A 100 Mile Journey Plus A Few Extra

This is a memoir and journal of my adventure on section A of the Pacific Crest Trail. I hiked this long trail in spring of 2019 hoping to make it all the way, which would have been a 5+ month trek. Things don’t always go as planned though. Still, I had some amazing moments.

View of the desert floor, far down below (near Mt. Laguna).

Author striking a warrior pose on Eagle Rock

It was fun. It was brutal. It was something I will never forget doing. I look forward to section hiking the rest of the trail when time permits!

The book is now available on Amazon either in print or an eBook, whichever you prefer. Click HERE for a direct link to the US amazon book page. Please let me know what you all think. This is my first foray into NON-fiction…it was odd writing in 1st person.

Love ya and stay safe all,

Michele

Hey there, been awhile!

Just dropping by to check in and let you know everything is good. I’m alive, healthy and slowing working on various projects while also working as an essential worker during these Covid times.

I’ve also just about wrapped up the final edits on the book I wrote about my experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. I attempted a thru-hike, but ended up finishing a mere 108+ miles of it. I think, rather than going straight to the self-publishing route with it, I’m going to shop it around to a few publishers or agents – so there still may be a bit of a delay.

I ‘vlogged’ the hike experience on YouTube and also have other videos there if you have any downtime and need something to watch. Subscribe if you like the channel. Fun times!

Now Available on eBook “Touched by the Divine”!

Hi all!

I’m happy to say that Volume 11 of the Silverthran series is now available on Amazon.com (eBook)! This continues the story of Micah, Katyde and their friends in the struggle against Dalefic.

Click and pick up your copy HERE if you haven’t already. ^_^

Cover for Vol 11 in the Silverthran series.

Cover for Volume 11 of The Silverthran Series is complete!

And now onto more news! I’m in the final process of edits for the next ebook volume for The Gift of Silverthran series. I tried to go a slightly different direction with the cover this time around. Hope you like it!

Cover for Vol 11 in the Silverthran series.

Release date is coming soon. I’ll let ya know!

As always, you can pick up The Revenant of Silverthran in print or eBook version from Amazon.com here. (Its available world wide, but the link is to the US Amazon page.) Volume 10 is only available as an ebook for now here.

Made it 109 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail This Year.

This was difficult to write and post, but I will begin by saying “No Gloomy Faces” allowed! 😉

After roughly 109 miles on the PCT, and more side trail mileage, I decided to end my hiking for the season. It was full of high highs, and low lows. It was what I expected, but much more too!

After the Hauser Climb Before Lake Morena

My reasons for stopping for this season are still partly physical (thank you Cory for working on my foot), but also due to gear issues and not having the mental toughness I thought I had. (I will leave it at that – but click here see my YouTube videos for more details.) I gained so much from each day I spent out there. I feel down, but know that I gained a lot of fantastic experience by attempting the “thru” and completing all that I did. There are some great members of humanity out there – as hikers and trail angels! It WAS a positive experience, and want you to know how awesome the trail is.

Almost to the campsite at Fred Canyon

I really appreciate all of my friends and family that had my back and supported me through this journey. One of my only fears is that I let you down. What I hope is that from sharing all of this that I inspired some of you to get out there and hike/camp. It’s amazing out there!

Its also amazing how DIRTY you get out there!

Know that you are never too old, busy, out of shape, overweight, or not brave enough to make your dreams a reality. It is up to you to plan to make it happen. I regret getting off trail but would have regretted it more had I never tried. In this way, I feel like my hike was a success and I wouldn’t change a thing…except maybe get a bit further along. LOL

Fred Canyon Campsite peeps

The Universe let me experience the first part of the PCT this year, good and bad – I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I have plans to go out in the future on the trail and knock out more of the sections, bit by bit, in future seasons. We call that being a LASHer … “Long Ass Section Hiker”.

More videos are on their way as I shoot and edit them for this hiking season. Next year I plan to be out there again, starting section B. If the stars align, I may even be able to do the first part of section B this season.  And yes, I will still be vlogging along the way! There is never an end to adventure!

Warrior pose on EagleRock

PCT Pre-Hike: Permit Day

Things have gotten very REAL over the past couple of weeks. Especially a few Wednesdays ago, November 14^th.  What’s so important about a date, in the middle of the week, months before starting my thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail? It was Permit Day.

Back when I’d first heard of the trail in 2013, the need to obtain a permit to thru-hike didn’t exist. Well, you did need permits for certain wilderness areas, etc. – and a permit from the Pacific Crest Trail Association covered most, if not all of these. Over the past couple of years, in an attempt to lessen the impact of the droves of hikers sauntering on the trail, the PCTA began implementing a 50 permits a day policy. I thought this was a great idea, to prevent a ton of hikers hitting the same towns and trail angels all at the same time and straining resources, until I was unlucky enough not to get my desired start date on permit day.

Heck, not even close to my desired date.

I did manage to nab a date three weeks before, during the middle of frosty March. I’m trying to console myself with the fact that sometimes March can be warm and not freezing overnight down here. I live in Southern California, and am familiar with the extremes in the weather and honestly that month can swing either way. More than likely, it will be cold. After a few days of teeth gnashing about my start date, I have decided that it’s not all that bad – after all I do better in the cold than in hot conditions while hiking. However, my worry is that I’ll reach the Sierra far too early to safely enter given my non-technical hiking skill set. What’s a girl to do?

Hike the hike you are given…

In the meantime, I’m logging in daily to the permit page online and hoping that someone cancels and frees up a spot closer to my desired date in early April. If not…well, I can always take time off trail when close to home and go back to work for a few weeks before starting out again. Not an ideal situation, but at least it is workable.

In the meantime, I continue to watch 2018 vloggers on YouTube, those that are still in the process of posting videos, while tweaking my gear for this Spring and mentally preparing for the journey.

Time constraints will keep me from blogging much, but I will try to do a daily ‘vlog’ on my YouTube Channel. Check it out and please subscribe to follow me on this adventure!

~Michele

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2019

I have to ‘officially’ tell you about a crazy, but awesome adventure I plan on doing next year to celebrate my 50th trip around the sun.

If you didn’t already know, I like to hike and have been enamored by long distance national scenic trails. Especially the Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve walked on little sections of it, but want to partake of a grand adventure – that of “Thru-Hiking” it.

Basically, it starts at the border of Mexico and California near Campo, CA, winds its way north, hugging mountain ranges and the mojave, then crosses Oregon along sleeping volcanos and gorgeous mountain forests, next it climbs through Washington state along the Cascade range and goat rocks wilderness, and eventually ends at the border of Canada. Roughly 2,650 miles!

How long does it take? About 4 to 6 months on average. I’m hoping for 5, but I know I over-plan and better be flexible to some degree. Am I nuts? Ohhhh, maybe a little. But, I’m looking forward to the journey with all my heart and spirit. Why am I doing this? Because its there? I feel a pull to do it. Something amazing to look back on in my 70s and 80s and say, “Yeah…I did that.”.

I also want to inspire other middle aged people, especially women, that you’re NOT to old to do something like this. Heck, I see retired people thru-hiking this trail. Don’t get me wrong. Its not going to be easy. In fact, I’ll probably be questioning my sanity during parts of the hike!

I’ll keep a journal so I can write about it afterward, but I plan on ‘Vlogging’ along the way when I have signal. I’ve started a YouTube channel just for this purpose, so you can follow along while I hike. Right now, its all about the preparation and gear for 2019. Check it out here when you have a chance: https://www.youtube.com/user/LMicheleS

Anyway, I’m about EXACTLY a year out from the day I will step off on this adventure. I can’t wait! Lots of planning and training to do in the meantime though, that’s for sure.

I want to answer any questions about the trail you have. Fire away!

Hike on!

Hunting Party Hits #1 on the Amazon UK Best Seller List (Gay/Lesbian Fiction Horror)

I’m just floored. Floored!

I generally will log in to Amazon and check to see how a book is received and if its selling or being read at all via KDP. I DO watch the ranking, and am always happy when I see a book land in the top 100.

However, tonight I had the best surprise yet. I saw the third installment of the Still Alive: A Lesbian Love Story in an Undead World series, “Hunting Party“, hit number one in the UK in the Gay and Lesbian Fiction Horror category. ONE. UNO.

Whaaaaaat?! Very cool!

So, if any one from the UK reads my blog, I’d like to say a great, big “THANK YOU”. You are awesome.

Hunting Party is Live!

Happy Sunday Everybody,

Even though I’m not writing as fast as I have in the past because of other pursuits competing for free time, I’m AM still writing.

The 3rd volume of the Still Alive series just went live on Amazon! (eBook). It is titled, “Hunting Party” – click HERE for the US Amazon page. It is also available on your international Amazon pages too course.

I write this series under a pen name so as not to confuse those who read my Silverthran books. Very different genre.

Pick up a copy today! 🙂

PCT Announcement!

Hello Friends and Family!

It’s 2018, which means it’s time for an official announcement – one that some of you are already aware of.

In April 2019 – just over a year from now – I am planning on thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. On average it takes between 4-6 months walking from the US-Mexico border in California to the US-Canada border in Washington over 2,650 miles. I hope to make it in around 5 months while hiking through mountains, deserts, and forests. There are some towns along the way to rest in, but for the most part I will be living in my tent in the most amazing places.

It’s an incredibly big dream and I’ve been aggressively saving and training for this adventure. Well, some training – I can be a lazy bug.

The backdrop wall paper I have on my blog is actually of the PCT a few years ago, my first time ever on the trail!

I am planning on doing YouTube channel on trail to document my journey and allow an easy way to keep our friends and family updated. In fact, I started documenting my training for hike already on my channel HERE. I welcome any questions any of you may have!

 

I AM still writing, just not as often. In fact, the next installment of the Still Alive series is coming soon. Stay tuned! I won’t keep a blog during the journey. I just don’t think I’ll have the time in addition to vlogging it. However, I will keep notes in a physical journal to help me remember notable moments when I write about the adventure. It will be my first non-fiction book.