You’d think that after enough hikes, arriving at a terminus would feel less momentous. It doesn’t. I took the PCT shuttle to the border along with four other hikers, but although touching the border and starting out did feel familiar, it was still exciting and charged with possibility.
It was a glorious first day. It was overcast and misting the entire day – perfect for hiking. I saw a few other hikers here and there, but nowhere near the crowds I’d half-expected. I was eating lunch when another hiker paused to chat for a few moments. He’d previously hiked the first 700 miles of the PCT and he smiled a bit wryly as he remarked, “It feels so familiar. My feet are all ‘so you’re doing this again'”.
We both laughed, because I knew exactly what he meant.
“Yeah,” I said, “feels like being home.” And I meant it, because after so many miles wearing a backpack, it honestly feels as much like home as anywhere else.
Over the next week, I met so many newbie thru-hikers, and while I know there’s still so much for me to learn, it made me appreciate how much more I enjoy thru-hiking now that I’ve already done it before. I greeted one hiker by asking how the trail had been for her so far, and she gave a little sigh as she replied, “It’s been hard. And I knew it was going to be hard, but yeah.”
I passed hikers sitting at camp with their feet all covered with bandaids for the blisters, and hikers who wanted to switch out their gear already, and it all just made me remember how absolutely draining and difficult it was for me five years ago during the first week on the CDT.
Now, it feels almost like cheating when I cruise through a first week without blisters (because I rarely get them anymore). When six days in, nothing is hurting yet. When I can tell exactly when I need to break out the electrolytes on a hot mid-eighties day. When I can often wake up and break down camp in a tidy fifteen or twenty minutes, even though it used to take up to an hour. All the little things I don’t have to hardly think about anymore, which means I get to simply enjoy the trail. And the PCT is an easy trail to enjoy.
Everything is blossomed out right now. There are bright yellow flowers which smell exactly like fresh cut cucumber, and so many bushes of light purple flowers which reminded me so much of lilacs that I looked them up, only to discover they were indeed called California lilacs. And the trail itself is much more rugged with views I hadn’t expected for this section.
It was an absolutely perfect first week on trail. I know eventually a tendon somewhere will start protesting, and hiker hunger will probably hit at the most inopportune time, but for now, I’m cruising, and enjoying every single moment of it!
