October 2026 – Mexico to Canada 2023 (and beyond)

PCT Section Hike – Sierra Nevada – Day 5

October 31, 2026Ian

Echo Lake to bail out point – about 15 miles

PCT Mile 1093.4 to 1097.7 + side trail to Fallen Leaf Lake

July 5, 2026

Sluggy would join us today! He is yet another one of Buffer’s hiking buddies that she hosted last year at their house. He’s from the UK and is also section hiking the PCT over the years. This year he came for 45 days and started his hike with us.

Shawn dropped us all off at Echo Lake and we decided to take the boat across the lake to skip a couple of miles at the beginning because they are somewhat boring miles.

We entered the wilderness and a couple of minutes later we ran into a ranger who checked our permits. In the three years I’ve been hiking this trail, this was the first time I’d ever had a permit checked. I had mine though!

A couple of miles later we hit Aloha Lake. This is such a beautiful way to enter this section. I camped here at the end of my 2024 section hike and now I was doing it in reverse. We stopped for lunch and soaked our feet in the cold water.

We passed a few more lakes as we started to head towards Dick’s Pass. I don’t know why exactly, but I wasn’t feeling it today. I had done this section before and knew there was a bail out point at Glen Alpine Trail junction, so I decided to take it instead of continuing on with Sluggy and Buffer. I think I was just ready to be off trail and start the process of getting home. I took this side trail about 10 miles out to Fallen Leaf Lake and then walked the road out to the highway to meet Shawn for a ride.

As I got down out of the mountains, I passed the old Glen Alpine Springs Inn, which operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It has been preserved and has a cool history, which you can read below. After that I reached Fallen Leaf Lake where there is a marina with food and drinks.

The next day, Shawn and I headed up to Barker Pass in the afternoon to resupply Buffer and Sluggy and also provide trail magic to whatever hikers happened to be coming through at the time. It’s so much fun to see their reactions when they aren’t expecting trail magic. That’s what makes it magic!

PCT Hikers enjoying the chairs, food, and drinks we brought to Barker Pass

This was the end of my section hike and I enjoyed it very much. It was a very different experience for me: hiking with dedicated hiking partners and also being so close to resupply and having a dedicated trail angel in Shawn. I slack packed and just generally went with the flow of however I felt. About 60 miles total with great views and good friends.

I’m already planning for next year’s hike. I’m thinking I may go back to the desert since I’ve done the mountains for the last 3 years. Thinking maybe around April from Agua Dulce, CA to Tehachapi where I can walk the LA Aqueduct. I’ll update here when plans start to come together.

PCT Section Hike – Sierra Nevada – Day 4

October 23, 2026Ian

Carson Pass to Echo Summit (Hwy 50) Slackpack – 14.2 miles

PCT Mile 1077.7 – 1091.9

July 4, 2026

A night of rest back in bed really hit the spot. We still wanted to come back and watch the 4th of July fireworks, so we decided to skip the section from Ebbett’s Pass to Carson Pass (28.4 miles) and slack pack from Carson Pass to Echo Summit instead. Slack packing means you are just day hiking, so you don’t need to pack your tent, all your food, and heavier items that you would normally carry when camping on trail. This was my first slack pack on a long trail and I highly recommend it, if the opportunity presents itself.

Shawn drove us to the parking lot at Carson Pass in the morning and we met up with another hiker named Bugs that was also day hiking that section and Buffer happened to have met him on her 2023 hike. It’s so crazy how the trail brings people back together. We also learned that he lived in South Lake Tahoe only a few blocks from Buffer! Shake was also in the parking lot and we would meet back up with him later down the trail.

L to R: Bugs, Shawn, Shake (digging in the trunk), and Buffer

Not only were we slackpacking, but this section was also super flat for the most part.

At our lunch break, we ran into Shake and he joined our little trail family for the rest of the day.

L to R: Buffer, Shake, Hummingbird, Bugs

Showers Lake was about halfway through the hike and we stopped for a bit to soak our feet and soak in the beauty.

We continued walking through beautiful wildflowers and would soon get our first view of Lake Tahoe from the south.

The trail started to descend to the summit (counterintuitive) and would split off from the Tahoe Rim Trail and also cross paths with the original Pony Express Trail.

We got home and relaxed for a bit before going to the beach for fireworks. Buffer busted out her leg compression sleeves that she used when rehabbing her torn ACL for the past 18 months or so. I thought they were awesome. Shake also partook.

PCT Section Hike – Sierra Nevada – Day 3

October 13, 2026Ian

Gross Pond (Noble Lake) to Ebbett’s Pass – 4.3 miles

PCT Mile 1045.3-1049.6

July 3, 2026

I woke up early to finish the miles to Ebbett’s Pass where Shawn was going to pick me up. I initially thought that Buffer would be with him and we would continue on to the next section, but it turns out she wasn’t feeling great from the push the day before and we decided to take a zero back in town and reassess.

The trail went down into the canyon to a nice water source where I could dump the nasty pond water and refill with nice, fresh water.

After a couple of hours, I approached the road crossing at the pass.

Shawn explained that Buffer was still at home, but he brought trail magic which we shared with other hikers that came through over the next half hour or so.

PCT Section Hike – Sierra Nevada – Day 2

October 13, 2026Ian

Bushcamp to Gross Pond (Noble Lake) – 16.3 miles

PCT Mile 1029 – 1045.3

July 2, 2026

The morning started with a decent uphill ascent, but nothing crazy. Always fun to look back and see where you came from. That’s something I try to keep in mind: look back.

I met Buffer an hour or so later at the first water source. Her water filter seemed to be having the same issue mine did last year.

We would also see some more thru hikers. I think we were a little bit ahead of “the bubble” for the 2026 Class, but there really is no singular bubble anymore like there used to be. Thru hikers spread out all over the trail due to differing start dates, paces, injuries, and just sheer volume these days. Which is how it should be. We want everyone to experience the trail on their own time and as they want to.

We got to a nice water source and I laid down to rest.

Then we decided it was lunch time so we stayed around.

I realized how Texan my HEB “Texas Tough” ziplocks were and we both had a good laugh at my state’s hubris.

We continued on after lunch and I was preparing mentally for a big climb. I would find out later that this is where Buffer and I’s hiking styles differ quite a bit. I’ll explain after the next few videos.

At camp, Buffer would take me aside and let me know that voicing my opinion about upcoming terrain (ups or downs) would interfere with her ability to enjoy the hike. I didn’t realize it, but for me, that’s one of the parts I actually really enjoy: the planning and looking at the map for the rest of the day and the coming days. There’s nothing wrong with either style, they are just different. I do wish we had had a discussion about that prior to beginning our hike, along with our actual mileage expectations, but I’m not sure either of us realized how much it would affect our experiences.

Buffer, if you’re reading this, I absolutely loved hiking with you and would do it again, just with different expectations and an understanding of how we best work together. When we got to the pond (Noble Lake), I set up my tent and Buffer decided to continue on the 4 miles to Ebbett’s Pass and have Shawn pick her up that night. I think she wasn’t ready to quit for the day. That’s ok. “Hike Your Own Hike” is a saying for a reason. We decided to meet back up the following day at the Pass.