PCT Day 121 – 4 Months and Yet Another 10 Lessons

Campsite at mile 1809 to Mazama Village at Crater Lake (mile 1821)

It feels totally unreal that we are four months into this hike. We’ve left California behind (finally!) and are a third of the way through Oregon. If everything goes to plan we’ll be done with the trail in 6-7 weeks which is totally wild to me. It has taken a while but it feels like we’re finally getting good at thru hiking, or maybe that we’ve just had enough practice so things feel achievable. I still refuse to let myself think about the end of this trail, I’ll believe that I’m going to finish when I see the northern terminus. Until then, here are some more things I’ve learned in the last month.

1. I am a clean freak when contrasted with others on the trail. The other day I was passed by a dude who smelled like a literal poop. When I saw the same hiker in town days later he was stinking up an entire coffee shop, apparently with no inclination to bathe. One dude I met at Hiker Heaven (mile 450ish) told me he’d only showered twice since starting his hike, it seemed to be a point of pride for him. I’ve seen folks who look like they’ve been napping face down in the dirt, and one hiker who was blown away by my use of hand sanitizer after I popped. Apparently he’d just been dealing with terrible stomach issues and hadn’t thought that some kind of hygienic practice might help. In comparison I wipe the dirt from my face, arms, and legs every night before bed with a small pack towel and a little water. It is amazing to wipe away a day of dirt and sunscreen, I sleep way better and my gear is less disgusting as a result. I also shower and do laundry at every town stop. And as I illuded to earlier, I use hand sanitizer after pooping. No, it’s not a terribly robust practice when compared to city life, but it would seem that I am much more prone to cleanliness than my fellow hikers.

2. People can leave the trail for any reason at any time. Early on I’d hear folks say that if you can make it to Warmer Springs you’ll finish the trail. Or Hiker Heaven, or Kennedy Meadows, or the halfway point. But all of those are untrue. People who have hiked 1500 miles will roll their ankle and it will end their hike. Or maybe it’s tendonitis after 1,000 miles, or shin splints, or maybe they miss their significant other, or their kids, or maybe they’re just over this whole hiking thing and want to go home. There is no certainty that you’ll finish your thru hike, and the idea that making it to a certain landmark ensures you’ll finish is false. I will say that people who have a hard deadline, or something pulling them off trail are more likely to quit. If you find yourself thinking whistfully about how much better things will be at home, then you’ll probably be going home soon.

3. Thru hiking is terrible for your posture. Seriously we look like naval gazing question marks. Somebody get me a straight backed chair!

4. I’m pretty sure nobody is getting laid on the trail. Everybody is disgusting, the gender ratio is way skewed towards men, and while I know that pink-blazing* exists, I would encourage those doing the chasing to question if the person they are going after wants to be chased. Even as a couple we rarely have sex outside of town stops. The great outdoors seems like a romantic place, but once you’re four days into a section and smell like beef stew and cat piss that appeal goes out the window. *pink-blazing is the term for when a man (typically) changes his hiking schedule to pursue a woman (again, typically. Trail lingo is pretty hetero-normative).

5. It is possible to transcend mosquito bites. At a certain point you’ll have twenty plus bites on your legs and arms, but you know scratching won’t help so you just accept it.

6. You will not get any stronger on a long thru hike. Not objectively at least. For clarification, I do believe you will become a stronger hiker, and probably emotionally and mentally stronger as well, but muscular strength? Nah. Hiking as much as we are is highly calorically consumptive, and at a certain point you’ll start to mow through your muscle mass. I’ll be interested to see how much my squat and deadlift numbers will have decreased by the end of the trail—I know I certainly feel weaker than I did when I started. Perhaps the only folks who won’t experience a loss of muscle mass are those who were primarily endurance athletes with little to no strength training experience.

7. Stay on your side of the tent! I have one side of the tent I always sleep on. When we divide chores we pick the same ones again and again. Having some constants on the trail really simplifies things. I know I always set up my sleeping bag on the right of the tent, that if I set up the tent Keith will filter water and start to make dinner. This means we don’t have to decide who sleeps where or does what when we arrive in camp. It means that when we are tired and hot we don’t have to make a choice, we can just fall into the habit of the trail and get everything done so we can escape the mosquitos in the tent.

8. It is important to figure out your eating, resting, hiking ratio. You’ll have a better time if you know how you hike and what your needs are. I’ll use my preferences as an example. I’d like to wake at six in the morning, eat breakfast in the tent, pack, poop, and be walking by seven. Keith needs a little more time however, so we’re normally on the trail by 7:30; this is one of the arguments that’s not worth having. About two hours into the day I’m really hungry and take 15-20 minutes to eat a meal I call second breakfast but I’m terms of food is basically lunch. I dunno why I like to cram most of the day’s calories into the morning but there ya have it! Then there are one or two afternoon snacks, camp, dinner, writing, bed. I want short breaks, loosely spaced, I like to hike slowly, and I want to be in camp before 7. Other people want to be hiking at 5am, 20 miles by 2pm, camp by 4pm. Some folks fly down the trail and take a break every hour. Learn how to do you and you’ll hike a better hike.

9. Most PCT hikers have very little sense of adventure when it comes to water sources. Mostly the PCT spoils its hikers with amazing water sources, fast flowing streams and creeks, springs pouring clear and cold straight from the ground, and crystal clear lakes are all par for the course. But some folks will refuse to drink from a stream that’s even a little dirty, and a stagnant pond? No way! But really, y’all got filters, don’t be so worried.

10. I can see how folks fall in love with thru hiking. Very recently my relationship with this hike has changed; becoming more relaxed, in a way less thoughtful or rather, less in my head. I’ve also begun thinking about future long trails I’d like to do and how I’d do them differently than this PCT attempt—so that’s a dangerous sign. Thru hiking is such a privilege of minimalist lifestyle and nature exposure, it’s no wonder folks come back for more.