Day Zero!

Hello from sunny San Diego! We are less than 12 hours from hitting the trail!

It’s so incredible and almost still a little unbelievable to me that we start our thru hike tomorrow. For years, I have read books and watched movies and documentaries about people hiking the PCT or Appalachian Trail and been inspired by the trail life and adventures of the hikers.

Shawn and I have both had a keen interest in doing a thru hike, but never really knew if and when we’d make it happen. Then last February, while hiking in New Zealand through stunning mountain scenery and Super Mario Brothers-esque mushrooms 🍄, the idea was born to do the hike the next year – in 2018. And here we are. In 2018.

A little over a year from that day, we escaped the snow of Iowa and sit in sunny SoCal. After getting dumped on with snow in Iowa several times over the last couple weeks, we were actually fortunate to scoot out of town right between two winter storms, as the area braces for more snow tonight.

While I boarded the plane in hiking shoes and a hippie trucker hat, the couple sitting next to me on our first flight was dressed in summery shorts and flip-flops, heading to Cancun to stay at an all inclusive resort and lay on the beach all week. Soon they will have fruity umbrella drinks in their hands. Some people make better life choices than me.

I kid though, we are both super stoked to hit the trail. I’ve even had some moments of butterflies … but the good kind – 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it’s more… it could be… it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that’s what makes it so intense, it’s so confused! Ha, but no, really it’s mostly excited. (Also, no, this probably won’t be the last time I quote Armageddon in this blog).

I love hiking and I’m looking forward to everything the trail will offer: stunning scenery, new friendships, everything Mother Nature can throw at us, and likely a lot of blisters. Ok, so I’m not excited about all of that, but in general, through ups and downs (literally), I think it’s going to be amazing.

Arriving in San Diego, we were picked up by trail angel Jan. Trail angels are people that donate their time, resources, and/or knowledge to help hikers. Some leave water caches along hot sections of the trail, others offer hitches into town, some open their homes to hikers for lodging, showers, or maybe even meals. And there are a myriad of other ways that trail angels help out.

When we locked in our PCT permit start date as April 18, we booked the night before our start with Scout and Frodo, long time trail angels in the San Diego area that open up their home to hikers each night, providing a night of accommodation before your hike, as well as a hot dinner and breakfast the morning you set out.

Along with a number of other services, they also arrange rides to pick you up from the airport when you arrive in San Diego and take you to the trail the following morning. All in all, they take the worry and confusion out of your arrival in San Diego and transport to the trail and make your night before the big journey a wonderful experience.

And so, trail angel Jan picked us up when we arrived at the airport, along with one other hiker. Eight separate pickups of 28 hikers were arranged at the airport and Amtrak station just for today, highlighting the logistical work Scout and Frodo take up to arrange for trail angels to provide rides, in addition to everything else they do.

Setting up large tents in their backyard as well as other spaces, they host large groups of hikers each night from late March to mid May, and there are around 40 here tonight. They also stock their garage with mailing supplies, arrange daily trips to a local outfitter, and sell some of the things that hikers aren’t allowed to carry on the plane, like fuel canisters.

The work they go to, all without accepting even the smallest donation, is truly remarkable and they are a well known and loved institution of the PCT experience.

Arriving at their place, we got a tour and explanation of the schedule for dinner, breakfast and morning departure. After finding space in one of the large tents and arranging our gear, we spent the afternoon chatting with other hikers. Some – like Applejack and Hoosier Daddy (trail names, which I’ll explain in another post), have already hiked some sections of the trail, but most of the hikers here are new to the trail.

There are hikers here from all over the US and all over the world – Australia, Germany, England, Israel, New Zealand, and several other countries. The diversity of the hiker community just at this one trail angel house is staggering.

After a delicious dinner, provided by yet more trail angels, Scout and Frodo went over some trail practicalities and also shared some of their stories with us. Amazing trail ambassadors, we are thankful to them for such a wonderful trail send off.

Tomorrow we hit the trail!!