I Guess I Chose To Walk More…

Hi, my name is Logan Laliberte. I am 20 years old and from Lewiston, Maine. In 2021, I attempted and successfully thru hiked the Appalachian Trail. A journey that took place over six months, I learned about myself and had (mostly) the time of my life. It taught me a lot about myself and shaped me into who I am today. But, this upcoming year, I guess I chose to walk some more. In 2023 I will be attempting a thru hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.

You Already Walked 2200 Miles, Why More?

descending Katahdin

After finishing the AT, I found myself confused in many ways of life direction. I began asking myself, what’s next? I slowly gained traction in my life over the next year. Got a job and became a puzzle piece in society again. I began saving up hoping for greener pastures some day but didn’t quite know what or when that would be. As jobs do tax upon you, I mentally returned to a spot in life which I once longed to get away from. I began questioning things again. My job was weighing on me, and my time was not being spent on things I really enjoyed. I wasn’t going to college, I was just existing. Nothing meaningful or enriching really grabbed me. Days passed on the calendar and time passed too fast without me knowing.

I found myself in the depth of winter contemplating what exactly I had been doing. I got caught up in the monotony of everyday life. But luckily, I caught myself starting to think of ways to “get out” and break the cycle. I was longing for more again. It was then in a brief moment that I had realized how much I had missed the community and structure that thru hiking had once brought to my life. The day to day of work just wasn’t doing IT for me.

Hiking wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but there was something I missed in my life. My time in the woods was infinitely better than the time spent working retail. I didn’t know what to do, but I had to make a change.

crossing a stream, avoiding wet socks

A culmination of life events, epiphanies, and spontaneous decisions led me to the point I’m at now. In mid December, I began floating the idea of another thru hike. I was seeing everyone that I had hiked with on the Appalachian Trail making plans and began experiencing FOMO. There was a longing for what once was. I searched online for some long distance trails, getting an idea of something to do. I wasn’t able pinpoint a single trail. But then I thought, why not the other “big one”? You know, the one everyone else talks about. I spontaneously created an account on the PCTA portal. I was pretty much just eyeballing the idea of the PCT and not really considering it seriously.

All of this became a reality on January 10th, when the second round of permits were released. I was fortunate enough to secure a permit for an April 25th start of a PCT hike. This started my planning and prepping an idea that was soon to become more concrete.

What Can I Expect From Your Blog?

writing in the shelter logs Hanover, NH

In all honesty, I would like to use this platform to express myself and not only tell stories, but be transparent about the reality of thru hiking. Like I had said many times before, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s still one hell of a trip. On the AT, I spent a lot of time signing shelter logs using the moniker “juice”, expressing my thoughts, complaints, etc; Overall it was very therapeutic but at the same time it was a way for me to hold myself accountable for being “present” in daily life when hiking. It’s easy to get lost and not cherish the experience, but the daily reflections truly help not only myself but give a story for others to enjoy.

 

In summation, I hope someone stays tuned and checks out what I have to say. Regardless, I’ll still try and write when I can.

my Instagram is @logan.laliberte and I will be posting there as well