Trail Notes
I ended up showering before my family arrived. After two nights of hardly any sleep, an afternoon nap in a clean hotel bed was too much to pass up. And I wasn't crawling into those sheets dirty. That makes four showers in ~550 miles, and a new appreciation for hot running water, shampoo, and soap.
I have had my eye on this trail for a while, having hiked a 12-mile stretch of it once before. The trail is relatively close to the Bay Area, traversing the Ventana Wilderness near Big Sur. Prepping for the PCT gave me the perfect excuse to give it a whirl. At 24 miles one-way, an out-and-back hike puts it close to 50 miles, which made it great for a more thorough test of my new pair of shoes and new (lighter) pack, which had both only seen a few casual miles up to that point. I was hoping to use my rain gear before getting on the PCT, and the weather in Big Sur was looking like it would cooperate. So here we go...
Having spent the better part of a month, and a sizable chunk of cash, researching and buying gear, I felt it was time to start putting some of it to the test. I had a new "big three" (pack, tent, sleeping system), new water filtration setup, as well as a new pair of shoes. As much as I like adventure, breaking new gear in during the first few days of the PCT is just asking for trouble. So instead the plan is to go on several warm-up hikes of varying distances, temperatures, and elevations...
