This year (2023) I’ve made the questionable decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

For those of you who don’t know, that’s going to entail hiking 2,653 miles from the Mexican border to the Canadian border following the “crest” of the Sierra and Cascades mountain ranges through California, Oregon, and Washington. To save us all some time, let’s cut to some commonly asked questions.

Who are you?

I’m Nik! I’m an engineer living in San Diego with my cat Judy. I love camping, hiking, and cooking.

Why are you doing this?

I grew up sandwiched between LA and Angeles National Forest. This meant I lived only a couple blocks from a trailhead and frequently spent time hiking in the local canyons and hills. I didn’t camp at all growing up, but I had the opportunity to go on a 5 night backpacking trip in Kings Canyon as part of a “wilderness orientation” before starting college at UCSD almost almost eight years ago. Since then, I’ve continued developing my love (and hate, on some bad up-hills) of backpacking. At some point in my backpacking career, I heard several interviews of people who have done the PCT. After hearing these interviews, my thoughts on the PCT have slowly evolved from “oh how cool, but that sure is a lot of hiking!” to “I am quitting my job tomorrow and hiking the PCT in two weeks.”

Seriously, why are you doing this?

Some of my highest highs (watching the sunset while camping under Mono Pass in the sierra) and my lowest lows (hiking to Mono pass earlier that day) have occurred while backpacking. At the end of the day, even if the entire day was a miserable slog uphill, you spent that entire day hiking in nature and you’re about to spend the night sleeping under the stars. That’s pretty hard to beat.

Are you doing this alone?

No! I’m going to be hiking this trail with my sister and best friend, Kristina.

Soooo, what are you eating?

Junk. If we’re buying food at a grocery store in a town along trail, our meals are going to consist of a lot of ramen, instant mashed potatoes, and ramen mixed with instant mashed potatoes (dirt-bag hikers call this abomination a “ramen bomb”). However, my sister has Type 1 Diabetes which means we’re going to need additional crucial medical supplies not commonly found in trail towns: insulin, continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, backup insulin pens, backup traditional glucose monitors, back up insulin syringes, and a glucagon inhaler. Because of this and the fact that we are going to need a bit more variety than ramen and potatoes, we’re also going to be shipping ourselves resupply boxes of food and Diabetes supplies to post offices along the trail as needed. And by “we,” I mean my brother-in-law Mitch will be graciously assembling and mailing these boxes to us. These will include pre-made freeze-dried meals (a veritable backcountry delight) and home-made dehydrated meals consisting primarily of dehydrated refried beans, minute rice, taco seasoning, and Fritos. Lots of Fritos. Lots of salt = happy hiker.

WHAT ABOUT THE BEARS?????

Eh, not too worried about them. As long as you follow the basic guidelines and use bear-proof food storage as needed, black bears are not to be worried about. Just don’t be stupid.

Still not trusting you about these bears….

OK, bears are scary. You’re right.

How long is it going to take?

Probably 4.5 to 5 months. Maybe 4.5 to 6 months. Most likely. Maybe. Honestly, it’s hard to say in a record snow year like this where the Southern Sierra is at 300% its normal snow levels.

Wait, record snow year? 300% THE NORMAL SNOW LEVELS?

Yes, I’m terrified too. Let’s save this topic for a future post.

Are you sure you want to hike that far?

I am. Yes, it is quite a few miles. And yes, there’s going to be quite a bit of hiking up hill – 489,418 feet of vertical elevation gain to be exact. However, the idea of my daily goal being just to hike from point A to point B and enjoy it in the process seems truly liberating to me. I can’t wait to start.