All the Blogs I Meant to Blog

Before I started hiking the PCT, I imagined that I would lie down in my tent nightly and use all of my leftover energy to write quippy stories about my day on trail.

Ha! Nope!

While hiking the PCT, I noticed my thoughts became fewer by the day. I’d spend hours walking and sometimes the only thing my mind would allow itself to think was “ouch” or, “I’m so tired.” I knew my on-trail life was beautiful as I hiked through scenery I couldn’t have dreamt of and met people who felt like family after spending mere moments together.

It is only now, having hiked my hike, that I am able to sit down and start to put words to the thoughts and feelings and high-high’s and low-low’s that made up my PCT journey this year.

Better late than never?

I’ll elaborate on the people, places, and moments that continue to stand out to me in further posts but for now, what I can say is this: I struggled every day on the PCT. My feet hurt so badly every morning that I truly wasn’t sure I could walk on them. And, every day, I did. Further than I thought I could, stronger than I thought I could be. Sometimes, I thought I had my thumb out on the side of a road that would be impossible to hitch from. And then, a stranger would extend unfathomable kindnesses – offer me a ride, a home, a meal, a laugh, and I’d find myself exactly where I needed to be. I struggled every day on the PCT and, I thrived every day on trail, too. I was so inspired by my community, the incredibly creative and resilient Class of 2023, and I had to remind myself constantly that I was part of this amazing collective taking on the trail, step by step.

Very few hikers this year were able to hike continuously (at least us NOBO folks) but every twist and turn made for such a truly magnificent journey.