Well... its official! I have made the epic and "ridiculous" decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)!!! I am going to hike all the way from the border of Mexico into Canada. The PCT is one continuous trail that traverses 2668 miles through three states: California, Oregon and Washington. I will begin at the Southern Terminus near Campo, CA in early April 2016 and hopefully complete my journey some time in September at Manning Park in Canada. Five or so amazing months of hiking, backpacking, getting stinky and pretty much choosing to be homeless for no better reason then the plain joy and adventure of it all!
You may be asking yourself why anyone in their right mind would leave the comforts of their modern life, quit an amazingly well paying job and choose to walk more than 2500 miles. I've heard it said that if you have to ask, then you'll never understand, but I will attempt to explain my reasons for setting out into the wild. First of all, I have been overweight pretty much my entire life. By the age of 12 I weighed over 200 lbs and found myself in my early 30's topping out at 340 lbs. After going through some major life changes and with the help of my amazing mother, Carolyn, I was able to lose 130 lbs over the course of about two years. Slowly over the last couple of years I have gained about 30 of those pounds back, much to my consternation.
One thing I told myself during my weight loss process was that I needed to find physical activities that I really enjoyed. I knew if I did it would help me to continue to lose weight as well as help me to keep it off. Through much trial and error along with the help of my amazing friends, Shiloh and Emily, I discovered a deep love for hiking and the outdoors. I had also always loved camping though I never did much growing up. 2014 was the year of hiking for me. Weekend after weekend I was out with Emily and other friends as we visited many of the amazing hiking trails we have here in Oregon. What a blessing to live somewhere that has so much outdoor beauty to offer!
In October of 2014 I was introduced to the PCT through my Uncle Donato who is a major PCT enthusiast. When I went to California for Christmas in 2014 my Uncle and I watched about 10 different movies about the PCT... everything from "Wild" (about Cheryl Strayed) to all of Squatch's films (which if you haven't seen them yet you should, because they are amazing!)(www.squatchfilms.com ). After I discovered the PCT I could not stop thinking about it. It was like a song I couldn't get out of my head. It became my mantra..."I want to thru hike the PCT! I want to thru hike the PCT! I WANT TO THRU HIKE THE PCT!!!!!" That must be what happens to people: when they hear about this kind of adventure and they are meant to attempt it, it becomes a calling. They HAVE to do it! It takes hold of their minds and their hearts, and until they surrender to the desire it just wont let them go. Even so, until the day I stand at the Southern Terminus with my pack on and face North I don't think it will seem real.
So the main reason I am doing this is because I feel like I just have to! The PCT is calling me! The other reason is that I know this will be physically so rewarding for me. I hope to lose weight while doing this and of course have already started planning how to keep the weight off when I get home. I am also super excited about what this will do for me mentally and spiritually. There are many things I plan on dealing with out there when I am alone with my thoughts. I'm also looking forward to a lot of time alone with God to pray and seek His direction for my future and what He has for me out there on the trail, as well as what lies ahead when I get home.
In the blog posts to come I will be sharing my gear list as well as my meal plan and resupply strategy. We are three months away at this point. I plan to start hiking on April 10th.
