Out/Back: Garnet & Monument Peaks and Big Laguna Loop

PCT by Accident

I knew I would be hiking dangerously close. The Pacific Crest Trail was nearby, and I was going to do everything within my power to avoid it. I made a promise to myself to not hike a mile of the PCT until my thru-hike in 2020. I wanted every mile to be brand new. The car parked, shoes on, backpack on, trekking poles in hand, I stepped away from the parking lot, turned a corner, and found myself standing on a stretch of dirt I had been avoiding like the plague. “Maybe it will only be for a few miles,” I told myself. 5 hours later, I finally stepped onto a different trail. Well, so much for trying.

17 Miles

I entered the Cleveland National Forest with the intention of conquering some big miles. If I was lucky and feeling good, the most miles I had ever hiked in a single day. Within an hour of hiking, I knew it was possible. Miles were disappearing underneath my feet and I was feeling good. As I stood on top of Garnet Peak and took in the valley below, I knew a personal record was in striking distance. Back on the trail, the sun was blazing, and refuge wasn’t anywhere to be found. Still, I fought forward with the defeat of a previous hike on my mind. Hours passed and miles melted away. Before I knew it, I was back at my car celebrating a milestone in my hiking “career.” Coming off the…