April 24, 2021
Another year, another PCT attempt! But hopefully this time will go according to plan. The past couple weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. I made up my mind to hike this year VERY last minute. Like maybe a month ago. I was very hesitant to commit after the heartbreak of having to stay home last year.
Part of the reason I felt comfortable hiking this year even at the tail end (??) of this pandemic is because I realized I could do the entire trail without hitchhiking. Without having to rely on strangers for rides, I can hike AND social distance. I’ll be walking into towns, grabbing my resupply package from the post office, and walking right back to trail. I imagine I’ll stay at the occasional motel if I need to spend a night in town. Depending on the state of the pandemic, I’m flexible with these plans and might end up changing them.
Over the past month I needed to plan, buy, organize, and pack all my food for the next FOUR MONTHS. It’s been a nightmare. But I managed to get it mostly organized. My mom was a big help getting it all together. She will also be mailing them all for me.
Other things that happened this month: I put in my two weeks at work, packed up all my possessions, sorted my gear and made last minute adjustments, got vaccinated (!!), went to the doctor/dentist/optometrist, filed my taxes, and changed healthcare plans (I’ll be turning 26 on trail and I am now ~unemployed~).
On the 21st, Matt and I rented a car in Seattle and began the drive down to the Mexican border. We drove about 11.5 hours to Sacremento and stayed in a motel for the night. On the 22nd we finished the second half of the drive, about 8 hours to Palm Springs. Matt has a family friend who owns a home in Indio, CA and kindly offered to let us stay for the weekend.
Yesterday, we went to Joshua Tree National Park!! JT has been on my radar for a long time so it was exciting to explore it. We drove through the park, making a few stops to looks at cacti, rocks, and joshua trees.
After going through the park, we went around to the north side to do a short 3 mile hike called 49 palm oasis. Apparently, a desert oasis forms from underground water being pushed to the surface. So we hiked to a lush, green, cool patch of palm trees right in the middle of the desert!
Today I’ve just been doing some last minute errands and organizing my gear. We’re about to go grab some dinner and then it will be an early night so we can get up around 5 or so tomorrow. And then I will be hiking!!! For 4+ months!!!!! Wow!!!!
