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 105: July 21, 2025

Location: NorCal
Start: Paynes Lake – 1595.6
End: Etna Summit – 1601.2
Miles: 5.6
Ascent: 920 | Descent: 1426
Sleep: Tent

What a whirlwind of a day! We didn’t do much and yet somehow did a lot, we are ending the day in a much different spot than I expected. We woke up to a very peaceful morning at Paynes Lake. Neither of us slept well because of the wind overnight, but it was still hard to get up this morning. We didn’t have far to go to the road, so we took our time getting ready and were on trail just before 7am.

We had some uphill to do but we got some mild views on and off through the smoke. The ascent wasn’t very steep and we were able to cruise right along. I got ahead of Truffles and passed an older guy early on but didn’t think anything of it. I was surprised when a few minutes later I hear Truffles start talking to him, and they kept up a conversation until I stopped for them all to catch up. The guy’s name was Spy and we all ended up hiking into town together. Along the way we also collected Mango, another old guy we’d never met before.

The four of us hiked together in a line and chatted the whole time. We crossed the 1600 mile mark before the parking lot and they were all in my silly mile marker video. We were eager to get to the parking lot in hopes of getting a quick hitch into town. Together we reached the parking lot around 9am.

We had seen on Facebook yesterday that the road into Etna would potentially be closed today. We weren’t sure what to expect when we got to the road, but the four of us stood by the road with our thumbs out optimistic that someone would drive by. It didn’t take long for us to start seeing forest service work trucks driving by. The Facebook post we had seen said that the forest service was moving equipment from one fire outpost to another, so that’s why the road would be closed.

It was obvious that the forest service crews couldn’t give us a ride, but we hoped that some regular people would drive by and see us. Tons of work trucks passed us but we didn’t see many regular cars. There were enough that we continued holding out hope for a ride, but Truffles and I said that if we hadn’t been picked up by 9:30am we’d start walking down the road.

Just before 9:30am a car drove up and hikers started filing out of the car to get back on trail. We walked over to ask if the driver would give us a ride back to trail, and she told us to hop in. The driver was an older woman, probably in her 70s, driving a newer Subaru Crosstrek. I saw her monogrammed cup in the car said “Molly” and I knew we were in for an experience.

There had been numerous comments on FarOut about Molly’s driving. Things like “she’s so sweet but I thought I was going to die the entire ride into town” and “some people ride rollercoasters to seek thrills, I ride with Molly”. The ride absolutely lived up to the expectations. The road into Etna was 10 miles of sharp hairpin turns and numerous blind curves. Molly took every turn at break neck speed and was constantly driving in the other lane. Had another car been coming the opposite direction, we would have had a head on collision. It was the most never racking ride of my life!

By some miracle we made it safely into Etna. Molly drove us around to give us a tour of the town and dropped us off at a local coffee shop. We thanked her and headed inside to get some breakfast. The line at the coffee shop was out the door, they looked very understaffed and it didn’t seem like we’d be served soon. Truffles and I decided to leave and try our luck at another restaurant in town.

Molly had said nothing was open on Mondays, but we lucked out and found the Farmhouse Butcher that served sandwiches. We ordered some delicious build your own sandwiches and took them to eat at a picnic table in the shade behind the building.

Initially our plan in Etna was to arrive in town, resupply, camp for $10 at the city park in town, and then either hike out or catch the bus home to Seiad Valley. The trail had been closed for a section between Etna and Seiad Valley, so we wouldn’t have a choice but to skip up to Seiad Valleu. However this week that section of trail was reopened, meaning we could potentially hike if we wanted to rather than skipping that 60ish mile stretch.

We talked through it and decided to still skip up to Seiad Valley. The trail may be reopened, but it would still just be burnt and ugly plus we’d continue having to deal with all the smoke. That fact that we were in town on Monday was great because it meant there was a bus we could take straight to Seiad Valley that only runs Mondays and Thursdays. Finally we had our mind’s made up, we would be skipping ahead. We would take the bus from Etna to Yreka and then another bus from Yreka to Seiad Valley.

It was around 10:30am at this point and we had to catch the bus at noon. We went to Ray’s Grocery Store in town to resupply and figured we’d need about 4 days of food to get into Ashland. We spent about $100 which made this one of the most expensive resupplies in trail so far. Oh well. We had about 45 minutes to kill before the bus arrived, so we went to the library to sit outside and use an outlet to charge our things.

The bus arrived right on time and we paid our $1 each to ride to Yreka. The ride was only about 30 minutes long and there were 10 total hikers on board. We arrived in Yreka at a shopping center with a Walmart, multiple fast food restaurants, a Starbucks, Dollar General, a diner, and more. It was around 1pm and we had to catch the next bus at 3pm. We decided to go to Taco Bell to get a drink and regroup. After a Baja Blast, we walked over to Starbucks to sit and wait and charge our electrics.

We ordered drinks and sat in a corner by ourselves. There was only 1 other occupied table in the store, and it didn’t seem like they were very busy. Mickee, who we hiked around for the first week or so on trail, showed up and we chatted with her for a while. As we were talking, one of the Starbucks employees came over to us. I thought she was going to ask us about the trail, but instead she said that other customers had complained about us smelling like BO and said she was going to have to ask us to leave. We asked her who complained and she said that people coming in and out had mentioned it. There hadn’t been another other customers in the store aside from the other table, and they hadn’t moved since we arrived so they couldn’t have gone to the counter to complain. It was obvious that she was lying about the complaint, so we explained that we were just trying to charge our stuff and asked if we could sit outside and still charge. She said no and that we would have to leave immediately. It was very embarrassing and frustrating, she obviously thought we were homeless and kicked us out. The most aggravating part is that we didn’t even get to finish charging our stuff!

All we could do was laugh about it as we walked our stinky selves across the street to wait for the bus. We found a vacant office building to sit on the shade by, and Truffles ran over to McDonald’s to get us a snack. We didn’t have to wait long for the bus, and soon it was nearly 3pm and hikers began congregating around the bus stop.

Thankfully the bus was a large full sized city bus because there were probably 20 hikers all heading to Seiad Valley. We said our $1 a person and got a seat. There was an air of merriment on the bus as people we expected to get one step closer to Oregon. Eveyone was exchanging stories about the sections they skipped and how they’d been navigating the smoke and fires. This bus ride was much longer and it was obvious we were getting further away from civilization. As the bus pulled out of Yreka we passed a HUGE homeless encampment on the hill. Truffles and I talked about the fact that the Starbucks employee probably has to have that same conversation multiple times a day and to her we were just another pair of homeless bums and not thru hikers. I don’t think that excuses the treatment and made me sad that homeless people can be treated so poorly.

We arrived in Seiad Valley around 5pm. The town is basically just a general store, post office, and campground. All the hikers dispersed to the campground or general store. We looked around in the store and got some drinks and post cards. We sat on the pavement outside of the store enjoying our beverages and writing post cards home.

The hike out of Seiad Valley was said to be hot, exposed, and steep so we weren’t looking forward to leaving. Truffles read several FarOut comments talking about taking a forest service road alternate that was supposed to be shorted, shaded, and much better graded. It was a no brainer to take the forest service road!

We left town around 5:30pm and walked along a gravel road for several miles before the road turned to gravel. It was still hot and we were sweating, but there was shade and a flowing creek close by for water. We talked the whole hike about the trail so far, the people we’ve met, and about what our experience in California has been like. The time and the miles went by quickly.

Around 8pm we had hiked 7 miles of the 12 mile forest service road. There was a large pull off by the water where others had obviously camped, so we decided to set up there for the night. We’ll do the remaining 5 miles back to the trial tomorrow morning and then cross into Oregon shortly after! In total we hiked about 12 miles today (5ish on the PCT this morning, and 7 on the road walk out of Seiad Valley).

We set up the tent and made dinner before going to bed. I am so excited to finally be out of California and to have less than 1000 miles to go!

Day 106: July 22, 2025

Location: Southern Oregon
Start: Dirt Road – 1672.3
End: Piped Spring – 1697.6
Miles: 25.3
Ascent: 5611 | Descent: 3460
Sleep: Tent

We ended up hiking over 30 miles today instead of the 25 PCT miles because we had to do 6 miles on the forest service road this morning. Another big day but it felt productive and very gratifying because we are officially in OREGON!

We woke up on the forest service road and thankfully slept fine and didn’t have any issues. We were up and moving around 6am and had several miles to do on the forest service road before actually reconnecting to the PCT. The road was graded but we were definitely going uphill! We were able to chug right along and made it up to the PCT around 8am. We ran into Kiki and Fish Fry at the junction and chatted with them for a bit, turns out they both had done the AT so it was fun to talk about that.

Our goal for the day was to make it to the Oregon border. We were just 20 miles from the border when we made it to the junction, so it felt like an achievable goal. The trail was up and down all day with some steep ascents and sharp descents. The trail was paralleled by forest service roads, and we hopped on those a few times to save ourselves some climbing. At every water source we ran into Kiki and Fish Fry and chatted with them.

Midday we arrived at A Hole Spring where we stopped for lunch. The water was cold and we found a shady grove of trees to rest in. When we got going again it was more up and down on trail. I was starting to get tired but the motivation to get to the border propelled me forward.

In typical California fashion, the final miles in this state were all uphill. Finally, though, we arrived at the sign announcing we were officially in Oregon! We signed the trail registry and took photos before pressing on.

We had picked out a campsite on FarOut and hiked hard to get there. It was getting late and starting to get dark, but we pushed on and eventually arrived at the campsite. I’m so glad we put in the work to get here because it is absolutely beautiful! It’s a spacious campsite with room for multiple tents (there were already 2 when we got here) and a flowing piped spring. We could see rolling hills all around us and Mount Shasta glowing in the distance. The wide open view is perfect for sunrise and I already can’t wait to wake up and see all the colors form inside the tent. I also can’t wait to get into Ashland tomorrow! I already love Oregon!

Day 107: July 23, 2025

Location: Southern Oregon
Start: Piped Spring – 1697.6
End: Ashland – 1719.2
Miles: 21.6
Ascent: 2530 | Descent: 4914
Sleep: Building

Town day! I woke up around 5am and spent most of the morning peaking outside of the tent to watch the sunrise. We had turned the tent facing away from the sprawling views last night in order to make room for other folks if they came down to camp by us. No one else showed up last night, and the side of the tent was facing the views instead of our tent doors. That just meant I had to crane my neck to monitor the sun’s progression across the sky while I was eating breakfast.

Hands down this was the best sunrise I’ve seen on trail so far! Part of me thinks it was so magical because it was our first morning waking up in a new state, but even without that context there’s no denying the sheer beauty of the colors painting the sky. It honestly looked like a sunrise you’d see over the Blue Ridge mountains back home with the rolling hills cast in a a blue hue with reds and pinks bathing them in gentle morning light.

This campsite was also sweet because we had cell signal! While we watched the sunrise we looked online for motels in Ashland. The cheapest one we could find was $90 a night which felt like a splurge, but we haven’t slept in a hotel since our mini vacation around Mammoth, so we figure it’s past time to treat ourselves. With the promise of a shower and a bed once we got into town, we set off at a vigorous pace to knock out the 22 miles standing between us and Ashland.

The hiking pretty much all day was super easy and crusiey. We had a little hill in the morning and then it was a straight shot for the next several miles to a water source. I stopped to dig a cat hole and then caught up to Truffles when he stopped to wait for me at the 1700 miles standing marker. What a big couple of milestones we’ve passed! Honestly making it to Oregon felt like the biggest accomplishment yet on trail, but the mile markers are still cool. Since there only one more border crossing, the mile markers have the be the things we look forward to that make us feel like we’re getting somewhere.

After passing 1700 we kept rolling until we got to our water source. Also at the creek was Dusty, a guy we’ve been seeing regularly for the past couple of days and have talked to sporadically. We talked for about 15 minutes while filtering water and learned that Dusty had been hiking with Flap Jack and his crew before skipping up to avoid the smoke. We connected over having the same itinerary and talked about all the things we were looking forward to in Ashland. He said he was excited for a mental reset in Oregon and about how monotonous NorCal was. We’d been feeling the same so it felt nice to have our feelings validated and share in commiserating.

After leaving the water source we had one final bump to climb. We were mostly in the shade of the forest so the ascent wasn’t too bad. I put on some music and the 3 miles flew by. Before long we were on top of the ridge and the hiking was easy again. We started passing forest service roads and day hikers, so many that we had to double check it wasn’t a weekend. I guess beautiful views and clear skies brought the people out in droves.

The rest of the day was mostly flat and downhill. We hiked through miles and miles of fields with blooming wildflowers. We saw hummingbirds and tons of bees, even all the critters were out to enjoy the beautiful flowers. We kept plugging right along and decided to forgo lunch in an effort to get to town faster. Instead we both ate one of our pies we typically eat for breakfast. That way we wouldn’t have to stop and eat but could just snack while we were hiking.

We kept up a good pace and made it to our final water source about 5 miles from town. This was a water hose outside someone’s house that they set out for hikers. They even had a picnic table in the shade we could rest and relax at. We sat there for a bit before continuing on, determined to get to town.

The last few miles seemed to drag on just because I was so ready to be done for the day. We got to the junction to take the blue blaze down to Callahan’s Lodge. From there we popped out on the side of I-5 and walked down the shoulder to the exit for Ashland. We ran into another hiker there who we hadn’t met before. His name was Lonesome Dove and Truffles figured out that we all started on the same day but had never met before. How wild! The 3 of us stood with our thumbs out for less than 5 minutes before the first car to drive by stopped and took us into town.

The lady that gave us a ride had lived in the area for 40 years and loved telling us all about the town. It was a short ride to our motel where she dropped Truffles and I. We got checked in and were so pleased with our room! We have a large and luxurious king sized bed, a fancy shower with soap, shampoo, AND lotion in the bathroom, and AC! We didn’t think the motel had laundry but it did, praise the Lord! Needless to say we were so happy with our selection of motel and think it was definitely worth the price. I’ve been looking forward to us just being able to lay around and not have to do anything or talk to anyone. It just feels good to have some privacy in 21st century comfort.

As soon as we got in the room Truffles hopped in the shower and I got our laundry started. We both were showered and had laundry done within an hour, and then we had to make the difficult decision of where to eat. We decided on an Italian place downtown and took an Uber the mile into town (what luxury!)

We ate dinner at Macaroni’s Ristorante which was phenomenal. We had homemade bread, split a large Cesar salad, and each got pasta dishes. I had a spicy Italian sausage dish with peppers and marina sauce, Truffles had carbonara. After dinner we sat in the Plaza for a bit before going to Skout Taphouse for drinks. We got a round of drinks there and then went to check out another tap house.

On the walk over, we stumbled upon street performers doing fire dancing. It was so fun and random, it felt like something we’d see in downtown Asheville! We sat and watched the performers for about 30 minutes before we headed over to Growler Guys for another round of drinks. We ended the night by walking back to the motel and snuggling up in our comfy bed. Excited for a full zero tomorrow!