I’ve been an elementary school teacher, a Political Science PhD candidate, a server, a bartender, a Scotch Whisky Ambassador (a job that I can assure you, is just as great as it sounds), and now I hope to be a successful thru-hiker.

When I was about to graduate from college I wanted to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. I read books. I did research. The timing, however, didn’t work out perfectly. Instead of doing part of the trail, I simply didn’t go backpacking until the Covid-19 pandemic shut everything down years later.

During the height of the pandemic, a friend mentioned that Yosemite National Park was operating on a permit system. I went for a week of day hikes. Then I went back for a week of backpacking, and then another. Still, an ambitious thru-hike was not in my future.

When someone close to me told me they were doing the PCT, it didn’t take me long to realize that this was my chance to make good on that desire from back in college. I would never be younger. Weather on the West Coast would only get more turbulent. I would never be less tethered to one place.

And with that I started making plans. Thanks for following along.

—Allan