Hey, y’all. Long time-no updates.. but guess what? It’s almost go time for my Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike! As in, it’s currently 11:30 at night and my flight leaves for Reno at 6am tomorrow. Talk about procrastination, huh? Speaking of, I can’t figure out how to add the “subscribe here” option to my posts-but if you haven’t subscribed and want to, I know it’s on the bottom of the “Welcome” page found in the drop down menu at the top.. I did figure all that out 😉 haha
The Pacific Crest Trail is the 2655 mile trail that starts at the Mexico/California border and finishes at the Washington/Canada border. It only goes through 3 states (California, Oregon, and Washington), but it’s longer than the Appalachian Trail (2200 miles). It’s also higher in elevation, passing right by with a quick side trip up to the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental US! Crazy thing is-while it’s longer and higher in overall elevation, it’s actually less in elevation gain and loss per mile compared to the AT.. aka: they made switchbacks! This trail was graded for mules and pack horses, so while any thru hike is considered “difficult” and each long trail has its positives and negatives.. IM REAL EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE! Lol I’m also really praying no one lied to me and I won’t have to heave my body up vertical walls.
My plans have changed 8 trillion times since deciding to hike the PCT this year. Mainly because this is the highest snow year on record for California. Cool cool. And extremely terrifying. Back in 2018, Andrea and I hiked the John Muir Trail, (and summited Mount Whitney 😉 ) which many (if not all) of its 200+ miles through the Sierra in California is shared with the PCT.. and, well, my ungraceful butt ate it quite a few times and had MANY treacherous water crossings. That was a low snow year. This one being a really really high snow year means a lot more snow melt, larger river crossings, and more potential for dangerous situations. Basically, I’m anxious as hell.
That being said, I’ve swapped my starting places several times and have decided to start with a 4 day section that’s currently snow free.. and Andrea is going to join me for it! We’ll start hiking on Saturday near Burney Falls, California, and hike back to her truck in Old Station. Andrea will then drive me up to where we started and I’ll go north into a section currently “covered” in snow. Maybe by then it’ll melt a bit more and won’t be as scary. It is a whole 6 days away. (Let us all pray for some hot days ahead lol).
Anyway, now that I’ve fear-mongered myself.. I also currently have an issue with packing my new backpack I got. I don’t know if y’all remember, but the pack I used on the Appalachian Trail was a size too big for my torso-making it too long on my frame, and causing a lot of heat rash business. I purchased a new pack that has glowing reviews and I saw it in action a lot on the AT by others (ULA circuit).. but I am really struggling with how to pack it correctly and get my crap in there! I got so frustrated tonight that I literally have only the super expensive things in the pack that I’ll take on the plane as my carry on, and then the rest is in a huge suitcase with my resupply stuff that I’ll need once I the first half of the trail completed. I’ll figure out how to pack my pack once I get out to Andrea’s I guess!
Speaking of, Andrea is so wonderful! She is letting me keep that suitcase at her house while I hike, she’s letting me hang out with her for a couple days before we start hiking and then she’s also shuttling us around, several hours from home (along with her boyfriend, Andres.. I know, Andrea and Andres, cute as hell, huh?) I am so grateful for her and her friendship!
As far as the hike itself goes, I’m doing it as a flip flop again.. so first I’ll be going from Old Station to the Canadian border, then I’ll be flying back to Reno, where she’ll be holding a new pair of shoes and some other random gear options I may want to swap out. Then I’ll hike from Old Station southbound to the Mexican border. I have a tight timeline to finish, because I’m going to Egypt in November. I’ve already decided that if I don’t complete the trail by November, (hopefully it’ll be all desert trail in Southern California) I’ll come back next spring and finish it up.. hopefully before May 27 so I can say I did it all within 12 months.
Now, as for what to expect for my blog during this adventure: there’s a whole lot less cell service in these mountains I’ll be hiking. So, my plan is to still write daily, but only compile and try to get a week or a section at a time up when I’m in town with power and good WiFi. Simply because the trail doesn’t go through as many towns as the AT does, so I’ll have longer food carries and more days in actual wilderness where I’ll need to keep my phone battery alive as long as absolute possible.. my poor battery bank can only charge so much! Plus I’ll have my garmin in reach satellite device to keep charged out there too.. and it’s much easier to use while connected to my phone through Bluetooth. If an emergency arises I’ll need my phone and Inreach charged, and my battery bank juiced enough to make sure they stay that way! See how I’m back to fear-mongering myself. Yikes!
Alright. So, I kinda feel like I’m rambling. Sorry about that. It’s my way of procrastinating. I still have quite a few things to tick off my to do list tonight. Mom will be at my house at 3:45am to drive me to the airport (my god she’s a saint).. so I don’t foresee me sleeping any tonight.. time to crack down on this list and make things happen!