Can one overplan the PCT?

As I am writing this text, there are only 30 days left until we close our door behind us for the next 7 months.  I am currently at home, lying sick in bed. It took me three years to finally get the C-Word. Somehow I knew all the time, that it would finally hit me one day. Luckily the symptoms are not heavy. Plus I finally have time to write again!

How’s planning?

As I lay in bed yesterday, I thought about the last months of preparing. We read every piece of information we could get. We watched videos about resupply strategies, about self-arresting, and made list after list with items, medicines, and chores we needed to organize. We know the most important parts of the first two weeks and will learn more while on the hike. Flights and the Hotel in San Diego are booked. The drive to the monument is organized. We were training and doing hikes and also connected with other hikers. Both, the veterans from past years and upcoming hiking stars who will also attempt the trail this year.

 

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In my hometown, we met three couples, during our preparations, who hiked the PCT before. We talked about their experiences and their tips. However, we met one of these pairs always only by chance. So let me digress for a moment and tell you a funny side story about these meetings. Said couple became accidentally famous in “the scene” because they happened to be part of a German documentary about the PCT. This documentary came out the same year as “Wild” (2014?) and is probably why there are so many Germans out there. Seriously, every german PCT hiker watched this documentary at least twice.

Three times coincidence

Like every other PCT-Dreamer, I had watched the docu several times, and knowing, that both were from Kiel, I somehow always kept my eyes open for them. One day in 2019 I met “Mr. Sandals” in our Boulder Gym and told him about my dream to hike the PCT. He was as excited as me, but somehow we departed without exchanging contacts, knowing, that we would somehow meet again. “The trail provides”

Over 3 years later, the morning after we received our Permit, I accidentally met him in the City Center, when I came out of my office and told him about the news. Two funny coincidences, but we are not done yet. Last Sunday, I went on a training hike around a lake with Micheal, another member of the class of 2023.

While hiking through the forest, we saw a woman sitting at a river and she was looking at us with a special kind of look. She kinda “knew”. We didn’t look like common german hikers. We were wearing our colorful shorts while it was 6°C. She approached us, asking where we were hiking to. I suddenly recognized her and told her, that I think that I know her husband. I bet you know who she was. It was “Princess” the wife of “Mr. Sandals”.

Three coincidences along our long way to the PCT. I consider this a good omen.

As soon as she heard, that we were preparing for the PCT, her eyes started to shine. It is this shine, every thru-hiker has when he or she talks about the PCT. How can something so simple have such an impact on a person? I can’t wait to experience it myself. But it is still a month ago.

Am I stressing out too much?

The worst part now is to wait. I’d say, we are well prepared or even done preparing. But being done is also the reason why I have a bad conscience. Whenever I have spare time, I think that I should do more for the trail and then have to remember, that it is ok to not over plan. There is just not much to do anymore. Everything we would do now would lead to overplanning and could kill the fun.

With a countdown from only 30 days left, I should enjoy my “normal” life at home with a warm bed, sparkling water, german bread, and my loved ones. I believe it is ok to keep it simple now. Until our flight to San Diego, I will go back to writing, making some gear-Reels and at first, getting well again.

There is always a new gear/resupply/skill/tip video, that you could miss, but that’s totally ok. So instead of stressing out to miss something, we should all call our moms and talk about normal life stuff with them more often. They deserve it.

We should try not to stress ourselves too much. Rushing through the remaining month would be a waste of life. At least I want to go the way to enjoy every moment of my life again. So why not start now?