Posts
Trail reflections: After it all
It has been far too long since I last published a post here. I have found it difficult to know where to start and what to write about. I decided to put it all down in a frequently asked question list. So here goes:
Trail Reflections 3: Sierra Nevada mountains
My husband, Chris, and I are attempting a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike and are now in a ski resort town below the Sierra Nevada Mountains called Mammoth, as we stop for a day to resupply our food for the next section of the trail, wash, and do laundry. We have just spent 12 days on the trot up in the mighty Sierras, covering 8 passes and the Mount Whitney summit. It was the longest and most transformative period of the trail so far for us, which we started on May 13th on the US-Mexico border in Southern California. Here are some of my trail reflections
Trail Reflections 2: Southern California section
We have been on trail for over a month now - 32 days of sweat, sun, dirt, smiles, tears, grit and mountains. The Southern Californian section has been so much more than I, and my husband, Chris, anticipated. So much more mountainous, so much more dry and water scarce, so much more hot and windy. We have now walked 560 miles / 900 kilometres north from the USA-Mexico border and are entering Central California.
Pacific Crest Trail reflections: Our first 17 days
We started the Pacific Crest Trail - a 4260km continuous hike across the USA from the Mexican to the Canadian borders - on 13 May. I am writing from mile 275 Big Bear City. We spent last night at Van Dusen Canyon trail camp and walked into the city this morning to resupply before heading out again this afternoon. Here are my reflections from the first 17 days on trail:
Time pressure and release; ‘making space’ to thru-hike the PCT
We are 7 days away from starting the biggest adventure we have ever undertaken. The past weeks have been manic. I own a small travel and wellness business, and Chris is a senior software developer for a Norwegian Fin-tech start up. We have both had to put our lives on hold in order to make space for the 5 months of hiking across the USA. It’s easy to type out the words, ‘put our lives on hold’, and a lot less easy to actually do so.
Weight training for PCT preparation
Prior to mid-January 2025, when I faced up to my 2025 PCT thru-hike preparation in seriousness, I had not done any weight training, ever.
Fear and thru-hiking: From flight-or-fight to wisdom, transformation and compassion
I’ve been pondering on the subject of fear lately, as my husband and I are now just 8 weeks away from starting the Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike, a 4260km continuous hike through the USA, from the Mexican to the Canadian borders. This is by far the biggest adventure we have ever undertaken and in order to be able to complete 4-5months of wilderness hiking, we are mobilising and sorting many aspects of our lives, like finances, insurance, legal concerns - the list is long. As we have been engaged in this preparation period, we have been staying with my parents in South Africa, and conversations frequently lean towards risks and ‘what if’s’ (parents excel at coming up with these questions). Scared into action by these conversations, and through researching insurance policies (that trade and profit on the assumption of fear), I have been asking myself, ‘what am I afraid of, and, what are the risky issues/factors we may encounter over a PCT thru-hike that don’t seem to make me fearful?
How hot can you handle? Conditioning for the heat on a PCT thru-hike
From January 2022 to December 2024, my partner Chris and I were based in Norway. As South African immigrants to Norway, the frigid, long winters were
A slow-paced wilderness immersion for PCT preparation in Southern Africa
To welcome in 2025 Chris and I spent time immersed in wilderness, well out of mobile connectivity. We joined a group of friends on a 5 night hike in Pondoland, which is a remote coastal region of South Africa. We saw the Pondoland hike as a symbolic start to 2025 - an inviting and fun first step in our training and preparation for the PCT. We will be doing a thru-hike from May - October 2025, and although we are experienced hikers and generally fit, we understand that hiking 30kms (± 20miles) a day for 140 days carrying a pack between 12-20kgs is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Although we love navigating a trail ourselves, we wanted to join our friends on this guided slack-packing hike, and support a good cause over the festive time of New Years.
When does your PCT journey really begin?
“I feel like our PCT journey began today!” My husband enthusiastically proclaimed over a mediocre lunch in Oslo on December 7th 2024. The tiny cafe was rammed with people hidden below massive coats and blank expressions. Why would the journey start a whole 5months before even arriving in the USA you may be wondering? I think answering that question overlaps with another bigger question: How and when exactly do we determine the beginning of a journey?