T-1 week until leaving Seattle
Originally published on Mason Hikes the PCT 2017.
I have a little more than a week left in Seattle before I fly down to San Diego to hang out with my friend Charlie for a few days and then start my hike up to Canada. There’s lots to do and I’ll be super busy, but I’m starting to feel like I’m almost ready. I have a few odds and ends to pick up for my pack, a few boxes of food/supplies to prepare to send myself, and a few other minor logistical issues to work out (i.e. how long I’m allowed to be gone from work), but the majority of my preparation is done.
My preparation consisted mostly of having/buying the right gear and reading about how to properly bury your poop, but I know at least a little bit more than I did when I started this process. I’ve read a lot about how to effectively plan a PCT thru hike, but I have yet to try to work everything out. My thought is that if I start with too specific a plan, I’ll likely abandon it almost immediately, so I’m going to go with the flow a bit and talk to other hikers to figure things out as I go.
As for physical preparation, I’ve been trying to run and walk a lot over the past few weeks, though it’s a bit hard to simulate what walking 30 miles in a day is going to do to my body without putting in the hours to walk 30 miles in a day. Hopefully my training helps at least a little bit and I can start out strong, but I’ll either be fine or I won’t. Whatever happens once I start, I’ll just have to deal with it and keep going, so there’s not much reason to worry at this point.