laundry and
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PCT Days 40 to 49 - Road Tripping and Flipping
Day 40 Despite the wind and our messed up door zipper, Anna and I slept well in our spot at Bird Spring Pass, thanks mostly to an excellent pitch and a hand-built windbreak. Eager to get up the climb before the heat set in, we started hiking just before 6am
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PCT Days 50 to 59 - Blowdowns and a Busted Tent
Day 50 After yesterday’s slog and last night’s incredible cold, it was hard to get out of bed this morning. The condensation in our tent and on our quilts had frozen into ice, and my shoes, gaiters, and socks from yesterday were frozen solid. Still, I didn’t
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PCT Days 60 to 69 - Entering the Sierra
Day 60 Still not sorted out on our plan, Anna and I left early to resupply, grab breakfast, and to discuss what we wanted to do. Unfortunately, the local supermarket, Rays, was hilariously overpriced ($3 for a small pouch of tuna) and my 6 day resupply ended up being over
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PCT Days 70 to 79 - Snowmageddon in the Sierra
Day 70 Today was rough. In anticipation of a few sketchy river crossings, crummy snow on Forester Pass, and the need to get over Kearsarge before forecasted thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon, we woke up at 1am. I was still completely shot from our prior days and Anna was also feeling pretty
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PCT Days 80 to 89 - Mosquito Hell
Day 80 When my alarm went off at 5:30am, I got up and noticed that Anna was still asleep. Normally she wakes up 30min before me to make coffee, so I took that as a sign that she needed to sleep. I killed my alarm, and we ended up
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PCT Days 90 to 99 - Burnout at Lake Tahoe
Day 90 Anna and I woke up at our usual time and caught the amazing sunrise from on top of Sonora Pass, looking south at the granite of the Sierra Nevada. It was a gorgeous area, but man am I glad to be done with it. We saw a few
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PCT Days 100 to 109 - Fire and Hailstones
Day 100 Nervous not to miss our bus, we both woke up pretty early and began slowly packing up. At some point, I headed down to grab breakfast, and it was once again madness at the Surestay’s food area. After breakfast, we cleaned up our bear cans and sent
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PCT Days 110 to 119 - From Smoke and Sickness to Volcanic Views
Day 110 Despite our late night at the theater, Anna and I were both up around 6am since we’re so used to getting up early on the trail. Once we were fully roused and she had finished at least 2 cups of coffee, we grabbed Bush and headed to
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PCT Days 120 to 129 - Epic Oregon Side Quests
Day 120 Despite the lava rocks chewing up our feet yesterday, all three of us were up in time to catch an amazing sunrise over the Oregon high desert to our west. The sky was generally pretty clear, but there was enough smoke off in the distance to diffract the
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PCT Days 130 to 139 - Tunnel Falls and Tiny Parades: Life Between Trail and Town
Day 130 Once again eager for town day and to knock out some chores, we broke camp around 5:20am and immediately hit the trail with a quick pace. The first 3 or so miles were a gorgeous ridge traverse with amazing views of the early sunrise colors projected on
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PCT Days 140 to 149 - The Trail Takes Its Toll
Day 140 Overnight, the mist rolled in and the temperature plummeted so that I was actually a bit chilly in my 30 degree quilt. The outside of our tent was soaked, and the inside walls had a healthy dose of condensation. Because of the cold and misty drizzle, we slept
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PCT Days 150 to 158 - Final Miles to the Border: Heatwaves, Highs, and a Quiet Ending on the PCT
Day 150 Due to the sun now rising well after 6am, we’ve moved our wakeup time back to 5:30am. It seems silly to unnecessarily hike in the dark (especially now that the temperature has cooled off a bit). Since we had knocked out most of the climb the
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