Why Hike?

I think one of the best pieces of advice I received early on in this hike was from a fellow hiker and AT alum, Lightweight. He cautioned me that if you want to make it all the way to Canada it is important to have more than one reason to be out here. It isn't hard for a single motivating factor to turn sour after 2,000 miles, and you should not depend on one single purpose, but instead have multiple factors for why you are out on the trail. I have never really ran into a time yet where I debated why I was out here or thought about getting off trail, but I know of quite a few hikers who left because they simply weren't feeling it anymore. There also really isn't ever a simple answer to this question and most of us thru-hikers are unable to really put it into words. However, I have been thinking a bit about this as I continue to be asked by people I meet along the way and hope to shed some light on some of the incentives I have to be out here on trail. Also, please forgive me if this post gets a little too serious; you should never take anything too seriously about the trail. I just think the reasons why to hike is something a lot of people wonder about the trail, and I want to try my best to explain it.

To Hike All the Way from Mexico to Canada

You would think that this would be an obvious motivation, but as I have said before you must hike your own hike, so everyone interprets this differently. For me, I want to have a continuous set of footprints from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, and if I have to or choose to get off the PCT for bits and pieces here and there, it's okay. Other people are fine with getting a hitch to skip some of the reroutes or skipping little sections when they go in and out of town, but you'd be pretty crazy to call them out on that for missing 10 of the 2,660 miles of trail. For me, this is one of the primary reasons why I'm out here because it serves as a tangible goal for me to achieve while getting to experience everything else along the way. I will be really glad when I can say, "well you know I once hiked all the way from the Mexico to Canada on the PCT" but its surprising how this really is just one small motivating factor that helps bring all these other reasons together.

How I show this on the trail
- Don't skip any sections of trail and stubbornly take the same trails into town as I do out of town (though not always)
- Never grab a ride through a reroute as tempting as it may be
- Just keep hiking because I'll get there someday

To Feel the Burn / Physical Challenge

Call me crazy but I think one of the big motivating factors for me to be out here is that I like being active and getting to push myself all day long up the mountains and through the valleys. Backpacking gives you such a sense of accomplishment to go to bed and think back to the 20 miles you just passed through since you woke up that morning. You often can't even see the same mountains (unless it's Mt. Shasta which I think I stared at for an entire month as the PCT wrapped around it). I really enjoy living an active lifestyle, and this is as active as you can get. However, it certainly isn't the type of workout to tone your body because unless women are attracted to overly skinny, dirty, bearded men with no upper-body whatsoever I probably don't have a shot.

How I show this on the trail
- Keep on truckin the whole day long even when it hurts
- Enjoying that amazing feeling when you finally take your pack off and sit down at the end of the day when your muscles just feel so happy to finally be done
- Fight through any blisters or other minor pains

To Push Yourself to the Limits

Slightly different than the ideal of the physical challenge is the opportunity to test your limits on the trail. There are some days I am out here where I am just excited to see how quickly I can climb up a mountain with a full pack, how many miles I can hike in a single day, or how long of a stretch I can manage without needing a water source to fill up at. For the record breaking hikers, this is their primary driver and can push some guys (and gals) to hike 40+ mile day after day. So far my biggest day is still 36 miles, and I don't really enjoy doing more than  four 30+ miles days in a row, but I find it pretty cool that I have experienced that. Then, of course, there are the mental limits that I am constantly pushing like how many days can I go without a shower, without a hamburger, etc. Its pretty awesome to see what you are capable of achieving when you are out here away from it all and that is definitely one of the reasons I love the trail so much. Every day can be made into its own challenge if you want to.

How I show this on the trail
- Often make stupid decisions to hike big miles just for the sake of doing big miles
- Night hike to put on the miles even when I don't like night hiking
- Pushing myself to see how long I can go without a break
- Making small little challenges each day like the 10 by 10 where you hike 10 miles before 10 AM

Escape from the "Real World"

This is certainly one of the reasons many thru-hikers will recite. Who wouldn't want to get away from the stressful working world? While I have been fortunate to have had internships that I actually did enjoy, walking around the forest and up mountains all day is clearly better than sitting in an office at a computer all day. Moreover, the cool thing about the trail is there also aren't the typical societal norms I'm used to, and I am free to be myself out here in the woods. I don't have a schedule I need to stick to, and if I feel like spending the whole afternoon at a beautiful creek or take an extra day off in town, I can (although everyone out here is confined by the ever dwindling bank account). We know the bills will eventually need to be paid and this isn't a sustainable lifestyle (although I have met quite a few people who have found ways to make it one) but most of us have already taken care of that when we planned and budgeted for the trip. Now we don't have to worry about those concerns and just live out here on the trail doing as we please.

How I show this on the trail
- Try my hardest not to start thinking about what I will be doing after this trip and just enjoy ever second out here while I can
- Keep telling myself "I'll figure that out in October"
- Stick within my budget and not feel guilty about spoiling myself a bit here and there when I go into town

Meet Fun Exciting New Characters

As you can hopefully tell from some of my previous post, I am meeting some amazing people out here whose paths I likely would have never crossed. I have come to realize that when I was growing up in suburban Ohio, I tended to become familiar with a certain type of lifestyle. Then, when I went off to college I was exposed to many new different backgrounds and upbringing, but we all still had the common bond of being motivated students coming to college and trying to make something of ourselves in the future. The PCT has been a totally new experience for me because I've met people from all walks of live at so many different  places on life's journey and really the only common bond we all share is that we are all crazy enough to come out and hike the PCT. I am just so fascinated hearing where people came from, how they got to where they are today and am amazed how different they are from me yet I still can find so many ways to relate to them. I think the PCT has certainly been an eye opening experience for me and introduced me to so many people and lifestyles I would have never encountered otherwise.

How I show this on the trail
- Always be friendly and take the time to chat with all the other thru hikers on the trail
- Sometimes adjust my pace or schedule slightly so I can hang out with different hikers for a couple of days
- Get to know people and listen to all their stories they have to share
- Introduce myself to any 'hiker trash' I see on trail or in town (we are pretty easy to spot when you know what you are looking for)

Enjoy Nature / Take in the View

Being an environmentalist, this reason was certainly at the top of my list. There are so many parks and areas the PCT crosses like Kings Canyon and North Cascades that I have always dreamed of visiting. A person really cannot know how wonderful it is to be able to wake up and spend the morning hiking a ridgeline or relax and take a nice afternoon break sunning out on some rocks watching crystal clear water running down a creek until you get out here. I have seen a good amount of wildlife and am currently up to spotting 4 bears which certainly exceeded my expectations. However, its important to realize that I can't always just count on the great sights alone to get me through the trail because there have been times when I just wasn't feeling the views even if I was passing by day hikers who are wide-eye admiring the beautiful wildflowers all around. Sometimes, I do have to remind myself to appreciate the simpler things around me and its amazing how all it takes is a little focusing in and you can find so much  beauty even in the harshest and barest of scenery. I sometimes am worried I am getting too much of a good thing out here and have been spoiled by some of the breath-taking panoramas of the high Sierra but each day I find some new impressive sight to see and am reminded why I'm out here.


How I show this on the trail
- Sometimes all it takes is a little time to stop pause and take it all in
- Finding the beauty even in some of the burnt out sections of trail or hot exposed areas
- Looking at the finer details all around when I stop for a break

Be Alone with Your Thoughts / Soul Searching

This is another reason why I'm out here but always a hard one to recognize. So many times I am out there hiking alone and sometimes I almost feel obligated to try to think about some of those thought provoking questions like "what is my purpose in life?" To be honest, I've never been much of a philosopher, but its amazing to see when your mind can wander at times. It certainly has been an enriching experience to be on a solo hike really just spending entire days in your own head with your thoughts. I think this is part of what intrigued me to thru-hiking in the first place after trying some week long solo hikes and enjoying the freedom of being alone out in the woods. Not only that, but through chatting with other thru hikers you get exposed to some the questions they have been trying to figure out in their life as well. While I can't necessarily put it into words, I do feel much more confident now in knowing who I am and what I want, and I actually am very excited in some ways to get back to the "real world" and change things up a bit.

How I show this on the trail
- Let my mind wander from stupid questions, to singing random song lyrics, to thinking about my future hopes and dreams
- Sometimes break away from a pack of hikers for a day or so to allow myself to just digest my latest experiences out here on the trail

Live in the Moment / Appreciate the Present

One of my goals for the trail was to stop trying to plan out my next 5 years and always thinking about whats to come, or dwelling on past memories and to just be able to enjoy the present. I have been so impressed with my ability to let go of my worries about what I will be doing next and just appreciate the time I have now on trail. I feel like I have come a long way since I started this journey and want to be able to keep living in the moment instead of trying to get all my excitement and joy out of future plans and hopes. To be fair, it is pretty easy when I am are out on vacation traveling through beautiful scenery but clearly its not all fun and games on the trail. This also is about not having a set plan as well. I knew that hikers needed to have a general gameplan for the PCT but all of the greatest moments have been the trail magic you didn't see coming, the awesome side trip you took to a waterfall or up a mountain or your extra night in town. I have definitely pushed myself out of my comfort zone of not knowing every detail of how I will get from point A to point B and have been amazed how I can still get there all the same.


How I show this on the trail
- Stop dwelling on my thoughts and worries and just remind myself to take in everything around me
- Allow myself to be spontaneous and not have to have everything planned out

To See the West / See the Sights

I've been surprised how many international hikers I have met. There have been people from Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan, France, Czech Republic, and even Israel out here on the trail. Then there are also a good number of Americans from the South or the East coast who have never been out west before. Part of my reason to hike the PCT also stems from this idea of going out and exploring the west because beyond Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Mt Rainier I haven't seen much of this area. This trip is certainly giving me an idea of where I might want to settle down and figure out which of these areas I may want to have within my backyard. For other people part of hiking the PCT also involved going on side trips out to LA, Vegas, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. Even I am planning to stop off and visit Portland because I've heard so many great things and really want to check out the city for myself. Like using the scenery as one of your motivating factors coming out here just to see certain cities or national parks won't get you through the trip because there are much easier ways (AKA driving) to get from Yosemite to Crater Lake to Seattle. However, I am excited now that I will have sampled so many awesome hiking areas out here and am already thinking up weekend or week long trip I may want to go on in the future to explore some of the regions out here even further.

How I show this on the trail
- Take the time to go out of my way and check out some of the towns along the way
- Put in the extra miles here and there to see the sights

To Be Outdoors

Again this may be one of the more obvious reasons to hike the PCT but it is true that us thru-hikers love being out in the woods and away from TVs, computers and AC (although we often may crave these luxuries at the end of a 6 day section when we get into town). I can't think of anything better than being able to sleep out under the stars every night in my hammock and not be cooped up in a house or office. There also is just something about getting dirty and then scrubbing the filth off in ice cold, mountain fresh streams that simply will never compare to anything you experience back home. Spending all my time outdoors is one thing I think I take for granted after spending just about 4 months out in the woods. It will certainly be one of the hardest adjustments to make back home getting used to spending so much time indoors. Plus its even better spending all this time outdoors when you have as great of weather as we have out on the trail this year.

How I show this on the trail
- Avoid going into towns or staying in motels and spend more time out on the trail
- Slow down or take zeros on trail (which sadly I don't do enough of)
- Pick the sweet, juicy berries out on the trail and enjoy the soft pine needle beds
- Enjoy the times I get to clean off in the lakes and streams