4 Things I Thought I’d Have Sorted Before Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

Today’s number is 32. Not my age (unfortunately :D), but the days in my countdown app until I start the biggest adventure of my life. I´ll hike the Pacific Crest Trail. I´ve been dreaming about doing this for a long time, I think 17 years. And realizing that it’s gonna happen soon feels almost unreal, and I really have difficulties picturing myself hiking a desert, while I´m still in the last terms of the British Columbia Winter, and here, everything is still about skiing.

Honestly, I thought some things would be different that close before hiking the trail. Especially in terms of preps, I definitely thought I would´ve done things differently. Here are my 4 things I thought would be different before hiking the Pacific Crest Trail:

Detail knowledge of the route

I love to plan, and I love to gain detailed knowledge about something. During the hikes I did before, I was reading a lot. I gained considerable knowledge about the route, potentially dangerous areas, and overall information. For the Pacific Crest Trail route, I downloaded the GPX tracks of the sections and downloaded the guide on the far-out app. I did some overview reading and checked the maps to know, which towns are in which sections. Well, of course, I know the most critical and dangerous sections of the trail, but I´m far from the prep I thought I would have done.

I think the trail is just too long to do this kind of research I did for my last hikes. And with the far-out app guide, I can research all the information of the next x-days while I´m on the trail. In fact, I do have a lot time there, and maybe -unconsciously- I leave something left to keep me kind of busy while being on the trail.

Physical shape

I did a lot of trail running in the past 10 years, and taking this in consideration I really thought that I´ll start from the southern terminus in the best shape of my life. Well, this is not the case. In fact, the last 2 years I really struggled with Achilles Tendonitis and literally stopped running at all. So I know, that my ankles are my weak spots and over this winter, I tried to stabilize those. And of course, my 40 hours per week standing job, with 20.000 steps per day on average since November gave me a good foundation. Plus, I lost 5kg since November and feel good about it. But it wasn´t the workout routine I imagined having in prep for the Pacific Crest Trail.

But again, the trail is just too long. I think, your initial shape doesn´t make an impact on if you´re able to finish the hike or not. Yes, my Achilles tendon can become a problem. But maybe it´s going to be something else. Maybe my body will adapt to the amount of hiking. Definitely something out of my control yet. A lot of maybes, but no need to freak out. The moment I start hiking, I´ll listen to my body, trying not to push too much from the beginning, and getting used to hiking again.

Welcome to my emotional rollercoaster

I´m pretty proud of my mental balance since I´m traveling. Of course, there are always ups and downs but most of the time, I was perfectly centered. Right now, I´m not. I´m on an emotional rollercoaster. Not only, because the season here in Blue River is about to end, and especially, the second half of the season wasn´t easy emotionally as life happens. But in terms of the Pacific Crest Trail, I flip-flop between the greatest excitement and already having sleepless nights overthinking everything, and being super terrified, questioning myself: “simon what are you thinking”. I know, it’s totally normal, and I definitely thought that this would be even worse. Maybe I´m not there yet :D. In general, I feel super relaxed about all this, as everything will happen as it should.

So yes, I´m beyond excited and scared, too. But on the other hand, I can’t wait to live my hiker life: Sleep – Hike – Eat repeat. The lifestyle I´ve dreamed about living for such a long time. Even though it’s overwhelming sometimes, I´m glad about all the positive and negative emotions I´m feeling right now, it shows that they are real. And I will have enough time on trail to restore my inner balance and peace 😊

My inner gear-nerd

It´s 32 days before hiking and I haven´t pre-packed my pack yet. Maybe the most unusual for me. I love new gear and usually test my stuff right after delivery, carrying new packs whenever possible, boiling water with stoves, etc. But not this time. My pack is hanging at the wall barely touched, not packed, and only used for 1-2 times doing laundry. Haven´t used my new stove, pot, bidet, headlamp, or all the other items I ordered in the last weeks. I only used my shoes and socks. Why? I have no idea.

Maybe it´s because most of my gear is in San Francisco. Yeah, I´m pretty sure that’s it. And maybe I want to keep this testing until my real prep days after I left Blue River. Maybe I need to finish the season and leave this place to finally get into the prep mood. This to be said, I can´t wait to play with my gear and use the (for me) bare minimum I´ll take on the trail – testing it on the Lost Cost Trail as a prep-hike right after arriving San Francisco.

And again, it´s a very long hike. Whatever it is, I´ll have plenty of time to get used, exchange, or adapt to it.

Did you hike the PCT, or are you about to and you´re dealing with the same things? I think, I´m not alone and can´t wait to talk and laugh with you guys about it when we meet on trail. For the others, leave a comment if you know this feeling.

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the million “maybe” 😉

Simon

edit: photos from my last hikes last summer in Canada