My Most Important Resupply on the PCT: Part 2 - Back to the Start

For the first time in 50-something years, the PCTA cancels the Pacific Crest Trail. Russ is two miles into his day when he hears the news, and he already knows what it means: the hike he’s waited years for is being ripped away again.

In Part 2 of “Back to the Start,” Russ “Rock Solid” Hepton re-enters the trail’s chaos: closures reopening at the perfect moment, fires shutting down the final miles to Canada, and a brutal, time-sensitive pivot that sends him back to where it all began. Big miles. Sierra passes. Snow forecasts.

Then the story takes a turn that changes how you watch every step. Russ is carrying Trevor “Microsoft” Laher’s ice axe, lent to him by Trevor’s dad, Doug. It’s the most precious thing in his pack, and it turns this hike into something heavier than miles.

He calls it “completed but not finished.” Watch why.