Introducing Yet Another PCT Thru-hiker Wanna-be

Hello Trek world! My name is Josh Zupan, also known as just “Josh”, or occasionally “Zupan”, or sometimes “Bug” if we’re tight. I’ll be taking on the PCT going North-bound, starting in late March. I have not been blessed with the christening of a proper trail name as I’m not an experienced thru-hiker (yet). Will be accepting applications soon. 

I set out to blog for The Trek as a way to keep my loved ones in the loop and to have a sort of journal that I can look back on for years to come. For family and friends reading this, you already know everything in this post so go on and skip ahead. For you poor souls who wound up here and don’t know me, hi. This is my story as it relates to hiking, walking, backpacking, camping, etc. 

Birthed – 2020: Certified Biology Nerd™ 

Nerding out on all things biology may very well be the foundation to everything I’ve got going on. I didn’t grow up in the most outdoorsy family but I did grow up with a lot of freedom and safety to roam around and simply explore. In college, I got a B.S. in Ecology and a B.A. in Art, found a deep love for bugs, and was taught how to be unabashedly curious about the world. You know what they say: curiosity liberated the cat.

A baby on a mountain. So much more hair and so much more naive about post-holing.

2021: Very Outdoors Job 1

Somehow, through the turmoil of the pandemic and a brief post-college period of aimlessness, I was welcomed on to a seasonal vegetation and soils surveying crew. For the spring and summer season of 2021 I worked an 8 day on / 6 day off job living out of a tent and working in some of the most beautiful and remote high desert habitats in California and Nevada. I cultivated a love for botany that has only grown.

This was a true ‘cutting my teeth’ experience. I got comfortable being highly uncomfortable. 

I will never again complain about the weight of my pack. Science gear is heavy.

2021 – 2022: Fake Grad School

Learned how to do Science Illustration at CSU Monterey Bay’s Science Illustration Graduate Certificate program. A natural combo for art and science nerds. 

I like drawing creepy crawly things.

2022: Very Outdoors Job 2, Electric Boogaloo

Did the same outdoors job (but with a promotion, ooh la la!). Got a lot better at bringing less stuff, simplifying and upgrading gear, and being prepared in wilderness environments. Drank a lot of beer along the way.

A double rainbow over a pit toilet – gorgeous.

2022 – 2025: Real Adult Job

Finally landed a real adult job in Nevada City, CA where I’ve been since. I got to keep working outside doing ecological restoration, data collection and analysis, native plant propagation, and so much more. 

In August 2024, the itch to possibly, maybe, perhaps hike the PCT hit me hard. The timing was right to start in 2025 as I was planning to leave my job and move anyway. Within a few weeks I was doing multiple training hikes per week and voraciously consuming gear reviews. Haven’t looked back since.

Hacking into the groundwater.

2025 – Beyond: Peace and Love and Happy Hiking

Hiking and figuring out what comes next.

I found love too. Haters said it couldn’t be done.