PCT 2023

First I wanted to thank everyone for following along! It was such a great boost having a cheer squad from home. I started this mostly for myself to have something to look back on and was pleasantly surprised when I realized family and friends may actually be enjoying this too!

The purpose of this post is to jot down some thing's that I learned from this experience and want to continue with into "real life".

1. I remember on day one feeling so scared and anxious. I called Ian crying. It had finally hit me what I was about to do and I felt like I had made a mistake. After getting out some tears and Ian calming me down I took a deep breath and left the bathroom I hid myself in. I felt a little better but was still scared. That first day of hiking was not fun. I couldnt stop thinking about how much longer I had to go. But eventually day after day that feeling started to wear off. Jump forward to my final day on trail I have never been happier. The journey I took to get there was so beautiful, hard, and memorable. So the moral of this story is if something feels hard and scary, just keep going. Push through the fear, it's going to be worth it when you find yourself on the other side.

2. I can do hard things! I walked from Mexico to Canada!

3. Things will work out. I am such a planner. This trail gave me a chance to slowly let go and see where it takes me. Everything always worked out. And most likely better than it would have if I had planned it all.

4. We don't need much. Having everything on my back that I needed to survive was pretty amazing.

5. Don't do anything that isn't bringing you joy. Being able to hike the pct allowed me to have a very simple life for 5 months. I had never experienced that before, and it was magical. I think that is why people truly get addicted to thru hiking. You can fully disconnect from the real world which allows you to realize what really matters in life. Don't spend time doing things that don't bring you joy. Which brings me to 6...

6. Life is short. Go see things, make memories, make connections, spend time with family and friends. That's what you'll look back on at the end of life.

Everyone on trail talks about how hard life after the trail is. I don't want to call it post trail depression but more like 'post trail loss'. I can feel that loss so strongly. Like I said above, the trail is such a beautifully, simple way to live. Hike, eat, filter water, laugh, talk, hike more, eat more, set up camp, sleep, repeat. And yet you feel so accomplished at the end of each day. More than I did at the end of a long stressful day in 'normal life'. I want to do my best to integrate that simplicity into my life moving forward. Some ways I'm going to try to do that are things like less screen time. I'm deleting social off my phone. Read more books. Cook more. Create a healthier daily routine. Spend more time creating real memories with friends and family. Spend more time outside. Plan (a little) less and just go. Life is too short to spend it staring at screens for 12 hours a day. Thank you all and see you in person soon! 💗Les mer