[pct-l] Introduction, redux

[gray_hiker at mindpoison.org (Gray)]

Ok, a lot of other people are doing it, and if everyone else jumped off a
bride, I guess I would too. So, an introduction:

My name is Gray. I was born in Indiana, which, for those of you who have
been there know, are curiously lacking in mountains. I always knew I'd like
mountains.

The closest thing I found to them while in the midwest was Turkey Run State
park in southern Indiana. I loved hiking there, and every time I would go
(since age 14), I'd hike every trail there, roughly 10 miles total.

In 1994, I had a unique opportunity to visit an online friend in Fairbanks,
Alaska, so I headed north. While there, we visited Denali National Park,
which was snowwed in (11 feet of snow on the ground in April). On the way to
Alaska, I had my first glimpse of mountains, the Wasatch Range in Utah. I
immediately fell in love, and knew I would never be happy when out of the
sight of towering chuncks of rock and snow. On the way home, I arranged a
layover in Seattle, Washington, to see my 2 best friends from college
(Purdue University). While visiting Seattle, I found that I absolutely loved
the town, with it's easy access to both the Cascades and the Olympics, and I
spent years trying to move out to Seattle.

In 1999, I had my chance, got a job in Seattle, and I am now home. Once
here, I started hiking, mostly in the Cascades, in the Alpine Lakes area,
with some jaunts to Mt. Rainier, the Glacier Peak area, the Olympics, and
the Washington coast.

I'd first heard of the PCT while working as a computer lab assistant at Ivy
Tech State College in Indiana. over my years of living in Seattle, the
thought of doing a through-hike slowly grew to a fevered pitch. About a year
ago, the combination of that thought and my dislike of my tech-suport job at
Earthlink forced me to decide on a thru-hike attempt for last summer (2003).

I joined this list, did my research, and headed out on the trail at the end
of last April. I quickly found that my equipment was not exactly what I
wanted... and combined with the fact that it was soooooo hot in the San
Felipe Hills, made me decide that it wasn't quite the time to do a thru
hike. It took a lot of thinking for me to decide to abandon the trail, but
talking with some other long distance hikers the night before I left the
trail helped. I simply realized that I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be
in order to complete the hike, so I bailed out after 110 miles, at Warner
Springs.

I regret it to this day.

While on the trail, all I could think about was excuses for getting off....
and true, my gear was way heavier than it needed to be. But when I looked
back on it, as early as the bus ride to visit my family in Indiana for the
summer, all I remember is joy and beauty. Next time, I will have the right
gear, and the correct mindset to continue to the end.

I have a tentative plan to re-try my thru-hike of the PCT in 2005, perhaps
with my long-term on-again off-again girlfriend. I learned a lot about
myself and about hiking while on the trail. I learned that the often quoted
adage "hike your own hike" is really true..... as much as a lot of people
will scream at you to be an "ultra-light" hiker, what is important is
minimizing what you carry. For some people that means a chunk of plastic to
keep the rain off them, a super-lightweight bag to carry the few things they
are carrying, and the lightest shoes possible. For others it means the bare
minimum that you can carry, while still enjoying yourself. I found I didn't
mind a bit of extra weight, when that meant a little more comfort when
camping (I begrudged the weight of my 1-man tent, but revelled in the fact
that no bugs or water hit me while sleeping... I didn't begrudge the weight
of my water filter in the least.... I really liked a nice meal cooked over
my some-what lightweight white gas stove... etc. etc. etc.). I found that
the sunsets worth worth it. I found that the people I met on the trail were
great people. I found that I *love* hiking, and I might love long distance
hiking. I hiked my own hike, and though it ended at Warner Springs, I didn't
feel like I had utterly failed.... I felt like I had learned a lot that
would make next time easier, and more fun.

So, I guess I learned most of all, before you try a long hike, whether it's
the PCT, CDT, or the AT, that you really should try a "sorta long" (100 mile
+) hike first, simply to find out if a) you like it and b) if the gear you
have is what you want for a long hike. Sadly, I found that though my gear
was fine for 20-40 milers, over the long haul, it simple wasn't up to speed.
Next time, I'd change a lot of my gear for lighter weight versions, I'd
*consider* going with a tarptent (with a sewn-in floor), and I would prepare
a lot more, and have a lot more cash in reserve, than I did this last time.

So, "HI!" to all the PCT-Lers, and may you have a great hike, no matter how
long it turns out to be.

Gray