Every Single Step | A Pacific Crest Trail Documentary

foreign [Music] beyond the world I knew Beyond fear in those ancient lands calling to me that would change me forever [Music] 2650 miles hundreds of wilderness challenges one hiker the Journey of a lifetime out here it starts and ends with a single step [Music] my name is Nathan Brooks and this is my dream I'm setting out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail Across America from Mexico to Canada in one connected footpath in one calendar year no matter what happens I New Life Begins here [Music] all right we're here right at the border wall it's very pretty and then I'm about to start it for real [Music] thanks so much keep in touch please do all right bye [Music] look at all this guys after graduating college just two days before today I was truly thrust into a new world though I was intimidated by the Monumental task ahead of me I immersed myself in this place that drives under harsh conditions heat of the day but there's still some pretty cacti around after living in the plains my whole life I couldn't get enough of these Desert Mountain Giants they reinforced this feeling that I was starting something epic and momentous and I was continuously Wonderstruck by everything compared to normal life Trail life was incredibly simple with only four steps eating trash food drinking all the water I've literally never been more happy to get water first water 14 miles longest carry yet sleeping deep from Pure exhaustion completely unplugged from the rapid lifestyle I escaped from [Music] and of course hiking 13 to 14 miles a day with some of the best and craziest people I've ever met like me most people on the PCT start alone but we made friends through the fire like it was the first day of school and in a way it kind of was here are a few of the first people I met hi my name is Kyle and I'm from Florida I am Mero sluffer and I am from Chicago hey I'm Luke from most guys California hi my name is Flynn Stout I'm from Pennsylvania I'm Jessica and I'm Paula and we're from Portland hi I'm Jessica and I'm from Portland hi I'm Sam I'm from Burlington Vermont even little Ewok was making the long journey and so we pressed on admittedly I was in a state of anxiety for the first several days on top of my life changing in every way a nagging Achilles tendon was destroying my confidence to be able to keep going even a week more I was even too embarrassed to record myself talking about it but after adopting some ankle exercises to get through each day I found myself High into the San Jacinto range I was loving the ultimate freedom of this experience living completely on my own terms but when I choose to climb up this High I shouldn't have been surprised when I found myself wheezing for air it's steep baby still all the worry and the challenges melted away when we stopped and just laughed at them taking in the sky island views around us each day was incredibly difficult but incredibly rewarding it was clear that this was not going to be an easy Journey but the little things like that made me know that all the pain all the sacrifice all the savings spent and hardship behind me and ahead worth it pack yourself a toothbrush here pack yourself a favorite blocks take a withdrawal sleep take all of your savings out cause if we don't leave this town it might never make it out [Music] though I was still adjusting to the incredible strain hiking was putting on my body the miles were adding up and I was getting stronger we did it triple digits 200 miles let's go [Music] mile 300 celebration coming up three two one [Music] oh my God it's cold 400 let's go the Desert Sun was becoming harsher by the day and while we had some amazing water every now and then it became necessary to Siesta through the hottest daylight hours and serving water was vital the heat exhaustion always a risk so we've gotten to the point where it is pretty much impossible to hike between the hours of 11 30 and 4 30. starting at four today it was so terrible we got through it but uh that's how it goes out here this is how we keep cool when it's hot so how do you hike thousands of miles self-supported we find water in the environment but food gets eaten quick gear breaks and needs replacement equipment needs charging and clothes need washing especially in the dusty desert the answer is hiking all the way down out of the mountains or with the thumb and some luck hitchhiking [Music] to the Glorious place called town it blew my mind how these selfless strangers who didn't have much were willing to pick up random sweaty and stinky hikers on the side of the road and often wouldn't take money from us towns were a great place to recover but also completely stuff ourselves I didn't bring a backpacking stove so hot fatty meals were absolute Heaven I was so hungry there was a point where I would devour a 16 inch pizza in every town and it was crushing when we couldn't I was looking forward to pizza there's no pizza this shop was closed they don't they're discriminatory against us on foot the locals were incredibly generous and gave us plenty of free food [Music] and lifts around town in any vehicle we could fit in I could finally get some gear replaced resupply on food take a much needed shower and have time to hang with lots of other hikers [Music] [Applause] [Music] sometimes we are lucky enough to make town events we are here at mayor Max's birthday party and uh about to get some free food and maybe pet the dog and stuff it's gonna be good hey Max come on guys of course we had to get a photo with the goodest mayor there is but as much as I enjoyed town I always found myself itching to get back on trail at this point I was hitting 20 miles a day starting to really adapt to this lifestyle things I at first found challenging became nearly second nature I got faster and found a new group of highly motivated hikers who were crushing miles and we saw such a variety of new sites every day Rising High into the transverse ranges I was starting to believe actually believe that this guy from Flat Texas who injured himself in every athletic Endeavor he ever took on just might be able to hike every step across the country the doubt was clearing away I started to realize that though the future was a mystery I could trust the day and Trust the trail and everything would work out at the end of each day [Music] foreign was ascending mountbatten Powell the first Mountain I summoned on the PCT it was a huge confidence boost a true Milestone of what I was capable of [Music] figuratively and literally I was above the clouds so what's my progress looking like it has been 25 days since my start in Campo at the southern Terminus and I traveled 400 miles from The Humble San Felipe Hills and Laguna Mountains to scorching scissors crossing the challenging San Jacinto and half of the tall transverse ranges were all behind me it was a great source of Pride for me and I began to feel prematurely Unstoppable because as you might come to find out some of my highest Highs are followed by my lowest lows [Music] coming down Mount Baden Powell out of nowhere my calf felt like it was going to snap off of my ankle wincing in pain I limped my way with my group to a rundown ski lodge for the night honestly I was inconsolable and I had no idea what was going to happen thankfully I was able to satellite text my friend Shane who's working in LA and he picked me up deep in the San Gabriel mountains he let me stay in his apartment to recover we hit the beach to relax my mind and since I was being hard on myself for getting off Trail he convinced me to think of it as a vacation from Trail life not an exile From the Path I was following and luckily jamming made that easy [Music] beautiful [Laughter] but most of the time in that department desperately looking for a way to fix my leg I asked myself the simple questions why am I here am I in over my head as a kid my family went on road trips and national parks were our destinations five years ago I went on my first backpacking trip in Northern New Mexico with the scouts it was only 70 miles over 12 days but I fell in love with it fast forward to this year I would graduate from Oklahoma State I I always felt like I should do something big before joining the workforce but I didn't know what when I heard about the PCT it's as if all these previous life experiences lined up to prepare me for this I was consumed by it it was so ambitious of me that I thought if I can do this I can do anything that held a lot of weight for me so despite being this injured I had to find a way to live up to that Mantra and with my late starting date I had to get moving [Music] all right guys Shane has dropped us off new people to meet getting back on the trail fingers crossed for things going well here we're gonna be okay a few days later I was thankful to be back after developing an exercise that allowed me to start walking again but I kept thinking about why I came out here because I wanted to see if I had What It Takes life is short opportunities are limited and if I let this one pass there's no guaranteeing I would follow this dream at all I wanted to beat the small odds of finishing to do see experience and be extraordinary we live in a massive world and I would be remiss to not get out of my corner of it and see as much as I can I didn't want to keep saying someday but for now I'm kind of starting over and each step felt anxiety ridden again I was alone since everyone kept going and going slower in recovery I was ready for new friends and new experiences but I can't say the desert wasn't getting to me just a little in the desert the thing you need most is water but it's like the thing least available and same thing with shade you really need shade when it's hot but it's the least available when it's High Noon yo I'm literally laying on the trail as you can see because there's no shade out here there's not gonna be shade until mile like 580 I heard and we're at 425 right now so got some adjusting to do for siestas what are you gonna do when the sun's out is that it's places like that that reminded me of where I was just a week ago I was jamming again and hanging out in town I just decided to take on the McDonald's challenge which involves only eating McDonald's between two towns [Music] packed in a bunch of double cheeseburgers and set out to Wrightwood [Music] number five done yep I had seven double cheeseburgers over two days and lived to tell the tale how's rattlesnake is coiling up right next to me yeah I'm glad I lived after that too as I hiked I learned I could always count on the desert being a place of variety this time the landscape was getting less forgiving [Music] and more alien but one thing that soon wasn't alien to us was the gift that we called Trail Magic Trail magic is an act of generosity where the most beautiful people who we lovingly call Trail angels come to the trail just to bring us hiker trash a bunch of food and drinks [Music] but all you drink is warm Desert Water and all you eat is ramen and mystery wraps and other snacks being surprised by Trail magic can make your whole week it could be anything from soda and cake on a random desert road [Music] to In and Out dropped off under an interstate bridge in 110 degree Heat and when you're surrounded by other happy hikers Everything feels right in the world it's from these hikers that I got my trail name step I was named that because I kept track of mileage water our camping situation elevation change and Siesta locations for my group for the rest of the trail I'd be Nathan no longer and everyone else went by their Trail names too as is the through hiking tradition we will be [Music] so I told myself at the start of this we kind of check in with myself at a day a week and a month and now we're at a little over a month and I've learned a lot since then I'm really glad I've made it this far I mean it would really stink but if I had to end right now I would feel really happy with the 480 miles I should have done it's pretty surreal and while it can be very taxing on the mind and the body it's everything I hoped for I limped into the strangest place in the PCT hiker town to recover before attempting the most inhospitable section on the whole Trail the infamous La Aqueduct stretch across the Mojave Desert is so hot it's only attempted overnight my friends were leaving in the evening but my complaining leg had me leave at midnight the bright moon helped light the way as I traversed the desert floor on pipe and sand after a long night I was greeted by Joshua trees and wind turbines for the first time but with less vegetation and thousands of turbines I should have expected the unrelenting wind place and build [Music] [Music] back on trail from Tehachapi and yesterday was my birthday and it was a good time hanging out with everybody on my zero day we only got less than 130 miles at canopy Meadows which is so so so so so so so exciting I'm gonna enjoy what's left of the desert section and we'll keep on going the mileage stacked up and felt Monumental after each marker just made this one mile 662.5 but what was left to go was hard to enjoy the land was vast and Stark and we were further from civilization than ever before [Music] water sources were pitiful and few often 20 miles apart the animals were ever eager to steal food even ripping my pack to get some nuts the powerful winds forced me to Cowboy camp on the coldest nights the tall mountains had dry forests [Music] but the lowlands had little more than sand still it was not hard to find the beauty in it and every step was closer to the mythical Paradise of the High Sierra behind us in Mojave Desert ahead of us Nevada range after 700 miles it was finally the home stretch to exit the desert I'm out here less than a mile and a half of the last climb of the desert right to see a beautiful sunset view of the Sierra let's do a head come a long way from the disaster at Mile 400 I felt strong and it surmounted many obstacles across vastly different environments the small town of Kennedy Meadows South is considered the gateway to the Sierra and the end of the dusty lifestyle remaining one final night at the top of a burned Mountain will be our last year [Music] [Music] foreign Thunder shook us awake we were in serious danger of being struck by lightning in this chaperone and a small fire started just south of us we needed to get down Trail fast currently rushing down the pass either way I'm gliding after 42 days without a drop of rain this was definitely unexpected but all five of us made it down unharmed we survived how do you feel a little wet a little wet yeah soaked to the bone we achieved our first major Milestone completing the desert the storm cleared up and we were able to dry our gear prepare our bodies falling off the blade and just being plain old hiker trash with heavy packs we were ready to enter the most beautiful Wilderness we had ever seen [Music] started the Sierra baby [Music] the landscape morphed rapidly around us it was the morale boost we all needed after being tested in the summer desert [Music] it's so cool to see the white granite and the Beautiful pine trees there's a giant White Cliffs over here this is definitely one of the best trail days it had so far above the easterly Sands below it was as if we had ascended into heaven itself [Music] all right we have made it to the top right over there is the highest Sierra you can see Whitney covered up by a cloud a little bit right there just sat here for a while looking at it incredible we were at 11 000 feet and that deep feeling of majesty and being out there in the wild was almost overwhelming is the kind of feeling that makes everything you wear before fall away for only you in this crazy experience for me gone were the days of finding water and nooks and crannies now this is a sight and a sound we haven't heard and seen a long time fresh clear and cold snow melt cascaded down from every Heat [Music] and it wasn't long before we hit our first Alpine Lake after days of anticipation [Music] it was the perfect opportunity to watch our dirt clogged clothes and you know I needed to wash myself [Music] oh [Music] wow all right that's enough for me one thing you might not get to see as much is just how much social interaction there is on this Trail I'm not really alone I'm traveling with a group of like 12 people and I don't film that as much because I I respect their privacy and I also just want to kind of be in the moment for that and not have the camera be in the way so it's definitely one of the most special Parts about the trail that you might not expect all right guys big moment here entering our first national parks of the PCT being in this special land brought one thought to the Forefront of everyone's mind a Mount Whitney Sunrise Summit being just off the official Trail we couldn't miss the opportunity to Tower over the lower 48. so we went to bed early and embarked at midnight [Music] [Applause] here it is guys Mount Whitney Houston there's the kitty Center never climb this High ever but we're gonna do it we were climbing on the moon the darkness enveloped us the Starry Sky in full view we wheezed and stumbled our way up it was a fight to the top but we were headed towards the front row seats of something truly remarkable [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] ever witnessed I'm forever thankful that me and my trail friends did it together I'm not too happy this morning even though we're doing Forester pass which is super cool my left ankle is giving me crap again so here I am hobbling up like the biggest pass on the PCT the Sierra and PCT is set up as a series of valleys and passes the treacherous passes are usually Traverse midday and were a major High [Music] [Applause] once over the past miles and miles of new scenery reveals itself in a leisurely stroll down to the valley begins foreign [Music] scale of the surrounding mountains was unlike anything I had ever seen look at all this look at all this is this not insane so I got another little observation Society money status all this stuff that's not real that's not a real world it's all just Concepts always around us this is real this is what's going to be here thousands and thousands and millions of years from now this is the real world by evening we were usually in the valleys which made for much warmer sleeping conditions [Music] yes each campsite was ideally and we took our time out here enjoying each other's company and watching the album glow burn away [Music] but they were more of Nature's home than ours and the wild made sure to tell us big mosquitoes started showing up every evening [Music] and I had been the victim of a couple chipmunk burglaries [Music] but the marmots made up for their more annoying relatives [Music] it was hard not to romanticize this life it was painful yes draining yes but undeniably gorgeous it's unmatched nature it's Vagabond people and the way exploring captures you in each moment are you seeing this right now [Music] hard as a young boy [Music] go oh okay let's go just as sure as water Roars off Granite Cliffs we are kicking pass and taking names [Music] just made it up Glenn pass tears yeah after a well-deserved celebration making it three thousand feet down to lunch goes without a hitch most of the time [Music] nothing felt better than making questionable food concoctions but warming up in the Alpine side the Alpine Lakes had a kind of magic to them they held more joy than oceans to me and it absolutely made the Sierra afternoons it filled my bottles cleaned my feet refresh my mind and my adrenaline are you lost words [Applause] sick on camera it looks easy but the reality was five to six thousand feet of elevation change daily in only 17 to 18 miles us hikers have a saying though the best view comes after the hardest climb just did Pinto pass we're almost all the way down to the bottom for that the next one we got is master pass this is said to be kind of the harder one near the end so a few passes two major passes in one day [Music] out here life has a different shine to it you feel like a kid again fully experiencing the moment it felt like I was supposed to be doing this and each day I felt more connected to this wild Dirtbag lifestyle it's like hiking to a freaking Garden that was made specifically for us smells really nice it's flowers everywhere [Music] you hear the water rushing the distance there's beautiful waterfalls [Music] foreign happy July 4th we're out here in the middle of nowhere but what better way to spend it than going up from your past [Music] soaking the feet if it'd be you yeah I'm your pass definitely the most difficult so far had to go through a couple snow areas and it's like 4 000 feet up to elevation out of the entire PCT these were some of my favorite miles we ascended to a place that looks like another planet [Music] John Legend American Legend on July 4th oh yeah laughs [Music] yeah well it's the quickest the Pacific Crest is the kind of place that makes you feel small in its majesty and at the mercy of his whims it's incredibly humbling it has forever changed my perspective [Applause] [Music] all right we are down from Muir pass which was just beautiful favorite path by far and now we are down the valley on the way to Selden pass so you might not get to till tomorrow it's a super long downhill that's kind of a good thing my knees are hurting on the pills from yesterday you give up control knowing that despite all of our human advances we were still in the grip of Mother Nature [Music] so far she has been incredibly kind to us with clear skies little snow gorgeous Greenery 60 degree days and tasty water [Music] that's strong for some people though the Alpine is not for them [Music] these people were airlifted out suffering from altitude sickness and potential hates luckily everyone I was hiking with was healthy and having the time of their lives here are a few of them from Japan I think Francis from New South Wales Australia I'm Red Riding Hood and I'm from Seattle [Music] so while things were going good for us Wildfire smoke blew in from the west but I learned that there was Beauty in everything and it provided unique views just for us this extremely Red Sun is a result of all that smog from Mariposa Yosemite marked a major change in our Sierra experience the Peaks were Glacier carved Meadows were abundant and everything was much wetter it was triggered mosquito get it there are mosquitoes everywhere if I stopped moving for about two seconds I'll get sworn this is a swamp guys the Sierra has a swamp [Music] it was uncomfortable but that's what I signed up for being continuously comfortable with the uncomfortable I mean this was the most comfortable moment of my day [Music] so what you see behind me is playing which is kind of the last little bit of Yosemite I was making some serious Sierra mileage but a few days ago I found old friends I had met in the desert and today we made it to a very important Milestone mile 1000. dead go for it [Music] yeah it was a massive confidence booster after how tough Yosemite was and knowing we had hiked that far we felt like we could conquer the world that thousand miles is also a continuous footpath from the Mexican border it's very fortunate that I was able to be in a position to be able to do it and wow all right so we hit a thousand miles earlier we're about 20 miles past that but I've got another big Monumental Milestone I think I'm ready to talk about is that I have Trail legs I have Trail legs Now it only took over 1020 miles it's pretty much every part of my legs is hurt and been recovered and I was just flying up Hills today feeling really strong I feel like you can really just tackle everything else that is coming my way it's been a long time coming so people get them a lot earlier but not me I was having issues kind of this whole way and I probably will have some in the future but I think they've weathered enough storm to call on the Trailways so that feels really good once you've hiked A Thousand Miles you're well into a phenomenon called hiker hunger to sustain 25 mile days and lots of climbing we have to eat a ton I started going through food quicker than I expected but people were always willing to let go of extra food weight thanks so much for the food guys congrats on finishing the JMC because if I didn't eat I would crash I just got done doing this hill but I was getting pummeled absolutely destroyed going out there I had to take a break I had to take a little nap like I just kind of gave up but it was just not having food so I ate three energy bars and my energy was back and when Trail magic returned soda was the nectar of the Gods sugar was King and so were the trail Angels who made burgers pizza and salad for us [Music] and Trail Angels love giving us any kind of beer at trailheads hitting the trail again another beer before we start let's go all right making my way down to the trailhead or I can hopefully get a ride in the towns they were incredible but so far away because of hardly any intersecting Road through the Sierra I mean this was attempting to hitch for a half hour ride to the town of Bishop [Music] the food was Heavenly and the recovery from the crazy elevation changed and that included going out on the town and breaks from the norm all right Sox what keeps happening to your bike great bikes we have here I am uh currently in all rain here because I had to wash all my clothes so we are walking through Mammoth Lakes right now got to get some new trekking poles the ones behind me are kind of destroyed the tips are completely gone so five stars informed me about this coffee house where I can stay in their backyard for free [Music] it's from a Tesla had some awesome people in it and they gave me a ride into town and also some free Mexican food from a great place went to the market got some food with the t-bell got some charge against more food then I was going to the campground right here to have a free place to stay which was going to be great but then Sam and Sophia hit me up and asked if I wanted to stay with their place with their parents tonight which to which I said yes look at these kind people picking me up yeah and waiting for that I saw my first bear on trail which was super cool and kind of scared off a few times here we are waiting to get picked up it felt luxurious to be here and great to hang with friends I hadn't seen in some time but a newly heavy pack and a shifting landscape were calling me back this bag is massive very heavy same with you over here big bag we got it I tell you guys what it's like to kind of return to civilization whenever you get in a car after not being in a car for like a week week and a half or whatever is the most jarring feeling ever like just the fact that you're being moved without your own propulsion is so bizarre and then just seeing everything like inside buildings and stuff at 90 degree angles like very clear-cut very nice not just kind of scattered about like the forest and just seeing so many people I don't think we're meant to see as many people as you see on a daily basis one thing I didn't like is the fact that I couldn't go number one or number two anywhere like I do yeah it's just the most jarring feeling but the thing about it is you adjust like really quick because there's a very big separation between our civilization and the wild nature that I'm now in you know the landscape had changed dramatically since Yosemite being drier with more volcanic formations and Wildflower balloons it was symbolic of how close we were getting to the end of the Sierra this section has taught me that no obstacle is too large and I'm physically capable of more than I ever knew I started to understand what it meant to live in the mouth to share intense moments with others and feel the weight of the struggles and triumphs as they came not always looking toward the horizon it taught me how full life could be these are lessons that we need to carry on to the most mentally challenging section of the whole Trail next if you take a look behind me we are Carson pass the last pass of the Sierra did them all the land became Lush and Lake Tahoe was in sight we connected with the Tahoe rim trail signaling the very end of the Sierra section [Music] it's hard to believe how much was jam-packed into this section 400 miles flew by going through this massive Oasis going completely through three national parks and several Wilderness areas back to back isolated for that long and in such Paradise has changed the way I think about the world and my place in it the Landscapes and climates were changing quickly and at nearly 1100 miles only one section remained to California one that would truly test my will and my limits foreign [Music] all right got some big news so it is halfway through Day 72 on the trail which means there's 72 and a half days left to get to Canada I'm at Mile 1118 and I have like I don't know that's 1 550-ish something like that left so we're halfway through the time not quite halfway through the miles so it was true that I needed to hurry up and my late start in mid-may reinforced this fact luckily I was fast today was my first Trail Marathon 26.2 on the DOT I wanted to beat winter to the end and wildfires before they broke out but my trail friends did not follow suit they had the reasons some were injured some wanted to slow down and take more time in towns so I wanted to skip ahead to Oregon and some were just plain done with through hiking so I became a Drifter getting to know people for a day or two then moving on past them I needed to find peace in being alone for a while which was not easy regardless NorCal offered alone time and great abundance the number of hikers went down significantly and it wasn't uncommon to not see a soul for more than 24 hours but life was abound here and nature became my companion she revealed to me a never-ending show a constant dance of her inner workings I started to feel at home under boughs of pine needles and in between fields of wildflowers it was a more down-to-earth Beauty than the Sierra than it came to appreciate even when it was hard it was hidden awe a secret kept from civilization only to be found by those willing to lose themselves in it yes true adventure is still out here and I was chasing it from behind every tree trunk and around every Bend even when that meant signs of Devastation much of the forest was a Tinderbox ready to burn massive fires have ripped through hundreds of miles in the section of the PCT in the last decade and sometimes left not a sign of life for hours of hiking at a time some nights I had no choice but to Camp under fragile widowmakers it was Stark and sad but there were signs of rebirth and renewal if I looked close enough I was learning to find beauty in everything [Music] I got my last big break before pushing huge miles and my family came to visit they picked me up and brought me back to Tahoe well I just had an awesome weekend with my family and we were down at Tahoe City and were able to go on a sunset boat ride and oh it's cold it feels great these are kayaking do some jumping off some Boulders in the water and spend some great time with them I had some good food and it was seriously awesome then I took them on a two and a half mile a bit of a trail up to Castle pass everybody say hi [Music] the next time I see him I will finish so yeah really glad they came [Music] now at lower elevation the heat was once again punishing and humidity crushing look at this look how much salt there is you don't even want to see the back the clients were tougher than anything I remember doing before the intermittent Burns removed all shade and wore on my soul I had to start the days very early and end them into the darkness face gnats were rampant monotony replaced Wonder as the default there wasn't a whole lot to look forward to besides mile markers but there were some bright spots check me out you notice anything different that's right I got a new shirt one that doesn't have holes got any underwear that also doesn't have holes it feels so good you know I'm almost there but I needed this [Music] Cascades didn't think it was coming so [Music] we are less than a mile to the halfway point on the BCT and I'm so stoked and once I step past that I'll be mostly done with the PCT Canada [Music] is [Music] foreign getting to Bernie Falls was a godsend after a few very tough days they talk about that thing NorCal Blues I get it but every so often I'll look out here and I just think wow Nathan a few months ago would kill to have even that even if it's not that spectacular it's kind of the same old same old you know you know I look out there and I say like wow this is Wilderness this is nature this is what you wanted this is what I still want I decided to remind myself to it it was true they were tough days even bad days but there was never a day that I didn't want to be here the highs the lows they all make up this thing we call Adventure if it all went well that's just a vacation okay not even two minutes ago I nearly walked straight into a black bear because like I swear when he darted out of the bushes I was no more than five feet behind him that is the closest dangerous wildlife encounter I've ever had type 2 fun was an essential part of the three Yankee experience my mental health would hold strong part of keeping it strong is my routine which is completely automatic and streamlined by now I slept deep from Pure exhaustion each night in a down quilt on a thin sleeping pad with my rain gear as a pillow my tent was just large enough for me held up by my tracking poles breaking down Camp took no more than 10 minutes in the morning no matter how hot it was going to get that day it was always cold at Daybreak and doing this helped me warm up the hike [Music] once everything was in its right place in my bag I did a big breakfast and Hike until I got hungry then eat until it's completely full five to six times a day I listened to every kind of music that enhance the scenes around me I'd fill up on exactly the amount of water I needed at each Springer stream when night fell I set up camp in around 15 minutes a little light then do it all over again a lot had changed since the start but it was still a beautifully Simple Life my simple life was about to get a lot more complicated news traveled fast on the trail and verb is spreading about an overnight disaster a raging fire exploded in Far NorCal closing the final 120 miles of Trail into Oregon smoke started pouring in from the North and the disaster we had hoped to avoid was upon us the fire closure is at 1600 to 1710 which means that I'm gonna have to get a ride into Oregon so and I had to skip miles for the very first time which really stinks but that's what we have to do I kind of came into this Trail knowing that that might happen I decided to Hitch into town to decide whether to skip ahead now or ride up against the closure all right we are here in dunsmere and uh just got resupplied yeah it did like kind of a sink laundry thing but without soap so I still kind of smell bad and I've got socks hanging from my bag catch the bus get right back out to the trail do the next hundred miles heard it's beautiful not a lot of smoke we'll be okay [Music] I can't believe my tent didn't rip apart last night but I think the view in the morning [Music] today has been a great day seeing Alpine lakes and riding these Bridges and seating so far away out of that monotonous amazing so I was convinced to do it [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is it in a Bittersweet moment I promised I would be back here later to make up the Miss miles I was done with California for now this section was about learning to be alone and pushing past mental fatigue to push further and keep being in this place the Wilderness could be my companion and I learned to enjoy the active hiking more than it just being a tool to reach new destinations and though I had to break my footpath and move past a massive fire I knew I still had it in me to keep going no matter what catastrophe happens next Oregon would hold new friendships dangerous challenges and the ways of the Pacific Northwest Tigers were scattered some skipped over to the Oregon Coast Trail others went southbound in Washington but I took a ride just past the California Oregon border to my next chapter [Music] all right we got dropped off at Callahan's Lodge I will leave to start the first miles of Oregon if anything this trip is a really good demonstration of the power of incremental progress I remember looking at a GPS when I was only a couple days in the trip and I was so disheartened like oh you know I've had so far to go I'm right close to the border now look at me I'm in Oregon I'm really far from the Mexican border now and that's 96 days later and in that progress I'll never forget seeing the landscape morph around me before my very eyes I spent time here thinking back through the 1600 miles behind me the memories of each Peak and Valley insanely Vivid In My Memory though the forests of Southern Oregon seemed never-ending I understood deeper that trail life at the speed of a human is essentially walking through a living work of art a masterpiece and constant flux the sunsets were ever-changing high production shows the burns Were Somehow more beautiful than I thought they could be the first berries I saw were great snacks and the Oregon Cascades gave sweeping views of the Endless Lush Pines and volcanoes that this place is known for [Music] these Giants soon peaked over the horizon and while the fields dotted my path these were the rewards of intentional homelessness or maybe my home was out here today is my 100th day on trail 100 days since starting in Campo what better way to spend it than going into Crater Lake [Music] [Applause] [Music] coming down [Music] okay so a little explanation of today we're gonna get to the northern boundary of Crater Lake National Park and at that point the trail is closed but we gotta either get in the car go around it or walk around it and I'm gonna attempt to walk around it I don't want to come back and do this later so we're gonna go east on this Forest Road that follows the main road pretty closely and then go north and Northeast and follow a railroad all the way to Shelter Cove and so that's going to be about 60 miles there should be some water along the way but uh it's not marked this is kind of the next iteration of of backpacking so it's gonna be an adventure I think we're gonna be fine and if I got a bail out there's a highway that's somewhat close always so the while it is unfortunate that there are closures I think ultimately it's gonna make the trip my own it's going to make it more interesting so I'm going to keep that in mind if it gets annoying I navigated well enough and found water every 20 miles but the river Crossings were never easy well that went terribly if I don't have like chiggers or poison oak on my legs I don't I don't know what [Music] this is the Breakfast of Champions right here after rerouting around the fire we are back baby we are back with smoke passing overhead and an unmarked rebound accomplished I realized that no obstacle is worth stressing about in the desert I suffered more of my imagination than in reality at worst I would suffer twice I was anxious and injuries food water and mileage seem like massive problems I now know that things tend to work themselves out [Music] the best laid plans usually get thrown out soon after they're made so dealing with problems in the present was the winning strategy so I get this thing called prickly heat which is where salt from your sweat bugs up your sweat glands feels like there's hundreds of knives stabbing at your back whenever it gets triggered and that's exactly how it feels right now I was in Central Oregon and I hit the back of the hiker bubble and started to meet some of my favorite people on the trail here are a few of the hikers I would finish out the state with technology California hi I'm Charlie I'm from Portland I'm salsom from Chattanooga hey Chad from Chattanooga Tennessee hey there my name is blender and I'm from LA we hit the golden miles of the Cascade volcanic Arc and there will be five volcanoes before we cross into Washington the first of them would be the three sisters three volcanoes right next to each other I feel like today is the first day I've entered the Pacific Northwest that everybody talks about towering volcanoes and lushness and flowers and just sort of vibe to it they brought a huge lava field that I would need to Traverse this is so hard we just got cloudy but it was really sunny beautiful and unexpected the volcanic rock shredded my ankles as I walked on them for over five miles straight but getting through it was a testament to how unshakable my legs were and my resolve silhouette it's 30 miles but it was through all the sisters and all the volcanic Fields it was a lot it's like 10 40 and I gotta get up at like four times all right mile 2000 .3 and a fourth one just in case you weren't sure [Music] foreign hiking through something pretty unique right now the lion's head closure which took up most of Mount Jefferson area opened less than a week ago and luckily we landed on it to where we're able to walk through it and of course it's pretty dang burn but no one's gone through here in about two years so it's really cool that we're able to get these miles in and at the time we worked out so I feel pretty grateful as grateful as I was torrential silty glacial mouth became a dangerous complication okay I just had my most like traumatic Trail experience so I'm at this Russell Creek I think so I was trying to find a spot up the stream to cross I was trying to keep my feet dry it finally got to a spot where it could cross I went way too far up the stream I finally crossed but I bet my pole and I almost broke my leg so that probably wasn't worth it but then I didn't realize how loose the Rocks were on the other side and that's where I messed up all the sediment rocks started falling and I started falling with it and both my water bottles fell out they tumbled down to the river and I just kept going with this Landslide I ripped open my pants I scraped up my finger and I can't believe it's all I got away with that was so dumb and then I just went back to the trail and crossed where the trail across the stream it is what it is it really wasn't that strong that's like a whole hour down the drain I learned well that day that it's better to just forward a river than risk life and limb Rock copping but Mount Hood was in sight in the end of Oregon now Within Reach there was a big space between us though and nature wasn't making it any quicker condensation happened daily in Daily I had to do a yard sale and wait for it to dry [Music] look how soaked my tent is a cloud must have passed by the campsite last night because oh my God this is the worst it's ever been but embracing the suck is just how I lived it was necessary to experience the uncommon the forest bounce between dense Lush Beauty with new plants each mile as oppressed on North [Music] to utter Devastation at a moment's notice I realized the live Forest I'm seeing today might not even exist tomorrow in the reality of today's world it was eye-opening I just deliberately stretched for the first time in like two and a half months or so and I feel so good why didn't I do this earlier foreign [Music] which once they get to the timber line gets to go to the Timberline Lodge and stuff myself with the amazing breakfast they have there but I've got to climb essentially a huge ashtray to get up there [Music] I had received a lot of free food and drinks recently but the small price of this one trumped them all [Music] the lodge is absolutely worth it I'm completely stuffed and maybe I won't have to eat till dinner but towns and resuppies felt strange now once a place meant to relax and recover from trials on trail I now felt more comfortable more safe more at home in the Wild Spaces [Music] everything means more out here in our world of convenience and distraction I now take little for granted [Music] the cooling feeling of the wind whipping through the forest finding pure water after being so thirsty eating the food I've carried so far simple human Connection in our shared experience conquering that huge climb finding a place to sleep for the night filled with exhaustion those small moments it's also real so visceral so frustratingly impossible to describe to Outsiders who knew something so basic can make us feel so alive today is an exciting day today we are going to get to Tunnel Falls it was a sign of how close we were to the Lush dramatic and imposing Washington teeming with life and dreams of even more I felt truly Unstoppable and wondered why I ever worried at all I was about to walk in to the third and final state then we're getting to Bridge of the Gods which means it's our last hiking day in Oregon I did it in 19 days [Music] we made it to Washington [Music] Oregon was incredible the smaller mountains made it easy to push 30 to 35 mile days on the stretch I felt good setting a blazing Pace here but the Cascades were ramping up the days were getting much colder and shorter and time was running out Washington would be the truest test of everything I had been preparing for and it would reward me in ways I could never have imagined with a month left until the first snows in Northern Washington I had my work cut out for me I was ready [Music] Washington was living up to its reputation it was wet and cold shrouded in mystery otta was in full swing in the weather with it the trees were massive and would rain due on us for hours as we traversed larger Hills we are little over 500 miles from finishing this whole thing but everything's breaking my trekking pole is bent there's rips in my pants the zipper on my tent doesn't work anymore my shoes have worn out way too fast I'm a good pair of socks has like seven holes in them of course there's a hole in the mesh of my backpack all of my stuff sacks have some sort of hole or problem with them so yeah basically half of everything is broken and I hope I can just pull through with what I have because I'm not replacing any of that but what all am I still carrying my gear was super lightweight at this point and I only have the essentials I wore Trail Runners toe sock liners wool socks Merino wool underwear hiking pants a sun hoodie a fleece picked up for the cold a down jacket rain gear a hat shoe Gators and a bug head net slept in a tent that was held up by trekking poles on a ground sheet where I laid on the ground pad inside a down quilt and a pack to hold everything I charge my devices with a battery which included my phone my emergency GPS and my headlamp I had earbuds but listening to music I had heel lifts arch support and a massage ball for my foot Health a plastic spoon and a cold soap container for meals a multi-tool and sunglasses foreign I have my glasses and contacts to choose from a water filter for drinking and aqua tabs for emergency plastic bottles to drink from ibuprofen and anti-diarrheals for injury or sickness leukotate for blisters and hot spots a trial for cat holes and toilet paper for after toothpaste and a toothbrush and trash bags and plastic bags for sorting and Waterproofing it's got some news the last 15 miles of the trail to the Terminus is closed because there was a lot of lightning there and there's some fires really close to the trail just so unfortunate because it's right there but there are rows that lead to the Border we're gonna find a way [Music] that news was devastating to many people but I noticed I wasn't too torn up about it it was amazing where I was today and tomorrow will be fine too it wasn't worth ruining that for a far-off problem I was too determined to keep going and so were these great hikers that I would press on to Canada with hi I'm stumbles I'm from Canada hi I'm fine that I'm from Lithuania I'm long story from Pennsylvania hi I'm Shepard from the southwest of Germany hi I'm Patches from Landau Germany hello I'm Timo from Vienna Austria after days of tough wooded climbs we were headed to greener pastures I am in what is considered to be the best section of the BCT the goat rocks wilderness so I'm super stoked about today even though I've gone 20 miles the second wind is the view is pushing me [Music] this place is absolutely incredible [Music] but if you take a glacial shower okay that was really cool on this stretch a quote from a movie repeated in my head to see the world things dangerous to come to to see behind walls draw closer to find each other and to feel that is the purpose of life in every way through hiking is the quintessence of this idea I don't know if I truly understood what it meant until I had experienced all of it the countless places I've been the bad days that would turn into good stories discovering the unknown around every corner witnessing that explosion of light that happens at every scale the past survives and the lifelong friends I'm entirely feeling every feeling this is life it's not chasing highs or avoiding lows achieving greatness or any big thing it's everything every day all the time and every moment being in it that's what matters [Music] [Music] I'm at the point where my mileage every day is restricted by the sunlight hours but you're getting less and less every day and the amount of food I'm eating which is increasing more and more every day I have to sit down and take like two two and a half hours eat every day just a shoving food down my throat I'm eating 6 000 plus calories a day and it's just a lot to fit in and if I could do it any faster I could get more miles in but I just feel like I'm busy all day and I'm still only getting like you know 25 to 27. it's not my body restricting me anymore it's everything else it's been a interesting transition 2300 [Music] [Laughter] [Music] I am pleased to announce that today is four full months on trail and we only got one more month we're gonna make a count gonna live this life [Music] foreign [Music] pass right now about to get a giant pizza from this like grocery store [Music] cheers [Music] there wasn't much civilization on the Washington Crest but in the places that did had celebratory alcohol relaxation and Bavarian themed buildings for some reason thank you I got to stay in kind Trail Angels homes and General Store yards camera side is that right [Music] many fires have sprouted up recently the fires of the Canadian border are still burning probably will be for a while but now there's some new ones around the next pass we're gonna hit in like 70 miles so we got to go quick to get through it before they decide to close it a little smoky but uh still enjoying the views and we're getting to Canada no matter what [Music] welcome to the central Cascades one of the most extreme landscapes in America the next nearly 200 miles would push me to my limit under the threat of fire layers of smoke dense fog and Rain environmental challenges and approaching winter this is what four months of through hiking have prepared before [Music] [Music] longer I've gone on like this fire to finish and be in this place still after this long just grows hotter I never thought it would be like that I thought at the beginning like I would really be struggling for willpower defenseless things no every day I want to push harder it has been raining all day today this is one of the few times it's let out [Music] foreign night for a long time since the Sierra really shows that Winter's coming but when the glacier Peak Wilderness Glacier Peaks just up there it's beautiful my feet are frozen I slept really cold but hey still here it's just a reminder that we gotta get going it's been a few days and everything is wet [Music] spreading it all out [Music] this has got to be the most incredible Lake I've seen in Washington looking to stay here [Music] through hundreds of blown down trees dozens of glacial torrents and some of the most exhausting days of my life I had made it to the final National Park and past that Canada is a mere 60 miles away foreign very happy to announce that we made it through the hardest section of the PCT we're at rainy pass and going in for the last Town northbound here's the plan the Border fires are still raging I'm getting a hitch to Mazama and staying there for the night then I would return to rainy pass and Hike a quick 30 miles to the closure at Hearts pass hike back to my resupply town and stay there again then take the new alternate route to the border to cover every step it adds many miles to my journey but I'm going to complete what I set out here to do thank you just got over rainy pass we are refreshed and refueled from the Zama with bright sunny days ahead and fall colors on full display it was the Boost I needed with the added mileage required to reach the Border this coming down this mountain here and I see the very last 100 mile marker that is an insane number starting to get emotional about all this you know this is the final day going northbound the official TCT I don't know it has become real yet but things are starting to end I'm gonna do 30 to 33 miles a day [Music] [Applause] though it was disappointing to have to redirect that disclosure I was excited to travel a path not many will ever take this right here as far as I'm going on the official PCT right here taking a good look this is what we got and with that the Roblox Museum of begins 1890 miles away get there at the end of the day [Music] and now we're going to one of the most remote areas in the country almost finished the road walk to the trailhead this is a very Steep Hill 50 percent [Applause] [Music] see that's the Pacific Crest over there pretty smokey [Music] all right guys final day you can see Canada in the distance only a few more miles to go it's a beautiful day we got the the flags got the crown we're gonna do it good morning [Music] [Music] [Music] we made it to Canada oh my God there are a few things in this world like seeing a dream become reality despite everything I was here it felt monumental I was so in love with life allowing me to do something like this all the memories of the trail flooded my mind on the way back we reminisced we celebrated and now it was time for the last leg of my journey my days of being a vagabond were slowly drawing to a close I almost couldn't believe it being out here for so long and experiencing so much it felt like life couldn't be any different but we hitched to Seattle and I rented a car to drive down through the Oregon coast it was some well-deserved time off and as I saw hundreds of miles of Oregon Seashore I took a breather I settled my mind and envisioned the final leg before me there are two sections that are now open that I haven't done in Oregon and California though I previously walked around the Oregon fire I said screw it I had the time I want to see what I missed finally made it to the spot we're going to go southbound for the first time it took two hours to get a hitch but it was from an amazing woman he taught me a lot and we might have a challenge we might start right about now I loaded up my pack with 17 extra pounds and decided to drink 24 beers over 24 hours while hiking at least 24 miles my body was a tank I knew I could handle it alright let's get to it [Music] this is getting extremely difficult 24. done I was in pure machine mode it is a crazy feeling to know I could hike visible distances on a US map in only a couple days no matter the environment as the days get shorter night hiking becomes a necessity you know starting before you can see the ground ending after you can see the ground and a lot of these in the headland [Music] and I did it had a nice Trail angel in chilaquin take me in for the night and also drove me from the first section of the makeup miles where I finished okay all the buses actually worked so we got some effort just getting out of Callahan's for the second time this is the last leg of my trip I don't know if I ever thought I would get the chance to say that but you know here we are it's just me and I'm just going to take in every last little bit I possibly can get to Edna Summit and I've completed my walk in Mexico to Canada on the Pacific equestrian it was a beautiful section to finish on the amount of vastness in these miles is absolutely crazy I was not expecting this [Music] made it to the Oregon California border I was glad to be back in the Golden State but my body seemed to know it was almost done too my energy nearly evaporated despite needing to make 100 more miles in three days finish like just need to hold out a little bit longer I just need everything I've got I'm so tired I still have 11 miles today [Music] and then began a series of laughs the last burn [Music] last mountain spring [Music] Hillside nap the last town [Music] last Dying Light shed on Raw Adventure [Music] [Music] It's the final day today it is day 152. I could barely comprehend it I hope you can anticipated anything more in my entire life I feel like a kid on Christmas morning oh man I'm like nervous now am I ready for this to be over this is the final mile but my through height I'm so thankful for everybody who's helped me along the way I wouldn't be here without them I'm so incredibly lucky that I could be here right now in the beginning I gave myself a really low chance of actually doing this 20 I thought I wouldn't really get past the desert I don't even know what to say anymore I'm just so overwhelmed right now it's like the credits are about to start and the lights come on and then you're gonna leave the theater you'll just go back to real life I guess it's all felt like this wonderful dream welcome to an end I've never felt so proud of anything in my entire life you got to follow your dreams no matter what happens because it's not feeling like it in the world [Music] that's it that's it you're done I just hide across America oh my God welcome back 152 days that's just counting like shaking you need to sleep for like a week I imagine oh my God [Music] man the weight of all that is like sinking in right now yeah finishing yeah yeah thanks for being here a few months ago I was I stepped like right there I was like that's the spot that I'm gonna end at whenever you come back and that this is the last possible day for me going back to work like that might have been the hardest thing I've ever done I would imagine so a lot of people couldn't do it thank you so much [Music] all right yes thank you in The Last Mile I stopped and looked around fully there watching the sun poke through the bundles of conifers and feeling the unwavering Stillness I thought about it a few times but it was then I truly understood that this journey was not only about taking every single step it was also about taking in every single step fully realizing every moment forgetting about the past and future and accepting what was being given to me right then with each stride I made the weight of anxieties regrets and insatiable ruminations slowly fell off my back my better relationship with the world others and myself took their places it was the purest distillation of what it means to be alive to fall in love with everything both mundane and magical from the start and throughout my journey I told myself if I could do this I could do anything so what's next well I think I've just scratched the surface of what's possible [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Nathan Brooks

Views: 215,086

Keywords: pacific crest trail, mountains, california, oregon, washington, pct, documentary, film, hiking, thru-hiking, hiker, yosemite, kings canyon, sequoia, lassen volcanic, crater lake, mount rainier, north cascades, cascades, sierra nevada, camping, 2022

Id: nEbXFIlFxWs

Length: 92min 18sec (5538 seconds)

Published: Mon May 29 2023

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

[removed]

[u/synergyATL]

Was about to go to bed last night when I clicked the link. 30 minutes in I realized it was 1.5 hours long, so I switched from Reddit to YT so I could watch full screen. No way I was going to sleep until I finished it. Great job on the hike, the edit, and the cinematography. My question is, how did you store so much video without running out of space on whatever device you were using? I can’t imagine how much raw footage you had to work with.

[u/Amphissa]

Our experiences are similar, though I only did segment hikes from the Mexican Border through the Lake Tahoe area. No matter how our hikes differed, you in one whole swoop and I over decades, we were changed similarly. The wilderness places perspective on one's soul that cannot be changed. Thank you for the memories.

[u/TomTheWaterChamp]

This is awesome - thanks for sharing mate.

[u/imreallyp00r]

Awesome, man! I walked 540 miles from St jean in France to Finisterre last year and it was beautiful. As were the people. Watching this made me want to do it again.

[u/creaturefeature16]

That's cool you passed throughAshland, OR. I spent 10 years there in the Rogue Valley. I still remember my first visit up to Callahan's!

Beautiful country, but became so plagued with wildfires we eventually had to leave it behind...

[u/gottago_gottago]

I realized the live forest I'm seeing today might not even exist tomorrow

Up until a few years ago, the thought had never occurred to me that a forest I had visited could just be "gone" one day. Big Basin Redwoods, Buck's Lake Wilderness, large portions of Mendocino National Forest, the Trinity Alps, all burned in the last few years, and with them, a lot of natural splendor that won't return in my lifetime. It's causing a heavy sense of loss and dismay and catastrophic change; I'm glad I got to hike through those places when I did, and I'm saddened that they won't be available to others the way they were for me.

[u/usefulbuns]

I watched the whole thing and I'm so inspired to do this! I hope I can get the time to do it someday. Thanks for sharing this with us!

[u/RedundantEngine]

As were the people. Watching this made me want to do it again.