“So Why Do You Want to Thru Hike the PCT?” Let Me Count the Ways….

 As I considered it more, I didn’t really think a thru hike was going to be possible because my wife had some buyers remorse from the AT hike. Turns out 3 months is a really long time to be apart and I don’t think we were quite prepared for that part of it. So, I resolved that if I was going to experience the PCT it was going to have to be in sections over multiple years. When I approached my wife about my plan, to my surprise she said “why don’t you just get it out of system and do it in one trip so we don’t have to deal with it for 5 more years”. Wow, didn’t see that coming. But it was the question that followed that caught me off guard. With a seriousness that made her stop what she was doing and look me dead in the eyes, she asked me, “why do you want to do this”? It was a simple question but hidden between the words was the real question “why do you want to leave me, this wonderful life we have together, all your friends, your grandkid (with another one on the way), for 6 months to climb some mountains?”  I kind of stumbled out an answer like “Because it’s beautiful and because triple crowners said it was great”. By the blank stare she gave me I knew I was not making a very compelling case. Inside of me I knew there was more to the “why” than what came out of my mouth so I decided I should dig a little deeper on the subject because felt I owed it to the people that it was affecting, particularly my wife. So the following are some of my reasons to thru hike the PCT in no particular order.

Reason 1: Late Life Crisis?

At my age I know I’m in the 4th quarter of my life. Maybe it has something to do with my dad dying a few years ago, friends and old classmates that seem to be passing away at a faster pace, or from losing coworkers to COVID. It could be that I’m in the midst of a late life crisis? Some guys buy corvettes, maybe some hike? Anyway I don’t want to look back at my life someday and have any regrets about something I didn’t do. To use a sports term, I want to leave it all on the field (or trail).

Reason 2: Adventure

The Jackass 5 Tramily on top of Katahdin

Somewhat related to reason 1, at the young age of 63, physically I know my body will determine in the not-too-distant future  that trips like this will not be possible. My guess is it will either be the knees or the back that will take me out, but when that time is I don’t know (could be this trip). Anyway, I want another great adventure while I still can do it, and feel an urgency to do it now before my body forces me to cruise vacations (not that there is anything wrong with cruise vacations). Part of the 2023 AT experience was getting to meet so many great people that I still regularly communicate with now. No matter what age or income bracket you were in, you were all going through the same highs and lows and it lead to deep connections. In addition, I got to walk through many wonderful sections on the trail that I have never been through. Every mile brought something new.

Reason 3: Reconnecting with Nature

I feel a need to reconnect with nature. One thing I didn’t realize until my AT hike ended and I was back in civilized life was how much you get imbedded with nature on these long hikes. I know it sounds cliche, but you really do become one with nature. You rise and fall asleep to the schedule of the sun instead of artificial light of a house, you’re surrounded by 360 degree surround sounds of nature 24 hours a day. In civilized life you rarely hear anything other than the constant back ground of manmade noise. While hiking you’re also constantly visually stimulated by changing colors, interesting plants and animals, long distanceviews and mountains that make you feel small. I remember when I returned home from my long AT hike I felt like something was off and things just felt closed in. By chance I had a sleepaide  headband that had speakers in it and when I played a soft rain shower it brought me such comfort at night. That’s when it occurred to me what a stark contrast living on the trail was to living in the world of convenience.

Reason 4: Climate Change

I hate to be a downer but I’m concerned that climate change will drastically change the experience of the these long distant trails in the near future. I want to experience them while they are still good. One could make the case it’s already happening with the floods in the northeast in 2023, hurricane floods in 2024 along the AT in the south and the horrific fires in California this year and last. With environmental science being marginalized and politicized, I don’t think this issue is going to get better anytime soon. So I’m getting while the getting is good.

Morning sun beams and a white blaze show the way in Vermont

Reason 5: Accomplishment

I want the accomplishment of a thru hike on one of the long trails of the triple crown. When I hiked the AT I didn’t really feel the need to thru hike it. I had section hiked it NOBO for several years before finishing the final 1200 miles after I retired. Section hiking was great. You were always hiking at the best time of year when everything was green and the mountain flowers were in bloom, water was plentiful, and you got to carry all the luxuries like Mountain house meals and camp stools. I was good with it. But since I was always hiking with thru hikers during my AT LASH, I would be lying if I didn’t say I had a little envy of the camaraderie they had. And I think the PCT will be a great one to do it on.

Reason 6: Health

I missed the constant motion of the trail. I’m a little hyper by nature and I don’t do well sitting around the house as my wife will fully attest. And in retirement I find myself sitting around the house a little too much and eating. I’m looking forward to another self inflicted weight loss program and getting back down to being a lean mean hiking machine. I’m sure my primary care physician would probably look down on a diet that consists of Fritos, Snicker bars and Pop Tarts while burning 6000 calories a day exercising. But you can’t argue with the results, it works. I dropped 30 lbs in 3 months on my AT LASH. I am going to try and eat a little better and do a little better with the post thru hike transition.

Raman bombs, pop tarts and foil meat in soft shells were staples on the trail

Reason 7: Nourishing My Soul 

And last but not least. For the beauty and replenishment of my soul. When I hiked the Salkantay trail in Peru last year, our guide taught us a lot about the native Quechua people and their beliefs. They believed that the Andes mountains gave them mystical energy. Being a 39 year veteran engineer for NASA’s space program, my beliefs are based more on science and not so much on the mystical. I do believe what they call mystical energy was really coming from inspiration so they were not wrong. I am inspired by nature and particular mountains. Three moments I had on the AT that stick with me were when I first stepped on the AT at Carver’s gap during a short hike with my daughter, walking Franconia ridge all to my self on a beautiful morning and of course Katahdin. The outdoors is my church, it’s where I feel closest to God and the universe. Whether is sitting on a surf board at sunrise in the ocean or hiking over a mountain range, I need that spiritual lift from time to time and Nature provides that for me. 

In Summary…

So to my family and friends that think I’m crazy, I hope this post sheds some light into the thoughts behind this crazy endeavor. As for my wife, we hope that we are preparing better than we did when I LASH hiked the AT. She has made plans of her own for adventures she has always dreamed about and will be busy helping out with a new grand-baby so I’m leaving with a clear conscious. Time to hit the trail!

Getting the send off at Harpers Ferry in 2023. Sharon and Nick reside in the flat lands of Florida.

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