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While I Explore Myllene

🇧🇷🇺🇸📍PNW - WA
𖠰 I like to walk in the mountains ᨒ
PCT ‘25 • Thru-hiking • Climbing
the trail and real life stuff

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NYC dump🗽🌃 museums, food, concerts, friends, repeat 🔁 best time in the best city 🩶
10/05/2026

NYC dump🗽🌃 museums, food, concerts, friends, repeat 🔁

best time in the best city 🩶

1 years since I finished the Pacific Crest Trail (!!!!!!!)Putting this post together brought back so many memories. Ther...
09/30/2026

1 years since I finished the Pacific Crest Trail (!!!!!!!)

Putting this post together brought back so many memories. There isn’t a day (and I’m not kidding) I don’t think about the PCT, but some memories are starting to fade, and I don’t want that to happen…. How I wish I had taken many, many more photos…

I miss the desert, with its magical sunsets, the smell of the flowers, and landscapes that felt endless… I think about every person I met out there and what I learned from them. There are so many others who shaped my experience and marked my journey and aren’t in these pictures… but I miss you all!!!
I wish I had taken more photos of random moments… 😔

As the miles went by, my body grew stronger and my mind even more so, and I found a version of me I never knew existed. I became “Ranger,” and that trail name helped me leave behind every version of myself that doubted she could start, and finish… I had so many doubts as I always had my whole life. I proved myself wrong, one more time.

2025 was the perfect year *for me* to hike the PCT. I was entering my 30s, starting “life over” again, and the conditions let me hike almost 2,600 miles in a single season. I’m proud of myself, proud of the people I met, and so grateful to my friends outside the trail who still listen to me talk about it endlessly and cheer like it was their dream too.

Things have been different since the PCT, and not always in easy ways. I’ve had really good moments and really hard ones, and I’ve learned that the trail was never only about the hike. Experiences like this are meant to shape us, and life is just like the trail: made of good days and bad days, and the only real choice is to keep walking. Ranger is still with me for all of it. ❤️

The Teton Crest Trail, is a 40-mile trail through Grand Teton National Park. You can do it in 2 to 4 days depending on y...
09/09/2026

The Teton Crest Trail, is a 40-mile trail through Grand Teton National Park. You can do it in 2 to 4 days depending on your pace, but I’d definitely recommend doing it slow… believe me, there’s so much to enjoy out there.

Before you get too excited: you need a permit for this one, and they’re competitive. The lottery opens in January for the following summer, but you can also try for walk-up permits the day before at the ranger station if you’re feeling lucky.

Most people start at Phillips Pass or take the Jackson Hole tram up to Rendezvous Mountain to skip some climbing, then finish at String Lake. Either way you’re gaining close to 9,000 feet over the whole route.

The best time is July through September, so you’re working with a tight window before snow closes things back up. We got lucky to be able to do in August, busiest time!

Fitting into the cowboy state. New hiking style 🤠

This is a grizzly country trail, and they are very much part of this landscape, so a bear canister isn’t optional. Unfortunately I didn’t see any grizzlies… Saw some Moose though 🫎

The view of this canyon was breathtaking 😍

Grand Teton!

Some of the most beautiful campsite views I’ve had.

🥹

Make sure to check snow conditions before you go, especially if you go early season when creeks are running high from snowmelt.

First views in the morning -> campsite
When you reach Hurricane Pass, everything opens up and you see the Grand, Middle, and South Teton lined up together for the first time. 10/10 camp spot btw.

Grand Teton stands at 13,775 ft, the tallest peak in the range. This was my first time out there, and i think it’s safe to say this is one of the most beautiful trails I’ve seen.

The Teton Crest Trail is a well-known unofficial alternate on the Continental Divide Trail. We saw several hikers around.

Schoolroom Glacier.

This lil fox 🦊🥹

I’ve never seen so many pikas on a trail like here. Is this my favorite place in the world???? Hard yes ✨🥰♥️🏔️🐹

ily TCT ♥️ till next time
🤠

end of august ✨🪐🥀🎶🏔️😎💔🦋🪲🌖🪐Yellowstone > Grand Teton > Idaho > Mt Joy in Bend, OR > Noah Kahan & Gigi Perez in Seattle Do...
09/01/2026

end of august ✨🪐🥀🎶🏔️😎💔🦋🪲🌖🪐

Yellowstone > Grand Teton > Idaho > Mt Joy in Bend, OR > Noah Kahan & Gigi Perez in Seattle

Don’t go away summer…

Last year on my PCT thru-hike, White Pass to Chinook Pass (about 28 miles) was the only section in Washington I had to s...
08/11/2026

Last year on my PCT thru-hike, White Pass to Chinook Pass (about 28 miles) was the only section in Washington I had to skip (because of an active wildfire).

This year I finally got to hike it. And better yet, I got to give a little back to this trail that’s given me so much. ♥️

I spent four days out there with PCTAssociation doing trail maintenance, learning how to use most of the tools for the first time. Luckily I had the most patient, knowledgeable teachers, and I could really feel how much care and love the volunteers put into this trail, year after year.

It took me back to hiking through here myself, noticing a downed tree cut clean on the side of the trail. Someone did that so I could keep walking. I’m glad I got to be that someone this year, and I hope I keep doing it for years to come.

I also loved running into thru-hikers and talking to them about their journey. It brought back a lot, being on the other side of that conversation now. So nostalgic…

Thanks PCTA for taking care of this trail. And mostly, thanks to all the volunteers for all their love and care for this trail!

Last week I got to spend a few days back on the PCT, just a small section in Washington, but it was enough to feel like ...
08/07/2026

Last week I got to spend a few days back on the PCT, just a small section in Washington, but it was enough to feel like home again.

The wildflowers were everywhere, replacing the fields of thousands of blueberries and huckleberries that DEFINITELY slowed me down last year 😂

The little pikas yelling from the rocks (i seriously can’t take one home?🥹), marmots doing their thing (so jealous of them for having such backyard views). Even the smells, the spots I could remember so vividly, the water sources I refilled last year, it was like reliving it all again, except in a very different time and place in my life.

This trail makes me so happy that I legit couldn’t stop telling Yasmin how happy I was to be there, even for such brief time.

PCT, I love you so so much, every memory, everything you taught me and took from me, I will always be the most grateful girl in the world. ♥️

What’s failure to you? I have been reflecting A LOT about the concept of failing for the past few weeks, after a failed ...
08/05/2026

What’s failure to you?

I have been reflecting A LOT about the concept of failing for the past few weeks, after a failed attempt to summit Mount Rainier. And wanted to share some thoughts about it here. 🫶

I’ve been getting out of my comfort zone more and more, exploring new ways to excite my anxious brain, challenging my body, my mind, and spending time where I feel the most alive: the mountains. You get me.

Hiking and climbing have been the biggest channel for all the life traumas and expectations I put on myself. That’s where I am the happiest, fullest, and alive… So when you’re already wired to believe you’re not enough, “failing” can reach somewhere much deeper.

A couple of weekends ago, I went with a group I’m not used to climbing with, to attempt a car to car Rainier summit via the DC route. This would be the biggest accomplishment for me as a climber so far. An ambitious plan: quick summit, back to our cars by early afternoon. Feeling fairly confident, I of course, opted in. To me, saying no is not an option, even when I feel uncomfortable (lesson learned). But my body had another plan. The quick gain in altitude, possible dehydration, and lack of sleep caught up to me, and the feeling of not being safe crept in fast. My gut was telling me to turn back, so I listened.

The mountains are already unpredictable enough on their own… weather, route conditions, your own body, none of it is fully in your control. So the one job we actually have up there is to move through that risk as safely as we can. Every decision matters more than you think. But ultimately, the mountain decides what your climb becomes, not you. And summiting is optional, but getting down safe, is not.

There’s still a lot to accept and learn, but the mountain won’t go anywhere. Failing, not having control… that’s just part of the journey. 🖤

Mount Baker summit. 🗻Baker (aka Koma Kulshan) is the third tallest peak in Washington and one of the most heavily glacia...
07/13/2026

Mount Baker summit. 🗻

Baker (aka Koma Kulshan) is the third tallest peak in Washington and one of the most heavily glaciated volcanoes in the Cascades, so heavily that the mountain almost disappears under its own ice.

We did it car to car, 15 hours total. And I won’t sugarcoat it, this one earned its summit. We had hail and rain on the way up, then whiteout conditions in the dark with visibility down to almost nothing. The kind of adventure where you’re trusting your team and your training more than your eyes.

The wind picked up hard right at the top, and the summit views of the Cascades I was hoping for didn’t really happen. But we were above the clouds, watching them stretch out below us like a second sky, and that was its own kind of reward.

Washington Volcano 3 of 5. Two more to go. 🌋

The mountain starting to show above us.

Above the clouds.

Some big seracs and crevasses.

Glacier Peak calling.

🤓

Rainier is also calling…

The best team 💪🏻

Summit approach.

Oi hey little buddy.

Almost 15 hours later, hiking for the second best view of the day. The parking lot.

Sunsets have always had my heart, but 5,5 months on the PCT gave me so much more than that. Some of the best memories on...
07/08/2026

Sunsets have always had my heart, but 5,5 months on the PCT gave me so much more than that. Some of the best memories on trail happened between golden hour and sunrise: the colors on top of a ridge, the night skies so full of stars, and the very early mornings that made getting up a little bit easier.

If I’m being honest though, on the PCT, the sunrises were IT for me. Those early days in the desert, waking up to that soft light spilling over the hills, still get me. My heart aches a little every time I see pictures from that stretch, like I’m homesick for a place I can’t go back to the same way.

But every section of this trail gave me something different. The desert felt like living a dream, the Sierra felt like being humbled, Oregon and Washington felt like coming home. Trying to pick a favorite section of this trail feels impossible, because each one belonged to a completely different version of me.

Here are a few of my favorite sunsets on trail from Mexico to Canada 🌅✨

Sunsets in the desert section were the reward at the end of brutal, hot days.

Sunsets in the Sierra were on another level (I can still remember some of the most beautiful evenings out there). Golden light on granite peaks, mirrored perfectly in alpine lakes… 🥹

One of my favorite sunsets of the whole trail.

Sunsets in NorCal were the best part of this trail. With longer daylight hours and some 12+ hour hiking days, I ended up catching more sunsets while hiking than anywhere else on trail so far. Some of the best ones happened during the toughest days, when exhaustion could’ve easily taken over.

Lassen Peak.

Definitely one of the coolest sunsets I’ve ever seen. Mt Shasta. 🥹

Sunset at Crater Lake.

Oregon and Washington will always be my favorite. Longer daylight hours, peaks and lakes around every corner, and that feeling of finally being home. PNW, I just love you so much.

Smoky skies always give the most dramatic sunsets

Pink skies 🥹

From Mt Thielsen, OR.

This inversion… WA never disappoints. Also one of my favorite sunsets of the whole trail.

Stehekin 💛

Olympic never runs out of surprises, and somehow that never gets old. This time around, , , and I went for a 40-mile adv...
06/08/2026

Olympic never runs out of surprises, and somehow that never gets old.

This time around, , , and I went for a 40-mile adventure through the Hoh Rainforest and working our way up to the high alpine, just to get the best partial views of Mt Olympus, because she was not showing up that day and that was that. 🏔️

We got rained on, snowed on, and hailed on, which sounds miserable and honestly sometimes it was, but that’s just how type 2 fun works.

This forest is magical, eerie, and full of life, and the views were worth every wet layer, and the company made all of it better.

I’d go back and do the whole thing over again without a second thought.

📸 1, 2, 5, 13

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