Becky: Teacher, Writer, Explorer and Thru-Hiker PCT 2024!

Hi Friends!

I’m Becky, a teacher, writer, and curious explorer of the world. This year, I’m finally going to attempt a thru-hike of the PCT. Although this will be my first attempt, I feel as if I’ve been preparing for it my whole life. Let me fill you in on a little background…

As a kid, I lived for summers filled with mudpies, camp in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, sleeping outside at my family’s farm, and time alone up in a tree. But it wasn’t until my 20s when I started working for the U.S. Forest Service, that I found my true home, the Pacific Northwest. There, with an oversized backpack and heavy leather boots, I cut my teeth on the trails all over the Olympic Peninsula and Oregon/Washington Cascades. I was hooked for life.

Occasionally, my short trips would take me along the coveted PCT where I looked longingly down the trail, wishing that I could be part of the culture, dreaming of a trail name and chewing on the idea that someday I would get to see it from end to end. Could I even dare?

But life took me on another ride for a while and after more than 25 years in a relationship and a teaching career, it all turned upside down. At the age of 48, I quit everything, sold my house, all my belongings, and joined the US Peace Corps serving in Ecuador. It was there I learned to fully live and love each moment, sleep anywhere, say “yes” to every adventure, and deal with anything that comes my way. But mostly, I gained confidence in myself and the life I was meant to lead. For the past five years, I have used this new bravado to continue backpacking, working and living around other parts of Latin America including Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

Last year, as I was hiking around the Andes Mountains, I started thinking about my next big adventure. That’s when the idea of a thru-hike began to rattle around my head. Over the next weeks, I read about the realities of the trail, the equipment I would need, the permit process. I didn’t tell anyone what I was thinking- my family in North America and my friends in South America already think I’m crazy! In the end, I decided to leave it to fate. If I earned a thru-hike permit on the first permit-release day, it was meant to be. And so I waited, sending a lot of positive wishes into the Universe.

Permit Release Day

The day before permit release day I refreshed my email every 30 seconds, waiting for my “time” to log onto the Pacific Crest Trail Association site. If my assigned time was early the next day, I knew I’d have a better chance to get a permit and be able to choose a good start date. Finally, the email arrived. I held my breath and opened the message. There it was – my time – within the opening hour of the day. The stars had aligned. I was going to hike the PCT.

Then it all got very real.

My PCT Prep

After jumping up and down and cheering for hours, I sprang into action. In typical Becky fashion, I started making a list of all the things I needed to do:

• Start training- seriously! A friend who is a personal trainer got me started on a program and I’m supplementing that with suggested exercises posted by Dr. Morgan Brosnihan @blazephysio
• Take an online Wilderness First Aid Class from Survival Med and learn strategies for survival and caring for myself in hot, wet, cold and dangerous conditions
• Research how to cross raging rivers, how to use my ice axe and my compass to cross snowfields, and how to identify Poodle Dog Bush
• Research any new equipment that I will need (i.e. ice axe, crampons, and trekking poles). Shop REI to take advantage of their sales and their full return policy if my plans go awry
• Research nutrition and ultralight food options that will support my calorie and protein needs
• Research the new way of doing things (I’m oldschool- yikes!) – like wearing trail runners through the rivers, cold-soaking foods so I don’t have to carry a stove and learning how to use a water bottle bidet (double yikes!)
• Download maps and apps, join virtual trail groups and take notes of other’s experiences
• Apply to be a Trek Blogger so I can continue writing and sharing my stories from the trail
• Buy plane tickets to get myself back to the United States in time to buy some shoes and pack some resupply boxes
• Engage my west-coast friends to be my trail angels, my box shippers, my drivers to the trailhead and my emergency contacts

Since November, I’ve been reading everything I can, listening to hours of inspirational and how-to-thru-hike podcasts (while I’m working out) and everything I learn leads to more questions to explore. I’m not trying to plan the details. The days will unfold as they will. I just want to be well-informed and prepared when the whatever comes my way. And, after living these past years well outside my comfort zone, and surviving all my life’s adventures in both North and South America, I think I’m perfectly prepared to attempt the PCT.

The Reality and My Why

I’m a dreamer, but I’m also a realist. Hiking the PCT is going to be the physically hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m older than most hikers who attempt this feat. I know that statistically I may not make it. I’m going to be hot and cold and wet and hungry. My body is going to hurt like it’s never hurt before. I’m worried about the wear and tear on my frame, my safety crossing rivers and snowfields, my ability to stay positive and motivated.

But then I also know that when my feet carry me to a place where only feet can go, and the light is magical and the view is immense, I immediately forget about all the suffering and concentrate only on the beauty. I give thanks to my body for carrying me the distance and I feel so grateful for being alive. These are the moments that are so precious and meaningful for me along my journey. This is what I live for. This is why I hike.

I also know that I was in a long-term relationship that prevented me from ever doing something like this. I’ve always wanted to see how far I could push my body and what I could really accomplish in extreme sports. But for so many years, this wasn’t an option. Now, I have a chance. I may be older and I may be slower, but I’m still healthy and able. So there you have it, underneath it all, this is my Why. I’m going to hike the PCT because I can. I don’t know how far I’ll get, but I’m going to give it a damn good try… and the fun of life is always in the trying!

 

“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy – I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

-Arthur L. Williams Jr.

 

2024 is my year on the Pacific Crest Trail. I’m ready. I will start walking north on April 7th from Campo, California. In a way, it feels a little like I’ll be walking home. Won’t you join me for this grand adventure?

 

 

“Do not choose less because less is easy. Do not run from more because more is difficult. Do not settle for how it is simply because you are afraid too see how it may end up. Do not fear, you are more than ready for anything.”  -Topher Kearby