This post originally appeared on The Trek, which you can read here.

If you want to see more from my 2025 PCT thru hike, make sure to check out my Instagram (@annamckinney22) and TikTok (@magicinthemountains) for daily vlogs!

*these posts are coming straight from trail, I apologize in advance for typos!*

Day 99: July 15, 2025

Location: NorCal
Start: Hat Creek and Tentsite – 1371.1
End: Tentsite – 1398.7
Miles: 27.6
Ascent: 1803 | Descent: 2755
Sleep: Tent

What a doozy of a day! It was some of the easiest hiking we’ve done on the entire trail, but it was still mentally and physically one of the most challenging.

The day started off promising as we woke up by the creek. It was peaceful and cool this morning and hiking as the sun rose was a delight. The trail was super flat and we hiked through pine forest and across pine needles, it was lovely! The first few miles and hours flew by and before I knew it we were crossing a road. Truffles had seen on FarOut that you could take the road less than half a mile off trail to get to go to a gas station. Nothing is more exciting than hitting a gas station in the morning. The opportunity for a microwave breakfast sandwich, coffee, and flush toilet is too good to pass up.

We made a beeline for the Old Station Fill Up and were there around 9:30am. We were some of the first hikers to arrive, and when we got there the clerk told us their internet was down and they were cash only. Thank goodness we had cash and were able to shop to our heart’s content. We didn’t need anything for resupply, but we’re so happy to just have a cold drink and snack.

I ended up getting a Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sandwich, breakfast burrito, and iced coffee. Truffles for a huge fountain drink and breakfast burrito. We paid and heated up our spoils in the commentary microwave and then headed outside to eat our food on a bench in the shade. As we were relaxing more and more hikers appeared. We met a woman who did the PCT in 2022 but was returning to clean up the miles she missed due to fire closures. Flap Jack, NTS, and Vamp made an appearance along with Mountain Goat as we were getting ready to leave.

With our bellies full we road walked the halfway up trail to the Subway Cave. This cave is apparently a lava tunnel (I think that’s what I read at least?) and was a super cool short tunnel we could walk through. It was dark and cold inside the cave, which was a welcome contrast to the searing heat we’ve been experiencing these past few days. The cave also had water and a pit toilet in the parking lot, so we were very pleased with our experience there.

The next stretch of trail today would be the infamous Hat Creek Rim, which basically transplanted us back to the desert. This is a 30 mile try stretch of trail with a single creek and water cache through this section. Knowing we’d be hiking through the dry area in the heat, we filled up 4 liters each to last us the 16 miles from the cave to the famous cache 22. We chose to skip the creek because it was very far off trail and we’d rather carry more water.

With all our bottles full we set off to tackle the Hat Creek Rim. We had to climb up to the rim which wasn’t bad, but given that it was around noon at this point and smoke from the Green Fire was starting to blow in, it made for a challenge. Once we were up on the rim the hiking was easy, it was flat and smooth sailing. However there was absolutely 0 shade and it was 95 degrees according to Truffle’s thermometer. It was miserable!

As the day wore on the smoke got thicker and thicker. When we started we could see the mountains off in the distance, but quickly our visibility was reduced and we could only see about 30 feet around us. Our eyes were watering and we both began intermittently coughing. My heat rash flared up again and I felt like I was just trudging through. It was doable but it made me nervous to think about what we would do if the smoke got much worse. We could hike with our Buffs over our mouth and nose, but we didn’t have face masks. Even if we did, would that help? I really don’t want to have to be hot and sweaty and trying to hike in a mask…

We got a little reprieve when we got to a communication tower that had 2 trees with a bench nestled beneath them. The comments on FarOut about the bench had made it seem like an oasis and really hyped up this bench. All the comments were 100% right, it was an absolute God send! We rested for about 30 minutes in the shade and even had a little bit of cell signal. It was hard to get moving again, but we had to at least make it to the water cache in a few more miles.

Determined to persevere, we hiked on. It was some of the most miserable hiking I’ve ever done between the heat and the smoke, but we finally made it down to the water cache. Cache 22 is a huge water tank maintained by a local guy. There was plenty of shade for us to post up under, and we set to filling out bottles and relaxing. As we were sitting there, an Australian couple names Squirrel and Juicy rolled up. We’d seen them on and off all day but talked to them for a while as we were all filtering water. They packed up and left but we decided to rest a little while longer.

Flap Jack showed up and we ended up staying and talking to him for another 30 minutes or so. He did the AT in 2022 DJ we talked about that for a long time and the differences between this trail and the AT. He told us about his life in Maine where he works as a Japanese chef and about his travels to Japan.

Finally around 6pm or so we decided we’d get moving with the goal of hiking a few more miles to a nice campsite. We were no longer up on the rim of Hat Creek, now we were walking through the flat almost desert like plains. It felt like we were back on the Arizona trail. We passed several cow ponds and endless miles of dry, dead grass with minimal tree coverage. We even passed a humongous rattle snake that was cooked up and rattling. It was an unnerving way to end the day and I spent the last hour or so very on edge and jumpy fearful that we’d run into another snake. I had honestly forgotten about them at this point, but obviously they’re still out here…

It felt like it took forever, but finally we got to the campsite. It was a dry site, it spacious and seemingly right in the edge of a cliff. This would afford for great views down into a valley if it wasn’t for all the smoke. We set up camp and began preparing dinner. The sunset was beautiful reflecting off the smoke and we got to see deep shades of red and pink. We fell asleep eager to get into town the following day.

Day 100: July 16, 2025

Location: NorCal
Start: Tentsite – 1398.7
End: Burney – 1412.8
Miles: 14.1
Ascent: 788 | Descent: 1683
Sleep: Building

The hiking today really sucked. Honestly this section has not been very enjoyable between the smoke and the heat. It felt like we were back in the desert or even in the plains of Africa. I woke up with a stomach ache and ended up having to dig 3 cat holes on our hike towards town. Needless to say I wasn’t having a great day and felt like I was moving really slow. I was so eager to get into town but didn’t feel like I could hike all that fast. 14 miles went by so slow and every uphill felt like it took all my strength.

The highlight of the hike today was walking around Crystal Lake and the surrounding fish hatcheries. It was nice for a change of scenery and provided a picturesque lakeside view. Then we were right back into what felt like the desert! We also crossed the 1400 mile mark which felt good, but at this point the mile markers blur together and I’m just looking forward to getting out of California.

I was so glad when we finally made it to the road around 11am. We stuck our thumbs out to try and get a ride into the town of Burney and multiple cars drove past. We had been trying to hitch for about 15 minutes when a transit van pulled up and honked their horn. The driver was super nice and said she gives rides to hikers all the time. We loaded up and she drove us straight to the church in town.

The Word of Life Assembly church hosts hikers for a donation in their gym. We could shower, charge stuff, use the kitchen, and they even had a huge hiker box with loaner clothes! They had everything that we needed, and the fact that it was donation based just made it all the more wonderful.

We showered (they even had shampoo, conditioner, AND lotion!!!!), set up our sleeping pads on the carpeted gym floor, and went to the local Mexican restaurant for lunch. Julio’s was in an old diner and had delicious food. We ate our fill and waddled back to the church to begin our town chores.

Rocking our loaner clothes, we went to the laundry mat to wash all our stinky clothes. With that chore complete, all we had left to do was resupply. On the walk back to the church, we passed the bowling alley and decided to go in and bowl a round.

When we walked in we were the only people there and the prices were so cheap we decided to bowl a couple of rounds. They also had a bar so we were happy to get drinks and just relax. We chatted with the bartender and got to talking to a local lady at the bar named Liz. She was interested in our hike and asked how we’d been fairing in the smoke. We told her we were trying to decide if we should keep hiking through the smoke or if we should skip up to Dunsmuir, but that we hadn’t made up our minds. Without hesitation she said she was off the following day and would be happy to drive us up to Dunsmuir. We were shocked and blown away by her kindness! We took her number and told her we’d let her know what we decided to do.

As we bowled we discussed our options. If we skipped up to Dunsmuir it’d be skipping about 100 miles. I expected us to have to skip because of fire closures but I never anticipated skipping because of smoke. Did it make invalidate our thru hike if we skipped a section of trail that wasn’t closed? Were we whimping out of cheating? How badly was the smoke actually affecting us? We went round and round trying to make a decision but both felt so torn. Hiking through the smoke the last few days had been miserable, and Truffles said he was worried his asthma would start acting up if the smoke was much worse.

What were the chances that a trail angel would offer us a ride completely unprompted? We decided to take that as a sign and texted Liz that we’d take her up on her offer to drive us to Dunsmuir the following day. Once the decision was made we felt better, the hard part was done.

Our new plan was to hike from Dunsmuir to Etna instead of Burney to Dunsmuir. We figured we’d do it in about 5 days so we went to Dollar General to get our resupply. We also picked up some frozen pizzas and ice cream to eat for dinner at the church.

Once we finished resupplying we went back to the church to reorganize our food and cook dinner. Flap Jack, NTS, and Vamp were all also in the kitchen cooking dinner. Flap Jack is a Japanese chef in the real world, so he was preparing them a delicious looking noodle dish. Our frozen pizza pales in comparison, but it was still fun to sit and eat with all of them. We haven’t socialized with many other hikers recently but I felt like we actually clicked with this group. We talked about our decision to skip, the AT, how everyone was handling the smoke, and about the trail so far.

As the night wore on we got sleepy and decided to turn in. The only downside to sleeping in the gym was the fact that there was no AC so it was extremely hot. Hopefully it’ll cool off some in the night. Onwards to Dunsmuir tomorrow!

Day 101: July 17, 2025

Location: NorCal
Start: Castle Crags Campground – 1503.2
End: Castle Crags Campground – 1503.2
Miles: 0.0
Sleep: Tent

We covered a lot of ground today but didn’t actually hike at all. Now that we’ve made the decision to skip up, everything else has fallen into place. The hardest part was making the decision and worrying that we may be overreacting to the smoke, but staying safe outweighs the fear that we’re whimping out.

I got up around 7am and started packing up. It was unbelievably hot in the gym at night so I didn’t sleep good. After I got packed up and made sure Truffles was up and moving, I went across the street to the Burrito Way food truck to get us some breakfast burritos. I stopped in the gas station for drinks and by the time I got back to the church, Liz was there waiting to pick us up.

We gathered our things and went to hop in her car. Liz turned out to be a true trail angel! I don’t feel like we’ve met as many selfless and genuine people on the PCT who just want to help people, most of the trail angels have been nice but have been trying to turn a profit. Liz expected nothing from us and was reluctant to even take gas money despite the fact that she drove over an hour out of her way each direction for us.

Since we were skipping the section that goes through Burney Falls, Liz was insistent that she drive us by the state park. We paid the $10 entry fee and got to park right at the top of the falls. It was a short look to the overlook and Liz stayed there while Truffles and I walked down to the base of the falls. That waterfall was huge and very impressive. The main channel of water came from a river at the top, but the falls was made even wider by tons of water pouring out of hidden springs that shot off from the river. It looked like the earth was crying but in a beautiful way. There was so much greenery and life around the falls, and the giant deep blue pool at the bottom was just asking to be jumped in.

We hung out around the falls for a bit before heading back up to Liz and the car. We hopped in the car and were off. The road to Dunsmuir was a winding backroad that Liz handled with car. We talked about her moving to Burney 6 years ago, her work at the local hospital, how she got involved with the PCT, and her surviving a vicious dog attack last winter. Liz was an absolute delight and such a fun person to talk to!

The hour and a half ride passed quickly, we even got to see our first views of Mount Shasta! It was surrounded by smoke so we couldn’t get a clear view, but it was awe inspiring non the less. When we finally arrived in Dunsmuir Liz dropped us off at the post office. She waited outside while Truffles and I went to pick up my new shoes.

Alas, despite all the help from the kind postal workers, it turns out my shoes had been delayed and hadn’t arrived yet. If we had gotten into town when we expected to they likely would have been there, but since we skipped up and got to town 5 days early we beat my shoes there. We went back out to the car and Liz drove us to a local coffee shop so we could use their internet for a while. We hugged Liz goodbye and went inside the Cornerstone Bakery and Cafe.

Turns out the town of Dunsmuir has WiFi throughout the town, but it didn’t work well in the coffee shop. We got a pancake platter to split and tried our best to track down my shoes and debated ordering another pair. After our second breakfast we went outside to find a place to sit in the shade and continue doing stuff on our phones. We found a park bench outside the art gallery and I was able to order another pair of shoes to Ashland. My current pair is in bad shape, the seams have split on both shoes around the outside but the tread seems to be okay. Hopefully they’ll last me another couple hundred miles to Ashland.

As we were sitting in the bench, several folks stopped to ask us how our hike was going. As we were talking to two friendly women from Ashland, a guy and his dog walked up and sat down with us. The women left and the guy proceeded to ask us if we were “hobos”. We told him we were thru hiking and he told us we were kindred spirits and that he was a self proclaimed hobo, train hoper, and graffiti artist. This guy was friendly enough but loved hearing himself talk and went on and on despite our lack of responses. Truffles and I were biding our time until the library opened at 1pm, and thankfully that was our escape from our strange new friend.

The library felt like an oasis because it had AC and WiFi. It was so nice to sit in air conditioning for a bit! I had some work to do on the computer and Truffles found a place to charge electrics. We ended up spending several hours in the library and finally left around 3:30pm. All our town chores were done so we began trying to hitch to the Castle Crags campground.

We initially started trying to hitch by the post office because we thought people trying to get on I-5 would scoop us up, but after 20 minutes or so we felt dejected. One of the nice post office workers pulled over on for us on her way home, but she said she was driving in the opposite direction. She said we might have better luck on the other side of town, so we walked back down the street to try to catch a ride out of town.

We stood on the street corner for 15 minutes or so before a guy in a truck stopped and told us to get in. He was visiting the area from the Bay Area to go fly fishing, but he’d heard of the PCT and assumed we were hikers. We didn’t chat much on the drive, but he took us straight to the campground and wished us well.

We stoped in the campground office to pay our $5 per person to camp at the hike and bike site. We walked along the campground trail to the back of the campground where a site was set aside for thru hikers. We had access to bathrooms, showers, and a bear box at the site. The campground host, Woody, was close by and even had a power strip outside his camper just for hikers to charge their stuff!

We set up our tent, made dinner, and then went down to Woody’s to charge and socialize. Woody had a fridge just for hikers that he kept stocked with cold sodas. We sat around and talked with him and several other hikers for a while. One guy was just section hiking and the other had done the AT and PCT several times. We talked about how different the two trails were and the pros and cons of each.

Once the mosquitoes came out I called it a night and went to hide in the tent. It’s amazing how much ground you can cover in a car! I think we made the right call to avoid the worst of the smoke, but it still feels like we cheated a little bit. I know as time goes by I won’t feel that way, but I’m excited to get on trail tomorrow and actually hike again.