I’m going to address 3 questions here:

Why am I doing a thru-hike?

Why did I choose the PCT?

Why am I doing this now?

Why a thru-hike?

We live in a world where comfort and ease are more abundant than ever before. Now, I’m not saying this is a bad thing—by all accounts, the modern era is the best time to be alive in human history. I love living a life where I can drive to Taco Bell basically whenever I want and quench my thirst with Baja Blast.

But there’s something about the challenge—the grit, the struggle—that makes life worth living. A surplus of comfort can desensitize us to that. I’m counting on the PCT to be a shock to my system.

Why the PCT?

I grew up in North Carolina. To the extent that thru-hiking was on my mind (it wasn’t), the Appalachian Trail dwarfed all other options. Before moving to Utah for college, my only backpacking experience had been two short section hikes on the AT.

But everything changed with my first visit to Yosemite in 2019. Leaving immediately after finishing our finals and arriving at the peak of snowmelt, we were greeted by thundering waterfalls, green meadows, and soaring granite cliffs—it was love at first sight.

Yosemite is my favorite place on earth, and the Sierra Nevada is my favorite mountain range. After twice losing the nearly-impossible JMT lottery, I scooped up a cancellation and got my first taste of thru-hiking. When I summited Whitney and still wanted more, I knew the PCT was next.

Atop Selden Pass on my 2022 JMT thru-hike.

Why now?

Two years ago, I was finishing my MA in Classics at the University of Arizona. Despite what I and my professors felt was a competitive application, I received a disappointing series of admission decisions from PhD programs. I managed to find a good job and make do, but ever since then, I’ve felt like I’ve been on autopilot. My long term goals and plans were put on hold, and I didn’t feel like I was working towards anything.

MA graduation in 2023

This spring, I’ve received offers from some of my top-choice doctoral programs. I’m quitting my job. I’m ready to pursue my career goals again.

But first, it’s time to tackle another goal of mine. The PCT offers me a chance to take firm control of my life again—paradoxically by letting go. Backpacking is an inherently vulnerable activity, one in which you willingly abandon the safety and comforts of society and place yourself at the mercy of the elements. But the reward for this vulnerability is complete and total independence.

2,650 miles of trail offers me a chance to shake off some bad habits and to form a few new ones in their place.

Until next time,

switchbackjack