Paradise On The Ground

DAY 44 & DAY 45 - Ashland to Etna to Campsite 1714km & campsite 1754.2km Driving in cars with the boys It's so great to be back on trail. Things just feel right out here. Simple. Complicated in other ways. It really puts in to perspective how stupidly crazy stressful we make our lives in city living. We all really need to slow the bloody hell down!!

DAY 19 - Snoqualmie Pass to Twilight Lake Girl, put your records on. I had a zero day in Snoqualmie, but ideally hit back on the trail today doing roughly 16kms. I left Snoqualmie around 3pm and arrived at camp around 7.20pm. Snoqualimie Pass is another gorgeous slice of America. I fall more and more in love with these towns and these incredible houses. It astounds me how much real estate in other countries really floats my boat. 

DAY 14 - Skykomish to tensite 308.9 km Like a good book Almost a Nero day... nearly a zero. Leaving town is hard. Damn hard. You wake up to a deflated ego. Your dream day yesterday is a distant memory, and that ruck sack sitting by the door needs to be repacked and thrown back on your shoulders and hips to attempt to hike another 3975km to Mexico!

ZERO DAY - Skykomish Ideally an uneventful day. That's what I wanted. I awoke around 8:30 (strangely the body tried 5:30, I told it to grow up and go back to sleep). Started the day with essential laundry. Keyword ESSENTIAL. Along with the beloved shower, laundromat is a hikers best friend. Get yo ass quickly to that part of town and start washing! Do not skip the detergent.

DAY 13 - Peach lake campsite to Skykomish Like sleeping with the lights on Town day. You know when you have something really exciting or important on tomorrow and for some reason your body is so happy to keep you awake or restless? It's almost as if you are attempting to shut eye with every light in the room left on. That's what hiking 'town day' feels like!! It's the best and worst mental state to begin your day at! Haha! Town day is the final day of the last stretch, which means you will be in a town by the end of the day to pick up your resupply. (AND SHOWER!! SOAP!! SHAMPOO!!)

After 3 hours sleep, I made it to the airport not feeling anywhere near as worried as I was last night. I am exhausted, but that's my own fault. Aside from a severe difficulty to sleep on planes, the fault lies in me for packing my backpack at the last minute (you'd think after all these years of touring, I'd be able to pack a suitcase at least a few days prior to departure)! I know why I procrastinate with packing. I never procrastinate on anything else in life. I make fast decisions (like this GREAT idea of hiking the PCT) and I am generally a good go-to option/opinion for those who require help in making decisions. Just ask Jack Chambers! Haha

Pacific Crest Trail What? Where? When? Why? I can hear the questions already. Why not? I believe everything happens for a reason and sometimes things don't require an explanation right now. The PCT calls for different reasons for each individual. I like a challenge. I love the outdoors. I love to travel. I love to explore. And more than anything, I'm on a new journey. This is just an extreme start.

Sometimes bodies just don't. They don't do what they are supposed to. They don't love you no matter how good you are to it. They don't respond the way they should. My health has been on a decline for some time now and after seeking even higher professional testing (with doctor number 6) and a long, long journey of struggle for 2 years, I have been finally been given a diagnosis. I'm not going into detail because this blog is not about that. So after making some incredibly difficult career and medical decisions, I have decided to take the next 6-12 months to allow my body to fully recuperate and get myself back to good health.

Tomorrow is a whole new adventure. New people. New explorations. New beginnings. It's strange how excited I have been for this step, yet I sit here typing this with trepidation. This last week has been chaotic, which has definitely helped with time flying; but as the hours now slowly pass until my flight out, I feel a little flighty - no pun. A little butterfly-like. I know this will ignite a sense of discovery in myself and come the end of the adventure, I will know more about myself then I have before. And that's the point, right? "Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better." A quote for the road... Thanks Einstein. Nature. They say it's cheaper than therapy. I grew up surrounded by it; let's go back to it. See you on the flip side. Gx