[Opus]

I suppose it was inevitable really. Once I got serious about hiking nearly ten years ago I had made a long term plan to section hike the Pacific Crest Trail over several years, one state at a time. But then after spending the spring of 2010 on the Appalachian Trail, and hiking the John Muir Trail in the summer of 2011, I made plans to thru-hike the PCT. Granted it has gone back and forth several times between just an idea bumping around in my head and a concrete even over that time. As recently as the first of this year I had called it off. Various family, personal, and emotional reasons, as usual, had convinced me that it wasn’t time. But then various other family, personal, and emotional reasons snapped me back. I finally decided in mid January I was really going. I know there are several on this board who have finished at least one thru-hike, including two that I ran into while hiking the JMT last year! Hopefully I will have as much success as they did. It is certainly shaping up to be an easier year for overall conditions. Right now parts of California are as low as 20% of their normal snow pack. Last year, on this same date, those areas were well above normal! This should hopefully make passage through the Sierras easier, though it will make for less frequent water sources. Now I just have to hope all this Washington snow doesn’t stick around too long. I started this thread so I can drop in occasional updates on my progress, the same way I did for the Appalachian Trail in 2010. I will have much less contact for this trip but will try to send short updates and a photo or two when possible. I have a Spot Connect tracker for brief messages and an Android phone for web access (Sprint, will probably not have much coverage). But when I am in towns for longer stretches I plan to look for computer access. I have spent the last year or so getting my pack lighter, getting more comfortable with extended trips, and learning what to expect mentally from being out in the woods for so long. My gear is all selected and ready to go. Food has been purchased and packed up, ready to mail out to locations where I can’t buy in town. I plan to use a mixture of mailed food-drops and buying as I go. It worked out to about half mailed, half purchased, for the towns I plan to visit. But in either case the procedure for getting more supplies is the same: hike out of the woods to a road crossing, put on a big smile, hitchhike into a town and hope the driver doesn’t mind the smell! What about stuff back home? My brother will be moving into my apartment while I’m gone. I’m subsidizing his rent to keep my stuff there and leave my car in the garage. As for my job, I am taking an unpaid leave. Because of saved vacation hours I will thankfully have health insurance over the whole trip should any accident occur (knock on wood). Hopefully I will have a position when I return! And my contact back home will be Lindsey, who I owe a huge debt of gratitude to for taking on this project! She will mail my food drops when I near towns, receive stuff I send back, and help me out from a distance. My departure date is Wednesday April 18th. I fly to San Diego and am staying the first night with some other hikers at the home of a pair of 2007 thru hikers, Frodo and Scout, who have opened their home up as trail angels every year since then. For those who don’t follow PCT lingo, a trail angel is anyone who does something to help a thru-hiker out without expecting something in return. Awesomely generous people. Early in the morning of the 19th they will take us to the southern terminus of the trail just outside Campo, CA, on the Mexican border. And then it’s just 2600 miles north to home!

[Barefoot Jake]

Fun Vid Bro.

[SeanSullivan86]

Best of luck !

[Sadie's Driver]

LOVE the Video!!!!! Do you have a dirty clothes bag? Be Sure and Join Us THURSDAY, APRIL 12 @ Tutta Bella (4411 Stone Way North) @ 6:30 - ?? PM to send David off on his BIG adventure! SPRING SOCIAL - THURSDAY, APRIL 11 - 6:30 PM

[ragman and rodman]

Excellent video... you are ready to go!!

[Backpacker Joe]

Kind of short notice! Good luck David. Be safe and keep in touch.

[Ingunn]

Awesome video! I'm really looking forward to reading your updates, the PCT is a dream of mine as well. Have an epic, amazing, fantabulous adventure!

[Karen²]

Ha ha! That was awesome! I love the sleeping pad rolling up and stuffing in. It takes long enough to pack a pack for such a trip to begin with, I can't imagine how long it took you to do while taking so many stills! Wishing you luck on your great adventure, take care, I look foward to following your progress updates.

[Backpacker Joe]

Great video. MAN, lots of work though. LOL.

[BarbE]

[mbtigger]

Be safe out there! Enjoy your trip!

[Opus]

[chèvre]

Also, staying with Frodo/Scout on the 24th. Speak well of me.

[mtngrl]

What a fun video! I'm eager to follow your progress. Best of luck!

[Hikingqueen]

Excellent video, what an adventure! I'm sure it will be incredible.