Now that you have the “what,” many have asked “why?”. Why leave behind all the creature comforts of modern civilization to live in a tent and carry 30 pounds of gear for 20 miles a day? At this point, many thousands of people have completed a thru hike of one, or more, of the three major national scenic trails in the U.S (PCT, CDT, & AT). I’m sure they would all give you a different answer when asked, “Why?”. For me, three major reasons drove me to make this decision – YOLO, youth, and the climate crisis.
In the 2010s, you probably heard “YOLO” at least once a day around a college campus. YOLO stands for “you only live once.” An acronym typically relegated to the foolhardy that was shouted before doing something stupid, cause YOLO! Really just a millennial rebranding of “hold my beer.” Despite its connotation, I think most folks generally overlook the cliché, yet obvious meaning of YOLO. You only live once, so why NOT do something out of the ordinary? You only live once, so why spend the best years of your life chasing career advancement when there’s an entire planet out there to be seen? I could go on… I was curious about how to visualize a year off work, so I made this graphic:
This is my life, past, present, and future. The gold color represents time I was/will be free to do what I want. Taking 2022 off looks pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, especially considering I will probably be working for another 30-ish years. So yeah, YOLO!
Why now? Other than my current situation with no debt, no kids, and plenty of savings, I’ve realized my youth is quickly fading into the past. Each year goes by with so many plans and dreams that do not come to fruition, and the years only seem to pass faster and faster. I hope it doesn’t come as a surprise that spending about half of my waking hours in a cubicle is not my idea of a life well lived. Several of my co-workers, closer to typical retirement age than I, expressed regrets for not doing something similar when they were younger. Hearing this was very reassuring!
Why the PCT? When I announced I was quitting, most people assumed I had found another job. Surprise typically set in when I smugly told people I was “going for a long walk.” Maggie was initially inspired to hike the Appalachian trail after visiting several sections around New England. The thought of linking these distant places by way of a single trail was simply too enticing. For the both of us, pursuing the PCT, is all about the adventure. The variety of landscapes on the PCT, from desert to alpine peaks, temperate rain forest to glaciated volcanoes, this excites us. And to see it all on foot, human powered, makes the experience well earned. Being my first attempted thru hike, I’m trying my best to set realistic expectations, because I know every day is not going to be sunshine and rainbows. Hiking 2,600 miles will be hard. It will be cold and wet, hot and dry, and it comes with significant risk, but I believe it will be worth it.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the planet is going through unprecedented climate change driven by human activity. I’m as much a part of the problem as you, but until we have meaningful policy change, we (humans around the world) will continue to march towards a cliff that could be the end of civilization as we know it. I’m sorry for being so grim, but that is a fact. This plays into my decisions because I’m not so sure there will be a beautiful long trail like the PCT in 30-40 years when I truly retire. I feel a sense of urgency to experience the natural world we have before it becomes unrecognizable.
So here we are on the precipice of adventure, with a short life to live, convincing ourselves we aren’t crazy 🙂
Distance Over Time 