How Far Can Little Feet Take You?

The wall seemingly goes on forever. A rusted monument of artificial borders separating one country from another. It dwarfed the concrete monument that brought us here. This smaller one marks the beginning of the Pacific Crest Trail. A year ago, even 6 months ago, we assumed Bedtime and I would be taking a picture of Purple Rain atop the monument, giving hugs and kisses and leaving her to hike. But on this day, March 20 2022, we all stood aside the monument and had our pictures taken before taking our first steps northward on the PCT.

The previous summer the three of us hiked 40 miles of the PCT close to our home in Southern Oregon. Those 40 miles took us 6 days. Not a pace sustainable for a thruhike. Although a quarter mile into day one our son lay in the middle of the trail and asked “is it bedtime yet?”, we left after those 6 days saying: with a “0” he could keep going. It was an afterthought at that point.

We made four and a half miles our first day. Talk about pacing yourself. Burgers at Lake Moreno made up for the slow start. Most people that see a five year old on trail ask about mileage. Early on it was tough to think we could make it home to Oregon, let alone Canada. We averaged 8 miles a day heading into Scissors Crossing.

There are pros and cons to such a pace. We have yet to experience any injury or real discomfort from hiking. Our bodies were able to slowly adapt rather than shooting “15s” or “20s” out of the gate. And while I enjoy singing and playing games with Bedtime, ten hours a day becomes a bit tedious. My advice: take up a hobby that agrees to hiking under two miles an hour. Birding, botany,geology, whatever. It’ll keep the adult brain in check and avoid the eventual apple sauce that occurs from too much kid talk. Cons to such a pace are primarily focused around time and weight. We spent as much time hiking as most hikers yet made fewer miles resulting in longer food and water carries. Luckily for Bedtime mom and dad take the brunt of this.

The thunder woke us. Bedtime asked why we had our headlamps on. That’s how bright the lightning was that followed, this time the thunder louder and closer. The downpour ensued. After fifteen minutes we knew it was not rain but sleet as our tent began to sag. We dozed on and off for several more hours until dawn. Coffee and cocoa in the tent were had before hitting the trail through fresh snow.

Over the previous several weeks we had upped our mileage to a respectable 12 a day. On this day, cold and wet, and knowing hot springs were within reach we made 17.5 miles. Deep Creek Canyon was gorgeous and the creek was flowing large. Bedtime made those 17.5 miles in time for dinner and an evening soak. Making it that far in a day widened our horizon. We know we can’t do that everyday, but it was now an option when we needed it. We are currently in Wrightwood, several 17-18 mile days under our belt and feeling like we can safely and enjoyably hike 15 miles a day for the rest of SoCal.

To watch the world pass by one step at a time is one of the beauties of hiking, especially long distances. I can’t help but imagine myself having shorter footsteps to enjoy it more. The past five or so weeks of hiking with Bedtime have allowed me to embrace the slowly changing world around me. The PCT is known for distant vistas and grand scenery but I have become accustomed to noticing the smaller things because of him: a unique bug perched on a flower, the shapes of sticks and how each is slightly different (and some better than others), the sounds of birds (and trains) in the distance, and which leaves (manzanitas, of course) make the best boats when creekside.