So there I am, 4am on May 15, 2014: I'm supposed to leave in one hour with my parents, my brother, my girlfriend and my best friend to pick up my hiking partner Andrew from Huntington Beach then head to Campo, and I'm frantically trying to pull my last minute preparations together. Finally the anxiety arrives. After a few what the hell am I getting myself into moments and twenty minutes of searching for my underwear, I finally got the last of my dehydrated meals and snacks into my overstuffed and poorly packed Granite Gear VC 60 and we hit the road. At 6:30. So much for beating the heat. I tried sleeping in the car but my stomach was upset and I was too excited.
It was only at this point that I realized how little time I'd gotten to spend with my loved ones this past week, what with graduation obligations, move-out insanity and questionably last minute gear purchases. I couldn't help feeling a tinge of remorse as we got nearer and nearer to the US-Mexico border, where I'd shed all comforts and conveniences that can't fit on my back. But as we said our goodbyes and took the typical PCT monument photos, I felt overcome by the support these folks have given me and I was damn excited to put the first of over 2600 miles behind me.
...and I can already say that I wouldn't have made it this far without their help!
*I'll be posting an entry for the first 150 miles later today during our Zero Day
It was only at this point that I realized how little time I'd gotten to spend with my loved ones this past week, what with graduation obligations, move-out insanity and questionably last minute gear purchases. I couldn't help feeling a tinge of remorse as we got nearer and nearer to the US-Mexico border, where I'd shed all comforts and conveniences that can't fit on my back. But as we said our goodbyes and took the typical PCT monument photos, I felt overcome by the support these folks have given me and I was damn excited to put the first of over 2600 miles behind me.
...and I can already say that I wouldn't have made it this far without their help!
*I'll be posting an entry for the first 150 miles later today during our Zero Day
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