Preparations, mindfullness and 15 days to start

With my start date getting closer, I wanted to write a post about my preparations for my hike on the PCT. I also wanted to write about gear. But preparations is not just gear, it is so many other things both mentally and physically. This year has taught me a lot about all of those things.

It all began with the decision

I decided to hike the PCT sitting in my veranda with a friend in May 2016. I think my subconciousness had already decided long ago, I just didn’t realize until that moment. Bam! Of course that is what I needed to do. But would I manage to pull it off? With all my responsibilities? My farm, three kids? I believed so. I believed everything was possible. And it was! Everything fell in place in such a short time, it must have been meant to be; a dream was to become true and I could start to plan. It felt surreal.

Preparing

So started a period of reading all I could find about the trail and people who had hiked it and written about it. I fell in love with Carrot Quinn and her book; “Thruhiking will break your heart”. I read “Hikertrash” and listened to podcasts with Carrot and Zach Davis on Real Talk radio. The documentary “Do more with less”made me tremendously inspired. I read gear reviews, went to REI and slowly built up a collection of gear I wanted to use. My loaded pack became my hikerbuddy from early on together with my two dogs. The quest for shoes ended with Altra Lone Peaks 3.0 that has turned out to be the shoes from my dreams. Words cannot describe my love for those shoes!

So then gear in place and the plank for 100 days am I ready.. or..?

Mental preparation

How to cope with blisters, exhaustion and missing loved ones… How to cope with maybe wet shoes and clothes day after day? Hikerhunger and never ending miles.. In believing. In believing that I will make it. And the love for nature. My never ending love for nature and hiking. The excitement of meeting like-minded people on the trail. That I am a sucker for a bit of suffering. A secret dream of being a female badass. My meditation practice has played an important role in finding my inner center and peace of mind. It is such great tool to find deep rest and recovery if needed on trail and you just have a few minutes.

Now just 15 days away from actually hiking my first steps on the trail I feel ready. I sat in a peaceful moment on the terrace today making a dreamcatcher thinking; this is also preparing – the most important preparation. Not running around in the forest with a heavy backpack or buying gear or stretching calves and doing the plank. No, the most important preparation is this; to just sit and be completely quiet and still in the mind and just focus. Focus on believing that I will make it and to find rest in that feeling. That’s it. See you out there.