26 years later, I can officially call Colorado home! Now maybe I should find this "job" thing people keep talking about #colorado #hikertrash #optoutside #girlswhohike #carpediem (at Castle Rock, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B38D_XGHqq0/?igshid=156cd0cvlx898

I've hiked halfway south, putting me over 2000 total miles! Although I'm not quite done, I've made the decision to return to "real life." I'm still processing all the emotions of getting off trail, but I can say that these last 5 months have been an incredible adventure. I will continue to try and live up to my trail name, Carpe Diem (#yolo) in my everyday life. Someday soon, I'll be back to finish up the last 600miles! #pct2019 #pct #thruhike #adventuring #optoutside #girlswhohike #worthit #carpediem (at PCT Halfway Point) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2xqVmRHlNB/?igshid=12hnkkjlu3hz1

'Sup California? Miss me? Maybe unconventional, but was definitely playing the song "California" by @yungblud on repeat. Huge thanks to Bill for the perfectly timed pizza party for hikers at the border! #pct2019 #pct #optoutside #girlswhohike #california #thruhike https://www.instagram.com/p/B16iqbZnCcT/?igshid=1lo1r7bfdpcoj

Took a day and pretended to be a tourist at Crater Lake! I barely got 15 miles in because I stopped at literally all of the viewpoints The deepest lake in the US, I might even say it's Superior to Michigan's northern lake. It's really hard to capture the beauty and size of this crater from just the pictures, but there is a boat for scale in the third pic. #pct2019 #pct #thruhike #adventuring #optoutside #girlswhohike #oregon #craterlake #punsfordays (at Crater Lake National Park, Crater Lake, or) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1zyoegncI_/?igshid=i7a1t4wyt5ff

800miles SOBO brings my total mileage to 1500! Oregon is commonly called the "Green tunnel" on the PCT, but there really hasn't been a shortage of views. Even though lava rocks are cool to look at, I would very much turn down any offers to walk over them for 6.5 miles again. A well placed cabin was a great place to wait out a rainstorm for a few hours. I learned that a competitive game of Uno is the fastest way to turn complete strangers into best friends/mortal enemies. #justsaynotolavarocks #adventuring #pct2019 #obsidianfalls #1500miles #pct https://www.instagram.com/p/B1obIC4Hhb5/?igshid=1t6z47fbzn6c6

I have officially hiked over half of the PCT!! Im finally closer to the finish than the start!! Even though I didn't get a nice monument, I was able to pack out a beer from Olallie lake! So far Oregon has provided some amazing views, burn areas, a visit from my cousin, and soooo much trail magic. #pct2019 #pct #thruhike #adventuring #optoutside #girlswhohike #oregon #trailmagic @usoutdoor https://www.instagram.com/p/B1P46FenqoR/?igshid=136rerr15237b

First few Oregon days in the books! In classic #pnw fashion, it provided rain, a thunderstorm and chilly clouds to block some of the views. The clouds did clear enough to get a couple glimpses of Mt. Hood and some gorgeous waterfalls. A sketchy log crossing was an adrenaline fueled way to start this morning #pct2019 #pct #thruhike #adventuring #optoutside #girlswhohike #oregon #mthood #cascadefalls #ramonafalls https://www.instagram.com/p/B1CQuV-n3Cy/?igshid=5mygimvjxsxh

My last week in Washington had some of the best views on the trail so far! The goat rocks/knife's edge section of trail provided views of Mt. Rainier, My. Adam's, and Mt. St. Helen's. It included lots of ridge walking with steep dropoffs and some scrambling. But it was worth all the work! There was also more beautiful lakes and some very nice trail magic! #washingtonstate #goatrocks #knifesedge #trailmagic #pct2019 #pct #optoutside #girlswhohike https://www.instagram.com/p/B06bPx2Hql4/?igshid=11soshbhzdqcz

I walked across an entire state!! Goodbye Washington and hello Oregon! As I was walking across this bridge, I did have a vague recollection that someone had mentioned some sort of Reese Witherspoon connection? It only came up once in every single conversation I had while planning this hike so it's really fuzzy... #firstandlastwildreference #bridgeofthegods #washingtonstate #oregon #cascadelocks #pct2019 #pct #optoutside #girlswhohike #wild https://www.instagram.com/p/B06aFasHIYx/?igshid=1k8el0my2yl7d

1000 miles of trail complete! Because of my #nosnobo flip to Washington, I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing a marker. But some kind trail angel left some beer in a cabin on trail which was almost better! This week provided lots of distracting views of Rainier to slow me down. There was also a super nice lake that tempted me enough to set up camp mid-afternoon in order to take a (chilly) swim. #pct2019 #pct #thruhike #optoutside #adventuring #girlswhohike #mtrainier #mtrainiernationalpark #swimming #1000miles https://www.instagram.com/p/B0l-pK1H23T/?igshid=3umq5c1s92yr

Had my first view of Mt Rainier today! It's huuuge! Washington continues to be full of amazing views. So many lakes and waterfalls as well! #pnw #mtrainier #washingtonstate #pct2019 #pct #thruhike #adventuring #optoutside #girlswhohike https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Xe59fnTt6/?igshid=dtn6gpum95sl

I made it to Canada! Granted, not in the way I imagined-but I still brought some champagne anyway! So far, Washington has been absolutely gorgeous for my new southward journey. It's been full of views, lots of water, sketchy bridges, rain, sun and last but not least... a BEAR! Definitely had to back up a bit to let that big guy go up the trail. I'll take that as a lesson to always yield to the uphill hikers lol. #pct2019 #canada #northernterminus #flipflop #SoBo #thruhike #optoutside #adventuring #girlswhohike #blackbear #northcascadesnationalpark https://www.instagram.com/p/B0NJFAkn7Zk/?igshid=1if1s37lgkjwf

Road trip part 2! Stopped in Zion, where I was able to backpack 7 miles away from the rest of the tourists in one of the most scenic campsites I've had. Then a quick visit to Bryce Canyon with some short day hikes and then back on the road heading towards Washington and the PCT! #roadtrip #zionnationalpark #backpacking #brycenationalpark #pct2019 #girlswhohike #optoutside #hikertrash https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzq5H75nYWC/?igshid=la063fh1b2m3

It's time for a road trip to Washington and back to the PCT! But, with a few stops along the way of course. Saw the Hoover Dam and could have spent the whole day there geeking out over the amazing engineering. Then I headed to the grand canyon, where I spent 2 nights camping down at the bottom. It was an amazing experience, although I might not do it again in the heat of July... #hooverdam #grandcanyon #roadtrip #nationalparks #camping #optoutside #girlswhohike https://www.instagram.com/p/BzieteUHNmk/?igshid=1jjzah3wfmwkn

During my break from the trail, I found my way down to South America to visit @clairewhitemarsh ! It was a great week of eating alfajores and ice cream, and enjoying wonderful company. It was also an intense refresher for my Spanish- or as they say here, castellano. Now it's time for me to return to the States and figure out what comes next! #buenosaires #argentina #adventuring (at Buenos Aires, Argentina) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzLYOcjnwWI/?igshid=d4311s1s4dl5

After 702 miles of desert, I made it all the way to the famous Kennedy Meadows general store! However, since that means I've now reached the gateway to the Sierra Nevadas and the extremely high snowpack, I've come to the agonizing decision to take a brief break from the trail. Huge thanks to Rose and Zach, and @greggy_mitty and @jimothy1985 for the rides down from the mountains! And thanks to Cami of course for sharing her backseat! Don't worry though, I've decided to put my break to good use! I hit up Death Valley National Park today, discovering in the process that it is aptly named. I'm glad I didn't have to hike through any part of that heat. Now, I'm currently in a state of shock at the vast number of people in Las Vegas. Going to spend a couple days here and then I'm headed to Buenos Aires to visit @clairewhitemarsh! Huge shout out to @kimberlylnof and Carla for helping me store my gear while I'll be in Argentina! None of my adventures would be possible without all the help I've gotten along the way! #pct2019 #adventuring #optoutside #girlswhohike #kennedymeadows #deathvalley #lasvegas #toomanypeople #buenosaires https://www.instagram.com/p/By1XyAAHS7m/?igshid=q7uj5qd13b1g

I've now walked the entire desert section of the PCT and am now over a quarter of the way done! This last week, I pushed some big miles to get through a 34 mile water carry and also because I was more than ready to be done with the desert. #pct #pct2019 #optoutside #thruhike #600 #desert #girlswhohike https://www.instagram.com/p/Byv0hrSHn_m/?igshid=egqx7b2hwljy