I got a PCT permit!
“Why can’t you just enjoy a normal vacation?”
I’ll be backpacking from Cascade Locks (close to the Portland, Oregon airport) up to the Canadian border, hitting 518 miles of trail. Although through-hiking 400+ miles isn’t my first rodeo, my mental game is weaker not having fully recovered from a sprained ankle and not having trained as much with all the excitement at work.
“Do you even love me?”
The hazards on the Colorado Trail such as lightning and some snow post-holing were easier to manage whereas the WA-PCT has longer stretches before re-supply areas, more wildfire risk (and poorer air quality), and more sketchy river crossings. And harder hitches.
