Utah, We Love You, We’ll Miss You, Thank You.

Boots. Chacos. Boots. Chacos.

So it goes in the month of March in Salt Lake City. Blizzards to blue skies in less than twenty-four hours. This morning brings blue skies and a sundress to match. Warmth is welcome here though my greeting of Spring is bittersweet. In less than two months we will leave the valley indefinitely and I have a hard time coming to terms.

Utah has been home base for the last three years. This is where my adventure began. It is where I learned to backpack, to rock climb, to live months at a time out of a car barely big enough to sleep in. Here is where I found my first meaningful job, where I helped create real change in others’ lives, and where I fell in love with the trail. It is here I found balance in my life, became part of an incredible community, and decided to let real love in for the first time.

Utah is my home and it is a stepping stone. All that I have learned and done I will carry with me from Mexico to Canada and beyond. I am a lucky woman to have so many homes and with a future shaped like a question mark it is comforting to know I always have somewhere to return to.

Now it is time to get excited!

Permits: Approved! We start May 10!

Plane Tickets: Bought this morning! Albany, NY to San Diego, CA.

Gear: (I’ll make a more elaborate post about this later) almost done collecting! Thank God for pro-deals, garage sales, gear-head friends, and families.

Budget: With 4 jobs between the two of us and tax refunds coming right on time, I’m starting to believe we may be able to swing this.

We are not backpacking rookies, but every new trail is a world of its own. We expect incredible views, good days, bad days, tons of lovin’, wonderful people, lots of junk food, few showers, and a new adventure from sun up to sun down. Other than that, we have no idea what the PCT has in store for us and that is the real beauty of this trip.

I am giddy and grateful to share this adventure and every next adventure with this gem of a human:

 

He makes my cheeks hurt and my heart melt and together we are unstoppable. Our portable new home is smaller than the size of our current mattress and that just means more cuddles which is a beautiful thing. I may be leaving Utah behind but at least I get to share the unknown with my favorite human and that makes it all worth it.

Bittersweet few months ahead, folks. Let’s do this ?