[pct-l] HIKING PARTNER

[Scott Williams]

Hey Hatty,

Ditto to all that's been said so far.  I started the PCT with a few people
I met on this forum years ago.  Add fb to the mix nowadays and you'll
probably have folks to meet up with and that's nice for the start.  Within
the first week, however, it became clear that we all had very different
paces, and the little confederacy slowly broke up, in a very natural way,
and I eventually met up with a group who hiked at my pace, and who had
things in common and I hiked most of the trail with them.

Years later I'm still dear friends with all of them.  A young gal from
Seattle, her boyfriend from Long Island, a Swiss champion skier and
mountaineer, a mountain man from the mountains of Tennessee and me, an old
hippie from San Francisco.  You couldn't get anything more disparate, but
you couldn't find better hiking partners for a very snowy year in the
Sierra.  That diversity of compadres is half of what makes a long trail so
much fun.

Meanwhile, back at home, I'd recommend trying to meet other long distance
hikers, or hikers to be, in your area over the winter.  And you can use
this forum and fb to do a shout out for training partners who may live
locally.  In Northern California, we've got a big group of past thru hikers
and up and coming hikers, who train regularly over the winter.  Each year
we've been fielding folks for the PCT, CDT, and the AT, and regularly have
folks who meet on training hikes and then go on to start together and some
who have finished together.  Too much fun!  Hiking with those who have done
it already is absolutely invaluable for hearing first hand the pros and
cons of gear and strategy.  And it is a great introduction to the tribe of
wonderful long distance hikers you're about to join.

Have a marvelous hike!

Shroomer

On Oct 25, 2016 8:38 PM, "Hatty McKay" <hatty.mckay at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi there!
> I am an 18 year novice hiker who is planning to attempt to thru hike the
> PCT starting in mid - late march 2017,  and I would love start the hike
> with someone.
> My pace is around 15-18 miles per day (building it up as I go along).
> If there’s anyone like me or in a similar position to me please let me
> know, send me an email for more info!!
> Hatty
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