Dream It, Plan It, Do It: Part 2/3

The decision was made to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, almost a full year was now ahead of me of planning and waiting. Making such a huge life-altering decision filled me with such vitality.

I was headstrong and singularly focused. It seemed I had endless energy and was all consumed by the PCT preparations. My phone and any social obligations went completely ignored and I woke from bed each morning with purpose and drive to get up and train. When I wasn’t training I was researching and ordering gear I would be needing for the trip.

Images: PCT training consuming my whole life, including me sleeping in my tent pitched in my living room

In my mind this trail was my own personal Olympics and to fail at it would be devastating and soul crushing to me. Having that level of focus and determination has helped me get places in life, but it is also a very unsustainable business model. Eventually the excessive training became exhausting and my excitement for detailed trail research sputtered out. Thankfully, reading the book Pacific Crest Trials was instrumental to me conquering my first mental obstacle of this journey. I was simply coming out of the honeymoon phase of this big decision. Just like anything in life, when something is new and exciting it can be magical and fun, but it is also not sustainable nor productive. 

Image: PCT training burnout, at my peak of training I was pushing myself to climb 1,000m of vertical almost daily

I learned on the trail I should also be aware of the honeymoon phase coming to an end, and to plan for it. In the case of my preparations, I branched out and made time for activities other than hiking that I also enjoyed. I took more chances to rest, connect with friends and I made the bold choice to move to a mountain town for the entire winter pre-trail wrapping up almost a decade in the city. These positive changes allowed me to have the best possible path to the trail where I feel prepared, in top shape without being burned out.

Image: Making my preparations fun and sustainable led to a happier me