My Window

I committed to my thru-hike on March 6th. It had been on my mind for at least a couple of weeks prior, and has been in my heart since I was about 16 years old and working on a trail crew in northern California. Through the years I've met many thru-hikers on trail, mostly on the trail near Skykomish, WA where I worked as a wilderness ranger in college. By that time they are hiking machines with unreal appetites, lean muscles, and presence you smell before you see. I could never totally wrap my head around the thru-hike journey: the distance, the changing surroundings, the solitude. I've touched the PCT in a number of places through Oregon and Washington, but seeing one piece of the trail, on its own, almost makes entirety of it feel less conceivable. It’s hard to envision myself as one of those steely, seasoned thru-hikers that I used to see blow through the Cascades like it was no big thing, but I can see myself on Day 1 at the Mexican border and so I will take the leap!

Why am I hiking the PCT? The best answer that I can come up with is that I saw this window of opportunity, and my heart leapt forward so thoroughly that I could not deny that it was the right path. This window has never come up for me before, in the over a decade that I’ve thought about this trail. It looks like this:

• Five months (more specifically, April-Oct) with no commitments
• A job that you’re willing to leave
• Savings of $7,000+ that you’re willing to part with
• No lease on an apartment to break
• No financial commitments that tie you to a steady income
• 100% support from loved ones
• Capability to work upwards of 60 hours/week on planning (on top of a full time job, most likely)
• Knowledge, skills, and abilities built up to hike a marathon distance each day for 5 months and to camp in the desert, the alpine, and the woods.
• The willingness to leap into the unknown

And that's that! I have spent every waking (and sometimes dreaming) minute of free time preparing for the Pacific Crest Trail these last 8 weeks. It blows my mind that I went from dehydrating hundreds of pounds of fresh veggies, meat, spagetti sauce, etc to addressing resupply boxes to 25+ post offices up and down the west coast in less than 2 months.  I've read thousands of articles on ultralight backpacking gear, down to the most trivial details, like homemade trowel designs and the unique characteristics of every water treatment system known to man. 

I'll share more details of my preparation soon, or at least pictures! But right now it is CRUNCH TIME and I have a million and one things to attend to before I fly to San Diego on Wednesday morning.

XO