You might think that leaving society for a few months to go hike 2,650 miles in the woods would be a lonely affair. After all, how could there be that many people out on multi-thousand-mile-long trails? Well, thru-hiking is actually incredibly popular and more and…
Contrary to what social media might make you think, a thru-hike will bring hard days. I had my share of really hard days and days that were mostly good but had some hard moments. It’s difficult to talk about hard days, especially after the trail,…
Like it or not, we are living in the 21st century, and technology has made its way into the world of backpacking. Now, there are tons of technological advances that have happened in backpacking: lighter and stronger gear, more breathable rainwear, etc. I am specifically…
Before I jump into this list, I just want to point out that I felt much safer on trail than I did while living in Seattle. I feel like there’s so many worse ways to die in civilization than out in the wilderness. Maybe that’s…
Money is a huge trail topic. Some people may be surprised that doing a thru-hike and “living in the woods” for 4+ months actually isn’t very cheap. I kept a moderately detailed account of my expenses and was planning on writing this post since the…
Since being back home, I’ve returned to my previous job at REI, working on the clothing floor. So, I’ve been inspired to talk about my clothing system on the PCT, since I seem to do that all day anyways! In this post, I will explain…
One of the most asked questions of thru-hikers from non-hikers is “But how do you carry food for that long?”, “What do you eat?” or some iteration of concern about how we feed ourselves on trail. What most people don’t realize is that these trails…
Thru-hiking is pretty awesome. You get to see beautiful places, eat whatever you want, sleep under the stars every night, breathe fresh mountain air. What more could you ask for? Thru-hiking is great, and it is also incredibly glamorized. It’s not like a regular backpacking…
Overall, my gear list pretty much stayed the same from the beginning until the end of my hike, with only minor changes. Below you will find links to my LighterPack lists for each section of the hike. I’m going to use the same template for…
I’m a nerd, and like statistics. It’s a fun way to organize and look at the hike in a very non-personal way (but also very personal because very few people probably have the same stats as me). I also get asked many questions like “how…
