I have a lot to organize in terms of thoughts, feelings, photos, gear and the like surrounding my hike! And I have had a few requests to get some photos and stories on the blog, so I'll be doing that over the next few weeks- as a practice for myself to reflect on the past few months, and so that my family and friends have a chance to hear the stories that I probably wouldn't do justice to in a short conversation. If you have any questions you are really wondering about and we haven't had a chance to chat, please comment them and I'll answer them in my posts. So bear with me, it'll take a moment but the photos will come!
As a quick summary, I finished the PCT on September 2 and finally made it back to Orange County on the 12th. My hike started on April 4, therefore I spent 151 days as a PCT hiker. Many, many of those days (probably somewhere between 30-35 as a guestimate) were days spent resting- a 'zero'. My highest mileage day was 50 miles (an unplanned and audacious day, spent running away from wildfires in central Oregon).
I am often asked what my favorite section of the trail was, and it is of course SO hard to single out any part of the trail that was more wonderful than the next.
Washington (the last 505 miles of the trail) has every hiker's heart for its views- you spend most days going up and down climbs which affords hikers incredible vistas daily, which is especially magical as you can count down the days you have left and are feeling closer and closer to the end. So yes, Washington is easily a favorite.
For me, though, the Sierra section (Tehachapi to S Lake Tahoe, 526 miles) was the section that everything clicked for me- I loved being a through hiker, EVERY day felt like a magical adventure, and I felt the strongest that I did my whole hike. It was the section that I was most afraid of coming to the trail, and I felt so empowered being there and doing it. It helped me squash my imposter syndrome for the first time. I hiked with some of my favorite people that I had met so far and the weather was absolutely perfect for us (cold crisp mornings, tons of sun, no lightning storms, and snow that made the hiking more fun and allowed us to pass without fear for our safety). I would hike that section over and over and over and over again.
The desert felt like a hiking party- everyone and everything was new and I kind of felt like a kid in the hiking world. Everyone wanted to make friends and timeline, mileage and other arbitrary hiking numerics hadn't really crept in yet. Norcal was when I split off from my regular hiking crew due to different deadlines (mine being the longest and I wanted to soak up all the time I had) and it felt like without my crew, I was on a totally new hike. I met so many new friends who quickly became dear to me, and I adopted a very laissez-faire hiking style- meaning that I woke up every day and just walked without a mileage goal or destination in mind for the day. That afforded to some very high mileage days and a renewed sense of adventure (and some really chaotic routines to stay the least). Oregon was easier on the body and had some lovely little lake towns instead of larger cities for resupply and everything felt smaller scale and quaint compared to the big bustling towns of California. Oregon is also home to Crater Lake and Timberline Lodge's breakfast buffets, which were both real winners.
To my own surprise, I never ever, not even once, camped alone. I often camped with people I didn't know, but I never set up my tent totally alone in the woods. If I had to, I think I'd be able to visually recall every single campsite and how I felt that day.
I have gotten a lot of questions surrounding my intentions to hike the trail, or how long I'd wanted to do it before I started. To be honest, I'm quite rash when it comes to making decisions like these so I really had only thought about hiking the trail for three months before I got the permit in November 2021. Once I got the permit, though, the trail consumed my thoughts every single day until the day I started- there was no avoiding it. Right now, I am on the come down from focusing on this one single goal every day for almost a year.
I knew that I loved backpacking ever since I hiked the Maroon Bells in 2020 (and I can attributed that all to Jessica Dallas who pulled me up and over 4 mountain passes even though I came with no experience, no micro spikes, no water filter, no navigational tools and honestly no idea what we were up to- cheers to her). I didn't need to think on it too much to know that I wanted to take on a long trail and it was only appropriate to hike the one that started in my own backyard. Theres a lot more I could say on why I decided to do it- I wanted a unique challenge, I wanted to meet more adventurers, I wanted to test my strength, I wanted to spend time in nature, I wanted peace and quiet, etc.- all of that is true. But mostly, I love to hike. And thankfully, that still stands true! I love hiking, I love the trail, and I am so grateful for every mile of it that I was fortunate enough to walk.
Thank you for following along and for your excitement along the way. Your enthusiasm around my successes and experiences propelled me to Canada, and for that I'll be forever grateful. And if I hadn't said it enough, the hugest thank you to my parents who dutifully sent every resupply box to me along the way, visited me even when it required jumping through hoops to match my chaotic logistics, and for thinking this was an okay thing to do in the first place. U rock.
Photos/ stories to come. Thanks for your interest!!!! Happy trails. <3 Tink
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