Carowacky - Pacific Crest Trail Journal - 2015

Journal Entry

So I guess this is real now. The plan: hike the PCT, summer of 2015!

I learned about the Pacific Crest Trail on the internet from some random article I don't even remember, probably part of the Wild/Cheryl Strayed wave sweeping the nation.
I started learning more, looking up blogs, researching FAQ pages, watching documentaries, reading books, (yes, I can say I HAVE read Wild...more than once), etc.
I even hiked a small section of the trail near Mt. Rainier while visiting a friend in Seattle, which was pretty sweet.

I want this trail, and I want it bad.

My connection to the PCT was not instantaneous.
It grew the way a fire does, slowly coaxed, fed, and diligently tended to.
That initial spark of interest has, over time, erupted into a roaring flame of passion that seems to radiate from deep within the most primal and ill-understood depths of my soul.
Excited does not even scratch the surface of how I am feeling.


I passed a major mile marker this week.
I had told many of my friends and family about my idea to hike while I was beginning to plan.
The last, and most important person to tell was my mother.

My mother is a truly great woman.
I love her very much and consider her to be my greatest role model and adviser in life.
I cannot adequately put to words how much I adore and respect this woman.
And I'm lucky to be a lot like her in many ways; independent, strong-willed, with just a dash of stubbornness.
I knew she wasn't going to be a big fan of me flying two and a half thousand miles across the country to walk another two and a half thousand miles over 5 months, not to mention doing it alone.

I still don't think she likes the idea very much.
Hopefully she'll come around, because this is happening.

I've had jitters all week because I feel like I passed a turning point, the point of no return.
From here on out, there's no going back.
I can only go forward.

5 months and counting...

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