One Way Ticket to Somewhere

And just like that my first week on the trail is coming to an end. As planned, I had started with a relatively low mileage to give my body time to adjust. It’s now my sixth day on the trail and it has already been an amazing experience! The Southern Terminus monument where the trail officially starts is actually almost directly at the border wall. People crop out the wall in their pictures, but it is very close. There was one girl taking pictures with a PCTA volunteer. After she left, it was just me and the volunteer. I had expected the start to be crowded and this was just magical! I took my time, taking pictures at the monument and the border wall, getting my official PCT tag and signing in at the trail register. That wall is a strange sight… Shortly after the first mile marker another hiker, Russel from San Francisco, caught up with me and we hiked together for a while, talking about Yosemite (where he works in a camp), books and our hike. I’m sure I’ll meet many people on this tr...

  There are precious few times in life when you can voluntarily change everything from one day to the next. Standing on this little dusty hill at the Southern Terminus of the PCT definitely feels like one of those times. The last few days have felt very surreal. Friday I turned off my laptop and work phone - until November. I said temporary goodbyes to many friends and eventually boarded a plane to San Diego yesterday (Sunday). The flight path from Seattle followed large parts of the PCT in reverse order. It was a clear day and I could see some of the mighty volcanoes of the Cascades, Rainier, St. Helens, Adams, Hood. Further south in Oregon the Three Sisters. Then Lake Tahoe in California came into view and eventually the mighty Sierra Nevada, still completely covered in snow and looking absolutely impenetrable, especially on foot. Thankfully we turned towards the coast and I was spared an aerial view of the 700 miles of desert that I need to cross first! And I am to hike all this...

  I now have everything I think I need for hiking the PCT. I worried, changed, optimized, eliminated, brought back and thought about every piece of clothing and equipment many times over. I portioned out the food, distributed it into supply packages, looked at it, had a little panic attack and bought more chocolate and a jar or two of mayonnaise. My friend Minor has agreed to be in charge of the shipping for which I am very grateful. PCT logistics can be a real pain. Happy Shipping! As I said before, I am not much of a planner in my personal life and to have all this completed feels immensely satisfying. I have never prepared nearly as much for any life event, and that includes temporary and permanent moves to different countries on different continents. All that is left to do is to try it all out. Living in Seattle gives me access to pretty spectacular backpacking options within easy driving range. As there is still a lot of snow in the mountains, I opted for a trip to the Pacific...