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 136: August 21, 2025

Location: Southern Washington
Start: Creek & Tentsite – 2233.1
End: Tentsite – 2256.9
Miles: 23.8
Ascent: 3580 | Descent: 2923
Sleep: Tent

Another fine day on trail. Pinky and Hangman have been hiking a little slower since they’re just getting back on trail, so they left early around 6:30am. We were only planning to do about 24 miles today so Truffles, Pimento, and I slept in a little and got moving around 7:30am. Pimento and I hiked together for the first few miles and talked in and off. We were going uphill but it was gentle and we were able to keep easy conversation. It was so gentle that I didn’t even realize we were finished climbing until I checked FarOut and saw we were nearly at the top.

We were hiking towards Mount Adams and could see Mount Rainier in the distance. As the morning passed both mountains got larger until it looked like Adams was looming over us. At the top of the climb I got cell signal and called my dad to talk to him for a while. Along the way I passed a trail maintenance crew clearing some of the blowdowns.

Around 11am I caught Pinky and Hangman at a water source and we all hung out for a while as we filtered water. Pimento and Truffles caught up and we snacked before deciding to take lunch in the next few miles.

We hiked for another hour to Lewis River for lunch in the shade next to the creek with stunning views of the glacier on Adams. I feel like it’s one thing to see these big Rocky Mountains, but the glaciers are absolutely blowing my mind! They’re huge and they just never melt. I didn’t realize how many glaciers there were in the lower 48, I always thought they were way up in Alaska. Maybe that’s why I’m so amazed by them.

The rest of the day was mostly flat and downhill. We all hiked as a group and talked on and off. We played a game to guess what song Hangman was listening to and talked about about the books we were all reading.

We stopped to get water at Muddy Fork and then walked a mile north to Lava Spring and saw the water flowing straight out kd the lava rocks. We knew we’d messed up by not getting water there and Truffles’s got some for us to try. It was so fresh and clear (but we still filtered it, I don’t want to take any chances!)

Towards the end of the day we crossed a forest service road where a truck was parked along with a tent and several chairs. We couldn’t decide if it was trail magic or just people camped for the night so we were hesitant to walk up. We saw another hiker, though, and decided to go over. Turns out it wasn’t really trail magic, but a guy was crewing for his wife who was hiking the trail. They had a cooler with drinks that they were kind enough to share with us. We met Civilized and Kat and chit chatted for a while before continuing on.

We only had a few more miles to do to our campsite. The campsite was in a large meadow and there were already lots of other people setting up for the night. It’s going to be tent city for sure! We got set up and played several rounds of Phase 10 before calling it a night.

Day 137: August 22, 2025

Location: Southern Washington
Start: Tentsite – 2256.9
End: Tentsite – 2279.4
Miles: 22.5
Ascent: 4608 | Descent: 2304
Sleep: Tent

Welcome to Goat Rocks! I have always heard that this is the most beautiful section of trail and most people’s favorite. It is definitely living up to the hype!

Our day started later and it felt nice to sleep in. Pinky and Hangman left around 6:30am and Truffles, Pimento, and I didn’t end up leaving until almost 8am. We had some climbing to do this morning but it was gentle and the morning went by quickly. Truffles and I hiked together and talked the whole time. We hadn’t been hiking long when we passed the sign for the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

After several miles we came to a water source where we ran into Jolly, Jaba, and Handstand. It feels weird and kind of intimidating to be around “trail celebrities”, but they are super nice and chatty. We’d talked to Jolly a bunch at trail days and in the past few days that he’s been on trail, and we’d met Jaba through my friends at The Trek during trail days. I’ve been following Handstand since the start of her hike and it’s wild to me that we’re in the same place in trail since she started so much earlier than we did.

We ended up talking to Jolly for a while at the water source and hiked out with him. We talked as we hiked about his time completing his triple crown and about how our hike has been so far. He’s a super down to earth and funny guy, him and Truffles especially hit it off! The trail was mostly flat and downhill for several miles so it made for easy talking and hiking.

After the Walupt Lake Trail junction, the trail started climbing violently uphill. The talking ceased as we were all trying to catch our breath while going up. The higher we climbed the trees began to thin out and we could see more and more views. Mount Adams was the most prominent but we could see Mount Saint Helen in the distance and every once in a while we’d see Mount Rainier come into view.

We continued ascending and came to a stream where we met back up with Jaba and Handstand. We filtered water and talked a bit before they headed out and we followed behind. It was more uphill mostly through the trees and over some meadows. When we rounded the corner to Walupt Creek we were shocked to find llamas! There was a large group of people sitting in the shade by the creek with their pack llamas tied off to a tree. It was so surprising but fun to see. I got to let a llama name Warp like warp speed, she was very fluffy and only liked her neck scratched. We hung out with the llamas and filtered water before continuing on.

We hadn’t run into Pinky and Hangman all day and were surprised. The 3 of us decided to take lunch at Sheep Lake and Civilized joined us. He fired up SPAM for lunch on his skillet that had all of us drooling. After lunch it was more climbing up to Cispus Pass. Thankfully there was lots of switchbacks to back it easier, but it was still steep and tiring. The views were incredible and made the climb worthwhile!

On the other side of the ales we descended towards the Cispus River. The views continued to amazing me as we hiked down towards the water and once again wove in and out through patches of trees. We passed several flowing streams and even a gushing waterfall and we continued on our way.

The last few miles of the day were probably the hardest because they were so steep. We kept climbing up and up as the sun beat down on us. We began passing tons of weekend hikers and I grew worried there wouldn’t be enough room at the campsite for everyone. We stopped a couple miles before the campsite to get water for our dry camp. In the last 1.8 miles we had to climb nearly 1,000’. It was slow going but we kept putting one foot in front of the other. As we climbed we could see Rainier in front and Mount Adams behind us. It made stopping to catch our breath and admire the view rewarding.

Finally we came around a corner and saw Pinky and Hangman standing in the bushes waving at us. They had beaten us to camp and were waiting for our arrival. They walked us through the bushes and showed us the stellar campsite. We could see all the big peaks around us and there were even wind breaks stacked up with rocks. For the trail to be as busy as it was today I can’t believe there weren’t a million people around fighting for spots.

We got the tents set up and found a shady spot with a view to eat dinner. As the sun began to set we walked down to an unclaimed campsite that was in the edge of the mountain. We could see Adams clear as day and had a killer view of the sun setting. We took photos and tried to enjoy the views. Today has felt magical and I already know that I want to come back to this area!

Day 138: August 23, 2025

Location: Southern Washington
Start: Tentsite – 2279.4
End: White Pass Kracker Barrel – 2298.1
Miles: 18.7
Ascent: 3211 | Descent: 5811
Sleep: Tent

Today may have been one of my favorite days on trail so far! We woke up early in order to crank out the 18ish miles to get us into town. Pinky and Hangman left around 6 and Truffles, Pimento, and I left around 6:30am. We couldn’t see the sunrise from our campsite, but it was incredible to watch the colors come alive around us as the sun slowly rose over the peaks around us.

It was a short and steep uphill to the “alternate stock route”. Sometimes I forget that the PCT is a pace trail meaning that most of it can be done on horseback. There are sections where the train will split for hikers to go one way and stock animals to go another, and this was one. There was a lot of confusion in the comments about whether or not horses were supposed to stay on the PCT or take the alternate because apparently both were pretty gnarly.

We chose to take the alternate because the views were supposed to be even more insane. First we added an extra half mile to our day by hiking up to tag Old Snowy mountain. This was a short out and back trail but it was mostly over scree. I don’t love the loose rocks but I felt pretty stable the whole time on the way up. We had dropped our packs at the junction and I think that helped. Towards the top the hike turned into more of a scramble but I was brave and kept climbing.

The views from the top were absolutely worth it! 360 views towards Hood, Saint Helen, and Rainier plus all of Goat Rocks laid out before us. We could still see a decent amount of snow for it to be the middle of August, and I was reminded that much of what we were seeing were glaciers. The 3 of us hung out up too for a bit before down climbing back to the trail. I was thankful the descent wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be, and we were at our packs before long.

The day and the views just kept getting better from there. The blue blazed stock route continued and we climbed up to the knifes edge. I was nervous this section would feel scary, but the views put the fear of falling far from my mind. It’s hard to believe we were just below 8000’ because it felt like we were on top of the world! The pathway was narrow and mostly covered with either scree or loose gravel. We took it slow but that allows us more time to look around and take in the views.

We rejoined the PCT after a very steep descent and went through a series of jagged ups and downs before beginning our first long descent. As we began to drop lower the scenery started to change. We were no longer surrounded by snow capped mountains and rugged peaks but instead once again we were in the trees.

We stopped to filter water at a stream and Truffles took off in front. Pimento and I took our time getting water and then headed out together. The trail continued down through the forest and we saw more and more weekenders out for a brief overnight trip. The forest engulfed us and we kept cruising until we stopped one last time to filter water.

We had about 11 miles to go and it was already nearly 11am. We had obviously been moving slow taking in all the views, but I was ready to get to town. After the water we had another big hill standing in our way. This climb wasn’t nearly as steep, but jt felt like it lasted a long time. It was also particularly through a burned area and very exposed so it was hot!

Pimento and I were rewarded at the top of the climb with final views of Rainier, views down towards Shoe Lake, and finally catching Pinky and Hangman. The 4 of us hung out for a bit at the Shoe Lake Trail Junction admiring the views before setting off. It was basically all downhill from there and we were only left with 6 miles to do.

The descent went across an exposed side of the mountain that would have been terrifying in the snow. Thankfully the path was clear and we were able to move quickly. The forest quickly swelled up the views, but the shade was a welcomed relief. We continued down for miles and I grew bored and wanted the day to be over.

Pimento got ahead and I hiked with Pinky and Hangman for a while before they drilled to get water at a pond. I kept cruising and finally made it to the trailhead at 2:30pm. I sat and waited for Pinky and Hangman for a while and was so glad when they arrived! Together we walked the half mile off trail to the White Pass Kracker Barrel where Truffles and Pimento were already waiting.

The Kracker Barrel is just a glorified gas station that caters hikers. There was a huge hiker hangout area in the back complete with a sun shade (hallelujah!), charging station, sink, and hiker box. We got drinks and pizza from the gas station and hung out for several hours. As a group we were able to do laundry and some of us took showers with the rest planning to shower in the morning.

The cherry on top of a great day was a visit from Ivan, the host of the podcast Hikes and Mics. I’d been a guest on Ivan’s show several times and he lives in the area and reached out about linking up while we were on trail. we coordinated for him to come and visit while we were at While Pass. It was so wonderful to meet him in person and he even brought us trail magic! He had a cooler with a variety of drinks and a bunch of dinner chips and candy for us to pick from. He even spoiled us by gifting us with new reusable water bottles from Mazama and Miranda Goes Outside! It was so sweet and thoughtful.

We spent most of the evening talking with Ivan. When he left we visited with other hikers before heading to the free camping area behind the store. We’re planning to sleep on tomorrow and get breakfast at the store before hiking out. What a full and memorable day!