The Wisdom of Patience and Preparation

It has been close to eight months since I made a commitment to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in mid-July, and probably a year or more since the idea first entered my consciousness.  In my journal, since August 14th, I have been keeping a running countdown of the weeks left until I will say goodbye to my friends and family and set out on this adventure - and now that list is almost all crossed off!  Each weekend I cross out the prior week so that visually I can see the progress toward my goal.  There are now just six weeks until I turn in my keys to my apartment, pack my belongings into storage, and then drive up to Idaho to spend some time with my mom and make final preparations before flying to San Diego on April 26th.  My patience over the past eight months has been tested more than ever before, and I feel extremely anxious.  I know there is value in this space I am in right now - I just need to learn to appreciate it.  It is an interesting feeling being so near to a goal and knowing that it is inevitable, yet still feeling like it is so far away.  Six weeks still feels like an eternity to me.

The Long Wait - Confessions of a PCT Dreamer

I must confess, I am little obsessed with counting down the days until I am able to begin my thru-hike, and mark the beginning of a radical change to my lifestyle.  I do obsessive things to psychologically distract myself from thinking about the last few months of this long wait, to manage the motivational drought I have, so that I can mentally cope with having more than three months still remaining until I am standing at the trail-head ready to take my first steps.


I began keeping a journal around the same time I made the choice to hike the PCT, and that first entry was made on July 9th, 2011 while sitting in a Barnes & Noble bookstore with a latte and a new black vinyl journal.  With a little bitterness, I wrote:  "I can only see the tunnel narrowing in front of me as my choices in life slowly dwindle until there is only a straight path leading to my uneventful retirement and subsequent enrollment into an assisted living facility.  Here I will spend my last days watching National Geographic specials on the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Parks while sipping a bottle of Ensure through a straw and wondering 'what if?'"  That was a turning point - almost exactly 7 months ago today.  A few days later I had already made several rough gear lists, PCT preparation lists and had gone to the library and borrowed and read through a good portion of several travel and hiking books.  On July 14th I exclaimed, "Only 37 weeks until showtime!" (I was short by a couple of weeks)