[pct-l] Introduction

[kbrandt at cats.ucsc.edu (Karl Brandt)]

This thread came at a good time for me as I recently rejoined the list
after a couple year's absence.

While I didn't grow up in a backpacking family, we did spend our summer
vacations in Lake Tahoe. My dad and I would day hike along the west shore
peaks. I suppose my interest in backpacking grew out of being in the Boy
Scouts. Prior to thru-hiking the PCT in '97, I had never hiked more than
65 miles at a stretch. I remember an AT veteran chuckling when I mentioned
that it was officially the longest hike I'd ever done when we reached
Scissors Crossing.

I had been working at the same job for 10 years and was looking to make
some changes in my life but didn't really know what. The challenge of the
PCT seemed like just the thing to get myself regrounded. At the beginning,
I wouldn't even entertain the notion that I was really going to finish the
whole trail in a year, even though I'd planned out the whole thing.
Somehow, that kept me from thinking about the enormity of the whole trail
and just focus on the few yards in front of me.

In looking back, it really was one of the highlights of my life. I
consider myself extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to thru-hike
the PCT. I went on to hike the Long Trail and the Annapurna Circuit in
Nepal the following few years. I went back to school 3 years ago to finish
my bachelors and now am working on my masters. I rather suspect that I
won't be hiking any long trails for a few years as my wife is expecting
our first baby next year.

-Karl

*********************************************************************
Karl "Birdman" Brandt PCT97
http://people.ucsc.edu/~kbrandt/