The Approach
We have come a long way from our first day on the AT. I remember how humbling it felt to wander around the parking lot at Amicalola Falls State Park with fifty pound packs. Then it was a cold and wet February morning. We started the AT very early on in the season, when the weather is harsh in the mountains of North Georgia. We were carrying around so much stuff that we didn’t need. We weren’t accustomed to the style of backpacking that thru-hiking requires. We had all the creature comforts with us, two groundpads, heavy winter sleeping bags, a pot and a pan and a little stove. We would stop and make tacos for lunch. By the time we made it to the Nantahala Outdoor Center we had got rid of a lot of the excessive weight, but I was still carrying around at least four liters of water at all times. It was difficult to adjust to the thru-hiking mindset for us.
Lizzy and I have been planning on hiking the PCT since the moment we finished the AT. The Pacific Crest Trail seems like the obvious next step after the Appalachian Trail. We did the Benton Mackaye Trail in 2022 and the Pinhoti Trail in 2023, but those smaller trails only take a few weeks and we are itching for a longer trek. There is something glorious about leaving behind the worries of the world and set off with nothing but the shoes on your feet and the pack on your back.
Something that I loved about the AT was how inviting it is to newcomers. Anybody could show up and even if you have the wrong gear and don’t know how to find the trailhead, as long as you want it, you can make it. The community of volunteers and trail angels around the AT restored my faith in humanity. We started our hike in February of 2021, just when the world was starting to get over COVID. It was so refreshing to meet so many people who were eager to help and be a friend. There is something special about the thru-hiker community but I think that if you’re reading this website you probably already know that.
I feel far more prepared this time around. After shelling out and buying ultra-light hiking gear our packs now hover around twenty five pounds. We have been conditioning our bodies for the trail by doing ATG workouts to strengthen our knees and mobility. Our food system a lot more dialed in then the days of our first thru-hike, but maybe I’ll get into that more in another post.
Lizzy and I have been grinding away the past few years in preparation for the trail. Though it feels like the jobs we’ve had have helped prepare us for the PCT. Working trail crew in Nevada made us tough and taught us how to hike in the desert. I am from Atlanta and Lizzy is from Ohio, so the west coast is largely uncharted waters for us. Hiking in the dry heat is distinct from hiking through the humid rainforests of the southeast.
After a winter of snowboarding in the Rocky Moubntains, where we worked as lifties at a ski area, I am ready to get outside in Southern California and sweat. Hopefully we can keep this enthusiasm up through the Mojave Desert, which should be starting to heat up just about now. Thankfully, it has been a late winter. I was acutely aware of that fact as I was scooping a fresh foot of snow out of the lift pit about a week ago.
It is hard to describe the feeling you get during those first few days on trail; but I’ll try. It is the purest kind of freedom i have ever felt. It is the letting go of the day to day burdens of life. The complete shirking of worldly responsibilities and abandoning yourself to the adventure of the present moment. It is connecting with nature and loosing yourself in the wilderness only to find a deeper and more truer version of yourself waiting on the other end. It’s about meeting new people that you would never get to interact with in your daily life. It is a thru-hike and there’s nothing else in the world quite like it.
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Comments 2
Awesome!
Looking forward to following your adventure! As a SoCal day hiker, car camper, and occasional backpacker, I live vicariously through you PCT hikers, but much of the “Desert Section” and the Sierra section are my favorite playgrounds, so I always enjoy reading about y’all passing through areas I recognize.