Zach Davis - Pacific Crest Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide to Successfully Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

Copyright 2016 Zach Davis

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 0692629653

ISBN-13: 978-0692629659

Smashwords Edition

Ebook formatting by www.gopublished.com

Acknowledgments

From Zach: Although my and Carlysnames are the ones who grace the cover of this book, to say that wewere the only two who poured energy into its creation would bedisingenuous.

First and foremost, I would like to againthank all those who played an instrumental role in the creation ofAppalachian Trials, which serves as the foundation for thisbook. You know who you are.

Doug Poppa Doc Hankes, Ph.D, thank you formaking good on a two-year-old offer to lend your expertise to thisproject. Dear reader, do yourself a favor and head to http://bit.ly/DonutPizza . Thedirty hiker trash with the salt and pepper beard in the backgroundis the director of the counseling center at Auburn University andformerly served as the sport psychologist for their athleticdepartment. The people youll meet on the trail.

Thank you to the countless PCT thru-hikerswho were willing to let us pick your brain and share your story. Aspecial shout out goes to Tee Jambo Corley, Kristin SirenMcLane, and Mac for injecting your gift with words into thisbook.

Thank you Maggie Slepian for being myever-reliable Swiss Army knife of an aide. Whatever task I throwyour way, you handle with grace. You are a rock star.

Thank you to my loving girlfriend, Jenna, whohad a front row seat for the roller coaster of emotions I exhibitedwhile putting this together. A lesser human being wouldve shoved apacifier in my mouth.

And once again, Mother Badger, thank you forthe constant support and inspiration to follow in your giant,size-7 footsteps. Big goals feel attainable in large part becauseof your example.

From Carly: A huge thank you,spanning the distance of Mexico to Canada and then some, to thefollowing people for making this a possibility!

Jolly, Siren, Snooze, Par 3, Jeffe, thank youfor your contributions and feedback!

To the gents at SimplyHome, thank youfor your encouragement and facilitation to help me thru-hike thePCT...twice!

Kristina, you got me to the AT trailheademotionally and then literally got me to the PCT trailhead. Animpressive feat, for which I am forever grateful.

Holly, thanks for being a constant source ofsupport and always reminding me to keep that roar.

Thank you Mamacita and Dad for always beingaccepting of whatever crazy ideas I throw your way and then takingthis a step further in helping me to accomplish them.

Shades, Tutone, Chia, Sluggy, T-Sniffs,Boomboxxx, and Pogo, thank you for always making me laughuncontrollably, both on and off trail. Club Q holds a special placein my heart.

Kristen, what can I say? You get it. Here isthe deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root andthe bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this isthe wonder thats keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart (Icarry it in my heart).

You cannot stay on the summit forever;you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Justthis: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does notknow what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees nolonger, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself inthe lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When onecan no longer see, one can at least still know.

Ren Daumal

Introduction

S o, you want tothru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail?

Youre taking all the steps necessary toprepare yourself. Youre leaving no stone unturned. Youre reachingout to former thru-hikers. Youve already memorized every page ofYogis Pacific Crest Trail Handbook. Youve spent more time readingPCT blogs than you can recall. Youve lost sleep over whether youshould bring a sleeping bag or quilt, tent or tarp, and which bearcanister to buy. Youve mapped out every location where mail dropswill be sent.

And then somehow you stumbled upon thisbook.

A psychological guide? To hiking? Let meguess, one foot in front of the other. Do this approximately 5.3million times and you have successfully walked from Mexico toCanada. Its as simple as that, right?

Right. Except for one thing, the five pointthree million part.

You might assume that the most difficultaspect of walking the Pacific Crest Trails 2,650 mile distancewould be purely physical. Undoubtedly, thru-hiking the PacificCrest Trail is a daunting physical feat. You will push your body tonew extremes. You will sweat. You will struggle. You will wake upand fall asleep sore. With that said, the physical challenge is notwhat causes countless numbers of aspiring thru-hikers to fall shortof their goal.

In no uncertain terms, the psychological andemotional struggle is what drives people off the Pacific CrestTrail; those struggles are the basis of your very own Pacific Cresttrials.

Its soul-crushing homesickness andloneliness. Its arid, sweltering, desert heat. Its dealing withconsecutive days of maddening thirst while calculating the numberof steps you can take between sips of water; rationing sucks. Itstrying to sleep through sub-freezing temperatures above treeline,hoping that wearing every article of clothing in your pack andwrapping your sleeping bag over your head will provide enoughwarmth to grant a few hours of sleep. Its getting to town andlearning that the next 80-miles of the trail are closed due towildfires.

Its hiking through a swarm of mosquitoes.Its boredom that comes from three days worth of seeminglyidentical terrain. Its pain that strangleholds every muscle ofyour body upon waking. Its putting on the same sweat-soakedclothes for a consecutive week. Its pooping in the rain; have funtrying to wipe. Its your hiking partner informing you that he justpurchased his flight home, less than one month into your thru-hike;now what?

Its drinking discolored stream water. Itsgetting hit with an unexpected snowstorm. Its wandering a mile offtrail before realizing you have no idea where you are. Its livingin a constant coat of sweat, sunscreen, and sand. Itssimultaneously realizing that the only thing remaining in your foodbag is a Clif Bar and mustard packet, with 21 miles to go beforetown. Its walking for days on end with a set of throbbing blistersbetween your toes and on the sides of your heels. Its arriving toa water cache that you were relying on, only to learn its beenentirely consumed.

Its veering off trail to go to the bathroom,only to look down and notice that youve just walked throughPoodle-Dog Bush. Its running through a storm while lightningcrashes down on all sides of you. Its an animal rustling outsideyour tent just moments before you were going to fall asleep.

These are the reasons people throw in thetowel, not because a climb is too daunting.

of aspiringthru-hikers wont make it to all of their resupply locations. If amail-drop is sent, but no one is there to receive it, does itreally exist? Lets be clear, if finishing the Pacific Crest Trailis your goal, your time could be better spent.

Many successful thru-hikers have gotten bywithout sending a single mail drop before leaving for Campo. Thatsnot to say this is the best strategy for your needs. Thepoint is, focusing on your resupply strategy before honing in onyour mental preparation is like sharpening your pencil as yourprimary means of preparing for a test.

So, who are we to insist that preparing yourbrain is the most important aspect of a thru-hike?

I am Zach Davis, the primary voice of thisbook. Hey, hows it going? I thru-hiked the AppalachianTrail in 2011. Prior to my departure, I had exactly zerobackpacking experience. I learned how to pitch a tent just a fewnights before leaving for the trail. Simply put, I was asincompetent about living outdoors and long-distance backpacking asit gets.