Joe Craft can’t run away from himself, but maybe he can walk 2650 miles.

Hi, I’m Joe Craft. Yes, I’m a two-name fella (inquire within). I’m 32 years old according to the Mayan calendar. My haters will say I’m loud and annoying, but my mother thinks I’m lovely. I’m from sunny Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I spent most of my life there rocking and rollin’, honking, and tonkin’ causing all sorts of ruckus. 

I traded my good job and dilapidated row house in the Burgh for something more spacious. I’m currently living nomadically in the back of a Toyota Tacoma (please contain your excitement ladies) exploring public land all over the United States. It’s far from the glamour “van life” people post on Instagram but I’m super thankful I’ve found a way to live my life in accordance with my value system. 

I’ve always been an outside cat but I didn’t start taking backpacking seriously until I got sober. I traded in my chronic dehydration and hangovers for chronic dehydration and blisters. A decade of alcoholism will really prepare you for Norovirus. I’ve always had a habit of taking things too far and this has proved true with my backpacking, a weekend in the woods is fun. But, what if that lasted five months?

Recently I’ve settled in Arizona, helping my Aunt with the caretaking of my grandmother who has late-stage Alzheimer’s. This experience is hard to talk about. Not because it’s sad (it is) but because fundamentally shifted my understanding of what it means to be a person. It illustrated the fragility and resilience of our vessels. I haven’t ironed out the details on that yet but I’ll let you know when I do. 

When I’m not at the house with them I’ve been hiking and backpacking about the Superstition Mountains. The hiking here is nothing short of exciting. The steep terrain, beautiful views, hostile vegetation, and lack of water have been a perfect training/ testing ground for my thru-hike. I’ve hiked a short one hundred-miles on the AZT and will be back to finish the trail at some point. 

I’ve spent the last year researching every angle of the PCT ad nauseam. After all the research I’m sure of very few things.  I’m certain there is no certainty in thru-hiking. I’m going to pick up my ice axe and microspikes at the Paradise Valley Cafe (and hopefully mail them north). I’m going to pick up my bear canister at Kennedy Meadows. My gear is the same trail-tested stuff everyone else has (shouts out Mac from Halfway Anywhere) so I’m not going to break that down. 

I’m certain I’m ready to start hiking. I have been counting the seconds of my last week off-trail. I’ve packed, unpacked, and repacked my bag countless times. I’ve read the snow report over and over. I’ve been watching people’s vlogs and blogs with bated breath. I’ve planned and unplanned my resupply. I have taken the photo of all my gear on the floor. I have a plane ticket a bus ticket and a little yellow bag with 12,000 calories I’ll be too excited to eat. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you out there.

Love,

Joe Craft