It’s been quite a while since I posted an update and I’m sure some of you were left wondering why. With today being the 1 year anniversary of the beginning of my Pacific Crest Trail hike I wanted to take the time to explain what exactly happened. This will span across a few posts over the next couple weeks as there is a lot to cover.
In my last post I had made it to Bishop and took the bus to Reno where I said goodbye to my hiking partner Sisse and spent the weekend with the love of my life, Cristina, who I hadn’t seen in months. During our time together I got caught up on all the things happening back home. She found us an awesome place to live and was set to start moving in, couch surviving and a long commute to work had taken it’s toll on her. My mom had her hands full taking care of her partner Lori as his Alzheimer’s continued to progress. Friends and family would get worried when my GPS map wouldn’t update (usually because I decided to take an extra zero day in town). All of this, along with the idea of going back on trail without Sisse really made me think about if I was doing the right thing, not only for me but for my friends and family.
In the week or so before getting to Reno I hit this point where I felt like I had gotten past the physically “hard parts” of the trail. I made it through the desert, done plenty of 20+ mile days, summited Mt. Whitney, crossed snow covered passes in the Sierra. My thinking had shifted from what was ahead of me on the trail to what was ahead of me in life after the trail, what I wanted to do next. In thinking about those things I kind of felt like continuing to hike the trail was just delaying it all. I missed my friends and family, I wanted to move into my new place with Cristina and enjoy part of the summer in Seattle, which are amazing.
So, as I was getting ready to say goodbye to Cristina and head back to Bishop to pick up where I left off, it became clear that it wasn’t the right thing for me to do in that moment. I needed a break and decided to take one. She was a bit shocked when I told her what I was thinking and took the time to help me make sure I wasn’t making a knee jerk decision but I knew that the trail wasn’t going anywhere and that seeing my friends and family was more important. I bought a ticket on Cristina’s flight and we flew home unannounced. It felt a bit strange but I knew I made the right choice and that I wasn’t done with the trial.
to be continued…