August 1, 2023 ~12 miles Another chill morning, another day when we leave slightly later than planned, but hey ho, we’re doing the thing. I have my breakfast and coffee and then pack up and have a little cathole moment and I’m ready to go! We walk downhill towards the huge bog at the floor …
July 31, 2023 ~8 miles I dream that my best friend picks me up from the Brooks Range and takes me to Poundland, the UK equivalent of Dollar Tree. There I buy everything I’m missing on this trip and am angry at myself for forgetting: waterproof gloves, long pants, an extra set of leggings, sleep …
July 30, 2023 ~8 miles hiked I think I developed some sort of negative association with being the last to get ready in the morning on the PCT. This morning, I wake up and think I have all the time in the world because everyone else is still in their tents, but somewhere along the …
Continue reading Brooks Range Day 1: Wildflower Heaven and Wet Talus Hell
July 29, 2023 ~3.5 miles hiked I sleep all the way through the night and my eyes pop open when people start moving. I already feel so much more rested than yesterday and I am relieved. I enter then kitchen where once again Gahl and Carrot are bustling about. Carrot asks me again, and just …
2 AM and the sky in Fairbanks is a soupy dusk. We’re driving through rolling land of stunted-looking spruce and aspen as far as the eye can see, the boreal forest, which Carrot is describing as “sometimes shitty looking but magical.” At least I think that’s what she called it. I’m exhausted and confused with …
Tuesday, July 19-Wednesday, July 20 (We’re going to call this one long day) Getting to the airport is easy; saying goodbye to England is not. We hop on the Heathrow Express and watch the city fade, then we’re in the land of security and brightly lit perfume shopping hell. After some amusing people watching at …
Monday, July 17, 2023 My alarm goes off and I set about making coffee and finishing up my packing. It’s the last day of the trip, and we have to leave Mousehole, which we very much do not want to do. We get everything packed and organized, and then I go out for one last …
Sunday, July 16, 2023 The sun is shining this morning. I repeat: the sun is shining! No slow start for us today. I have an alarm and a concerning amount of coffee and then we’re out. The weather is good and we’re going to St. Michael’s Mount! We get on the bus from Mousehole to …
Continue reading Ireland and UK Day 26: St. Michael’s Mount and Minack Theatre
Friday, July 15, 2023 It’s another slow start for us today, which, although it means we have less time to see the town, is really delightful. I take my time having multiple cups of coffee, writing, and existing. When we do eventually get out, it’s actually sunny! There are loads of people about, taking in …
Continue reading Ireland and UK Day 25: Mousehole, Newlyn, and Penzance
Friday, July 14, 2023 It’s absolutely chucking it down when we wake up this morning. Steve had warned us yesterday that it was supposed to rain today, and raining it is. I check the website for St. Michael’s Mount, which we’d really like to visit while we’re here, but they say they’re closed today due …
Continue reading Ireland and UK Day 24: Mousehole and the South West Coast Path
