Planning a Thru-Hike from Abroad

Few people realize how much time (and money) I have spent planning to hike the PCT. It feels like I can breathe a sigh of relief when the only thing I finally will have left to do is HIKE the trail! There are many steps from getting the idea to hitting the trail, especially when not living in the USA:

• Making the decision and committing it.

You have to ask yourself why you want to do this hike and not forget it on the way.

• Getting dialed with the gear and miles in your legs.

It has taken a lot of trials and errors (and again money!) to find the gear that works for this hike. Training many weekends and all holidays has eaten a lot of time and relationships with non-hiking people. Fortunately, Sweden has great nature to train for both in the summer and in the winter.

Saving Money

Since I had to buy an apartment during the Cov-19 pandemic I had to save my hiking money from the beginning all over again in only one year.

• Get the thru-hiking permit.

This includes queueing in the permit queue some nervous nights (European time) and watching the permit days you want disappear before it is your turn to pick the day.

• Get leave from work.

I was very privileged to get an unpaid leave from work!

• Get rid of your flat while hiking.

I managed to rent out my flat, thanks Stockholm housing market!

• Buy the flight ticket.

One-way ticket to Seattle, crazy expensive but it’s the only way.

• Get insurance.

Also another necessary expense.

• Set your bills on autopayment, pause subscriptions, change your adress

• Fix a ride to Hart’s Pass.

Fortunately there seem to be friendly trail angels helping with getting to the trail, which is quite challenging if you are a SoBo.

• Wait for the snow to melt.

This year has the highest amount of snow in decades in Washington so it is nerve-racking to follow when it has melted enough to be able to start the trail.

• Organize a goodbye party with theme “camp camping.”

There is nothing that gets you into the mood as throwing a campy Wild West themed party for your friends.

• Fly to Seattle and send resupply for Washington.

After a 12-hour flight and 9-hour time difference, I’ll need to buy the rest of the gear, an American sim card, food for 21 days, and send three resupply boxes to different places in Washington. First after that I’ll be ready to hit the trail.