A Summer of Shorter Thru-Hikes

Last year, I finally completed the goal I set in 2022: the nearly 500 mile Colorado Trail. This goal occupied my thoughts for two full hiking seasons, as I started the trail in 2022 and had to stop halfway through. After finishing, I felt lost. What is next? I can’t devote the time to a longer trail like the PCT, and I wanted something shorter than the CT this time. But what that looked like I wasn’t sure.

I set my heart on the Wonderland Trail, which circumnavigates Mount Rainier. Unfortunately, I did not find success in the lottery. It is possible to obtain permits as a walk-up, but I wasn’t sure my potential hiking companions felt as comfortable with the unpredictability of that. The Wonderland Trail includes a large number of potentially scary water crossings, so I didn’t want to hike it alone. That meant it was out of the running for 2024.

Instead, I regrouped and decided to put together a few smaller trips. I focused on Washington state, where I live, to make the most of my home.

The author hiking in Olympic National Park in Fall 2023 on the High Divide Loop.

Summer/Fall 2024: The Plan

PCT Washington – Section J

After my life-changing experience on the CT, I know that I need at least one solo trip. Backpacking solo pushes me and challenges me in new ways every time. As someone who used to suffer from a paralyzing phobia of wild animals, I know I need to push and challenge my anxiety often to continue to master it. Living in Washington, I wanted to take advantage of the famous trail that runs through it. I decided to hike Section J in Washington solo. I chose to hike southbound from Stevens Pass to Snoqualmie Pass. That way, I end with the famous Kendall Katwalk. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, where Section J runs, is one of my favorite areas in the Cascades. I’m excited to explore it more, and possibly prepare for a future hike of the entire Washington PCT. 

Mt Rainier – Northern Loop

Even though I wasn’t successful in the Mt. Rainier lottery, one of my good friends was able to score permits for the Northern Loop. It includes portions of the Wonderland Trail, but also explores regions north of the trail that are famously beautiful and difficult. A group of us will hike the Loop in late summer/early fall. The loop is 40 miles, 8500 gain. We have permits for 3 nights/4 days. Unfortunately (or fortunately), our last day is the hardest, with over 4000 feet of gain. I am grateful that our food bags will be nearly empty by that point!

Timberline Trail (Around Mt Hood in northern Oregon)

Last summer, I hiked from the Timberline Lodge north 6 miles to meet a friend hiking south on the PCT. I camped one night and then hiked out to the lodge, but it was enough to give me a taste of the Timberline Trail. Thus I decided to return and complete the entire trail. A few friends were eager to join, so we planned a 3 night/4 day clockwise trek around Mt. Hood in late summer. I sketched out a general plan, but I know how these trips go: things change. I just know for sure I want to do the Paradise Park alternate. 

The Timberline includes quite a few potentially difficult water crossings. I never used to worry about water crossing, but after a difficult one on a weekend trip last year, I’m less comfortable. There’s nothing like feeling the toppling power of water on my short legs. Water is much stronger than I am, and I respect that and fear it -rightly so, I believe. But, I am excited to experience these crossings and get more comfortable, so I can hike more places on my own. 

Why?

When I hiked the Colorado Trail, my why was both ethereal and deeply meaningful. I needed to reclaim myself from family trauma and losing myself in the pandemic. But even after reaching my goal, I find that I keep training. I keep hiking. I keep backpacking. I’m not as sure why this time. The pull is deeper than I expected.

Fitness

What I do know is that I spent the first 39 years of my life searching for a reason to get and stay in shape. Fitness itself never motivated me. I felt like going to the gym was solely to reach some body standard society had set for me against my will – a body standard that my petite, curvy frame could never meet. I couldn’t make fitness stick. But when I finally found hiking – specifically thru-hiking – I started to train. This was different than going to the gym; I wasn’t doing cardio to fit into smaller jeans. I was doing cardio to hike up mountains without passing out. I was hiking stairs to better enjoy climbing hills. Lifting weights made me less sore after hiking. Everything had a goal and a purpose. Every day was different – some days stairs, some weights, others hiking, cardio, etc. This kept it interesting, and kept me motivated. And it all centered on hiking. 

Even though I reached my goal of completing the Colorado Trail, I finally found the fitness bug. I can’t give it up. Exercise brings meaning and motivation to my days, so I keep doing it. Hiking long distances is still what appeals to me the most. I’m 41, and the older I get, the more important staying active becomes. I finally found what works, and I intend to stick with that as long as my body lets me. 

Mental Health

More than that, being alone in the backcountry does wonders for my mental health. I have battled paralyzing anxiety and mood disorders, depression and phobias. Facing the real life-and-death challenges of long distance hiking, far from the comfort of my bed, tempers my anxiety response. Since I finished the CT, I have been notably calmer, less reactive, and more resilient. Does it cure me? Nope. But it helps more than any non-psychiatric medicine ever has (not counting actual therapy). 

It’s important to break myself down and remind myself what real challenge can feel like. In the end, these experiences build me back up and make me mentally and emotionally stronger. 

Travel

As long as I can remember, I’ve loved to travel. I been to nearly every state in the United States and numerous countries. When I started hiking, I realized how much more there was to see just outside my back door. Hiking the Colorado Trail gave me the chance to see so much more of the state where I grew up than I ever could have any other way. I appreciate it so much more as a result. Now, I get to explore my current home in the Pacific Northwest, finding the places you can’t see from your car window on the interstate. It’s opened up so much more of the world. 

In all, I am excited to experience these smaller, but impactful trips, and share them. This is my chance to find out: do I thrive more in a longer distance setting, or as a weekend warrior? Hopefully, this backpacking season will help me answer that.

View from Blackhawk Pass on Segment 26 of my 2023 Colorado Trail hike.