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Trails • Adventures • Field Notes

Brown’sKidz

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

— John Muir

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211 JMT miles completed
16 Days Happy Isles → Whitney Portal
48K Feet of elevation gain
PCT Next major objective

Recent adventures

Trail Log

@rik_b_13 on Instagram

Follow along on Instagram for real-time trail updates and field notes.

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What's next

On the Horizon

Recurring

Lake Almanor

Best place on earth. Not a trail objective — a recharge. The kind of place where you remember what all this is actually for.

☼ Summer — Family
Planning

Sierra High Route

The off-trail alternative to the JMT. Fewer people, more exposure, more route-finding. A logical next step after the JMT.

▲ ~50K ft gain — ~200 miles
Long-arc goal

PCT Thru-Hike

2,650 miles. Mexico to Canada. The full commitment. Training is ongoing — every trail run, every JMT mile is a building block toward this.

▲ 420,000 ft gain — ~5 months

The operator

About

Based in Southern California. Husband, father of three, chronic trail-finder.

Brown’sKidz is a personal record of trips, gear, and the occasional unsolicited opinion on trail conditions. No sponsors, no agenda. Just field notes from someone who'd rather be outside.

JMT completed July 2025 — 211 miles in 16 days, Happy Isles to Whitney Portal. The Triple Crown is the long game.

Trail running 2–3x weekly. Yoga when the legs need a break. Altra Lone Peaks on the feet. BearVault on the back. ~12 lb base weight and still looking to shave more.

Current Kit — Base Weight

  • Bear canisterBearVault BV500
  • Trail runnersAltra Lone Peak
  • Base weight~12 lbs
  • Mountain WXmountain-forecast.com
  • NavigationCalTopo
  • Skis (groomed)Elan Wingman 86 Ti
  • Skis (variable)Dynastar Cham 97 2.0