Pre-Trail Depression: An Introduction, My Mission, and an Update

Hello, my name is Logan Nigh, and I  love you. I will be attempting to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail on May 13 heading northbound. In short I am a returned Peace Corps volunteer (Community Economic Development in Berat, Albania), UCSC alumni, former government employee, exercise addict, plant-based consumer, and overall pretty weird guy. I’ve worked two jobs since the age of 15 and a half because I had to help support my family and had to support myself through the duration of my undergraduate career; now I revel in my post-Peace Corps life (have been back for roughly 5.5 months) and I am taking some time off to work at my local climbing gym. Since the age of 13 I’ve been running long distance, cycling, lifting weights, rock climbing (mostly bouldering), doing yoga, and of course hiking. My journey through physical fitness as a means to push my physical limits, strive to maximize my strength, speed and endurance, and cope with daily anxiety and depression has also driven my professional life.

This will be my first thru-hike, unless the hiking community considers the Trans-Catalina Trail, which I completed in early October, a thru-hike. Otherwise I have done several overnight trips in Big Sur, Yosemite, and throughout Southern California. I am by no means concerned about my lack of specific thru-hike experience and want to use my hike as a means of exemplifying the fact that, despite one’s experience, history, or most importantly mental challenges, everyone who seeks this experience can and should have it. My mission is to convey to the population that struggles alone and in silence or shame that the outdoors and the community generated around outdoor recreation, more specifically thru-hiking, serves as a place and a home through which all can seek healing, friendship, purpose, and self-exploration. In addition to bringing afflicted individuals to seek health in the outdoors, my mission is also to bring community awareness and spread love to those who suffer with eating disorders. Endurance sports, as well as all other fitness communities, are rampant with men and women fighting endlessly against inner critics, insecurities, and needs for control in what feels like an uncontrollable life. To combat eating disorders, we must all be aware of mental disturbances in friends, family, and acquaintances, to learn about ED symptoms, follow the link  https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/warning-signs-and-symptoms. I hope my journey for mental peace can help at the very least one person; you can donate to help using the link below

My next post will be about my plant-based resupply and I want to give a huge shout out to Jack from the PCTA!

Oh and that’s right, your boy got a permit!

Logan Nigh’s hike for mental health