Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH)

I had heard this motto as I was planning my trip and you can’t really comprehend its significance until you get on the trail or have done a thru-hike in the past. The PCT is one trail, well-marked with a defined route (despite some minor, ahem 20 mile, detours) but there are thousands of different ways to hike it. I think the most interesting thing is how someone’s hike evolves as they go. My notion of what I want to get out of my hike has already changed from when I started. It will continue to change as well because there may be a section where “my hike” is pulling big 30+ mile days by myself then another section where “my hike” becomes walking with a fun group of people and going with that group’s style for a bit because that is what I want my hike to be at that time. I also know that one of my worst experiences on the trail was when I wasn’t hiking my own hike. Karl, Sheppard, and I set the goal of hiking an extra 12-miles at night in the snow which none of us really want to do or were comfortable doing and we all dealt with the consequences. The most important thing thru-hikers must understand is there is no right and wrong way to make it to Canada on the PCT (well, sure there may be many wrong ways like starting forest  fires, eroding land off the trail, and leaving a significant trace, but you know what I mean). Everyone has their own hike, and it’s been interesting for me to both understand and accept, as well as sometimes even embrace some of these different thru-hiking styles that are far different from my original conception of a thru-hike.

Color Guard

As a whole, I have found most all PCT hikers embrace the concept of HYOH. However, I have heard from an AT veteran, Lightweight, hikers on the AT can be a bit more strict (probably due to the larger volume of hikers; I believe it can be up to as five times as many hikers as on the PCT; as well as closer interactions through shelters and registries, and hikers have come up with different ways to define hiking styles). Some of them won’t even call you a thru-hiker until you complete the whole trail (I call myself a thru-hiker because my PCT permit is good for anyone hiking more than 500 miles and I just reached mile 558 to get to Mojave). Here are the different types of blazers, named after the thousands of blazes or markers we follow on the trail:

White Blazer

A white blazer is what many could call a purest, someone who hikes every foot of the trail and doesn’t skip a beat. This is reserved for the most stubborn hikers and those who feel in order to officially complete the trail, you can’t miss even the smallest section. These thru-hikers typically are the ones trying to set records on the trail or get the Tripple Crown (AT, PCT, and CDT-Continental Divide Trail). I thought I would be a white blazer but took a side trail outside of Idyllwild to climb alternatives to the PCT up ahead that I don’t want to miss so I may not be a purist but at least I’ll be loving the trail.

Blue Blazer

A blue blazer hikes a continuous line all the way from Mexico to Canada but will stop off the PCT from times either to get into town and take another side trail back or taking alternative routes as I did. I consider myself a light blue (or maybe periwinkle?) blazer since my attitude has become that I can step off the PCT but only if the alternative route is more miles or harder than the no-shortcut PCT and has more worthwhile views. That way I can maintain the stubbornness for a purist without missing cool things along the way.

Yellow Blazer

A yellow blazer hikes the trail but also with a hitchhike or grabs a ride and does not do a continuous hike. It took me a while to name it but it’s named after the yellow hashes in the road. I’ve been surprised how many of my fellow hikers have yellow blazed a bit here and there but I am more surprised  for how many reasons it can be an important and necessary way to complete a thru-hike. While I don’t personally think I would allow myself to yellow blaze, I’m surprised how I’ve accepted the fact that some people need to do this at times and it doesn’t keep them from being a thru-hiker. Many early season hikers were forced to yellow blaze past the snow in the San Jacinto Mountains. Many hikers get terrible blisters or injuries and may have to skip over a small section so they can continue to hike with their partner or group. Some also just don’t have the time to make the full 2,660 miles so may cut out some of the bad parts but I’d be hard pressed to say someone who only hiked 2,500 miles is not a PCT thu-hiker. I have realized that this experience is not about walking every foot of the trail but everything along the way (although I have met some hikers who think the former). To note: hitchhiking into town doesn’t constitute yellow blazing because you can return right where you left but some purists who treat to break the records wouldn’t’ even allow this. My favorites are some of the other types of blazers that Lightweight told me about:

Disco Blazer

A disco blazer is someone who only hikes the old routes of the trail. Many sections have moved over time so some of the old-timers have different options on where the trail goes especially on the AT.

Green Blazer

A green blazer is someone who misses a small section of the trail when they go off into the woods to smoke up and come back to a later section of the trail.

Brown Blazer

A brown blazer is my favorite so I saved it for last. A brown blazer is someone who goes off the trail to take a crap and returns to the trail slightly further down (similar to a green blaze). I take extra care to ensure I’m not a brown blazer.

Another thing I’ve also learned from my fellow hiker Freestyle, is that a lot of your hike and the PCT experience is the stuff that happens off the trail. Resupply towns and trail angel homes are some of the few times you experience the larger PCT community and they have many fun attractions of their own. I’ve heard of hikers who’ve taken days off to go ski at Mammoth or even rent a car and hit up Las Vegas. While I don’t have any of those excursions in mind, it is amazing how much spur-of-the-moment types of decisions can make so much of the thru-hiking experience.

Multi versus Solo Hiking

I love all of my friends and family but I couldn’t imagine trying to pull off a hike with any of them. Everyone has their own preferences for when to start, how fast to go, how many breaks to take, when to turn in and when to resupply that I couldn’t imagine trying to coordinate my whole trip with someone. I am amazed by all the couples, friends, and groups who are doing this but it’s really tough when they do have to break off. My strategy has been to hike with someone from one resupply to another. I may modify my style slightly and them as well so we can hike together, and it if doesn’t work out, you naturally break apart, but if it does, you have someone you can get to know a bit better until you break off. I’ve seen this is this way groups can form as well as were many people may adjust a bit to  hike together and eventually the group’s decisions become the norm, but people may still choose to break off as they wish. I’ve hiked alongside some groups but think ultimately I enjoy the freedom and flexibility for solo hiking with a healthy dose of hiking with others along the way.

Vertices

Another with off trail fun, I have yet to get stuck in a vortex. This happens when the hostel you are staying or trail angel’s home is too much fun you can’t leave, while for many people, it may be staying 2 nights. I have met some people who have stayed quite a few days. There was a rumor of one girl who went by the name of Sex Panther who stayed in Big Bear for 4 weeks. Some people actually never leave and end up moving to that town. I have yet to get stuck in a vortex (but I almost did at the wonderful Casa de Luna), and I don’t think that is my style, but I’ve found this to be an interesting trail phenomenon.

As my entry shows, there are many ways to hike the PCT which is far different from how I viewed the trail before leaving. While the trail follows a line on a map, it is the hiker who defines what those boundaries truly are. I have found that the best way to hike this is to leave those boundaries flexible and adaptable which can make the experience both more bearable and more rewarding. I will continue to hike my own hike and am excited to find out exactly what that may be.