Tell it on the Mountain Giveaway
It’s now been 6 weeks since I walked off the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Canada. A lot has changed. Although I plan to adventure again very soon, my life has settled back into a reasonably-normal holding pattern. I’m eating wholesome foods, showering regularly, and sleeping on mattresses that hold air! I’m not walking much. The thick callouses on my heels are nearly gone. All that seems to remain are lots of great memories, some new ideals, and a longing to get back out into the woods.
I’m happy to have some people in my life who have made an effort to understand such a long and complex journey. Many people just barely manage to fathom what a 2660-mile hike entails, but some really try to put themselves in a hiker’s shoes. Along the trail I was surrounded by those people: other hikers. But off the trail, they’ve mostly dispersed and I’m left with only a few people to talk to who “get it.”
My mother is one such person. She took it upon herself to self-educate about the PCT, poring over my emails and photographs, and following many other hikers’ online diaries. While hiking this summer, I sent her the link to a PCT documentary I had won a copy of called “Tell it on the Mountain.” She loved it so much she watched it again with me once I’d returned home. She says that after watching it, she not only had a much better understanding of what PCT hikers confront, but was inspired to learn all about the trail.
It’s a life altering experience that a few sentences on this website or a few clips in a film can never fully express.~ Shaun Carrigan, producer of Tell it on the Mountain
Tell it on the Mountain is a fun movie that captures the spirit of the trail so well. Great news is, Shaun Carrigan has graciously supplied me with a couple copies (one hard copy, one instant download) of Tell it on the Mountain to give away here on my blog. I will draw two lucky winners randomly from complete comments at noon on December 2, 2013. So, make sure you provide a correct email in your comment, and do comment!
I first heard about the PCT while hiking with friends in the backcountry of Yosemite. We were talking about where else we would like to hike and would it be fun to hike from Mexico to Canada? I have always thought it would be an adventure, but have never had the time to hike it. Your telling of your hike is inspiring and maybe I could do it in sections. I’m gonna have to think about it some more.
I learned about the PCT when Howard Draper turned me on to your instagram account during your trek – amazing stuff!
I first heard about the PCT in 1971, by reading the article in the June 1971 issue of National Geographic. Wow, I thought: there’s a navigable route through the desert and mountains, all the way to Canada…and i already knew about the Appalachian Trail, so, i came up with what turned out to be a much too ambitious plan to do a big circle hike/bike of the U.S.A. : ride my Schwinn from San Diego to the Atlantic, backtrack to N. Georgia, hike the AT to N. Maine, roadwalk to Canada, buy another bike and ride across Canada to the Pacific, then get on the PCT and walk back to San Diego, via Campo. I ended up having to start the bike ride at Duncan, AZ and only made it as far as Big Springs, TX where my left knee looked like a grapefruit. I managed to recuperate enough to start from Springer Mtn. on 01 Jan 72, and made it about 20 miles before i was injured again, spent another month healing, and restarted on 03 Feb 72. Six months and one week later i had walked all the way to the top of Mt. Katahdin, and i the very last thing that i wanted to do was try another knee-busting bike ride. I couldn’t get the PCT out of my mind though, so i started from Campo on 05 Apr 73, not knowing how i was going to get through the Sierra’s in one of the snowiest years of late, but hoping that i could push through somehow. I walked through the wonderfully wet desert, flowers and hummingbirds everywhere, and after picking up my snowshoes, headed up that long brutal climb out of Weldon (the trail has been relocated since then). I only made it about half way to K Meadows, when i managed to trip over a snag under the snow after i had set my tent up and there went the knee again. I managed to make a crutch and dragged myself back down, not that i had much choice, since cell-phones and gps hadn’t been invented. So, i only made it about 25% of the way, and my knee still hurts.
I first learned of it when as a kid I visited a friend who spent Summers at Echo Lake CA. We had to hike a section to reach her cabin…I’ve never considered going the whole thing but have wanted to do sections as I do love being in the woods.
I did some hiking on the PCT when I first moved to Oregon without knowing what it was. I think my first little section was in Crater Lake NP and then the Columbia Gorge/Mt.Hood area. Once I did some reading about it, I became obsessed. I’ve been following trail journals and dreaming about it ever since. I WILL HIKE IT ALL someday… when $$$ allows.
I first heard about it while researching the AT… Then I learned about the triple crown of hiking and immediately put it on my to do list!
I heard about the PCT when I first moved to California about 2 years ago. It was through a search for hikes in my area that I started getting an idea about what the PCT is. Of course I then started following all the trail journals I could get my eyes on so now I am officially obsessed. Would love to see the video and feed my obsession!
I heard about it maybe 2 and half years ago from my boyfriend (new at the time). It sounded like some crazy idea that only insane people or super athletic people would ever dare try. However I am happy to say that this September we completed the entire 2,650 hike and it was the best experience of my life.
Learned about it through the website TrailJournals.com and was pulled in.
First heard of the trail when hiking in the Desolation wilderness many years ago. Love
I followed both yours & Oakdales blog for the whole trip, Great summer!! My first intro to the PCT was in the early 70’s. My cousin did a several week hike thru the Sierras. He made a slide show presentation for the family. Those granite peaks have had their teeth in me ever since.
Since the 2013 season was my first following blogs…….I learned the most about the trail this year. I poured over half-miles maps, learned a lot of old history & became awe struck by many beautiful photos.
I also learned that the desert is an ass kicker. Congrat’s to all you PCT finishers, I’m jealous & inspired.
I first heard of the PCT from a NBC news interview with a guy who ran it for charity. After I googled it, I immediately began planning the trip. A year and a half later, I was standing at the monument looking at Mexico.
The night before I hiked up Katahdin to complete the Appalachian Trail, I swore to all of my friends that I was going to throw away my boots, burn my backpack, and sure as hell never set foot on a trail again. Well, by the end of the week, I’d done a day-hike on the AT…by the end of the month, I had gone on a backpacking trip in the Whites, and by the end of the year, I said, “So, about that PCT…” I started planning for the AT in 2007, so that’s probably the first time that I actually heard about the trail. Of course, after being bitten by the long distance hiking bug, it became an obsession to walk the PCT…and now that I’ve completed it, the CDT is next!
I heard about the PCT from a 60-year-old friend who was thru-hiking to celebrate his 60th birthday. We invited him over to dinner so we could learn more. As a life-long backpacker, I was hooked. We joined the PCTA right away, and did our first section hike the following summer.
My husband and I can only manage three or four weeks off each summer, including time without pay. So every summer we hike several sections. We have now completed more than 2000 miles of the PCT, from Walker Pass north to Canada. I’m 64 now, and hope to complete the rest of the trail by the time I’m 66. After we retire, if we are still able, we plan to try a thru-hike.
This trail is my inspiration. All year long, we look at our PCT photos on our laptop displays, while dreaming about and planning for next year’s hike.
I’d never heard of the PCT until a friend lent me a copy of Cheryl Strayed’s book about six months ago. Am I inspired to hike it? You bet your sweet ass I am! I’ve done loads of day hikes and two-day hikes in my lifetime but never anything “epic”. But in reading the book I discovered a longing to do something amazing, to accomplish something–hiking the PCT is just what i want. I won’t be able to do it until 2015 because of work, but I think it will be a good thing since I can do practice hikes/gear modification/planning/physical conditioning now through 2014 and really be prepared for this experience of a lifetime!
I first learned about the PCT a few years ago. I was day hiking the Sierras a lot and after some time I was interested in longer trips. I have section hiked the PCT during the last year and maybe one day complete the whole trail. If I am lucky enough I’ll through hike the entire trail once the kids are grown up, maybe my kids will join me.
I heard about the PCT when I was hiking the JMT in the SIerras 8 years ago. The JMT and PCT overlap there, and I started asking questions about where the trail went from there. I met a thru hiker who finished that year, and her email, which started “Yesterday I walked into Manning Park, Canada and completed my PCT thru hike” has stayed with me all these years. The JMT gave me the confidence to think I might be able to hike the PCT, and the inspiration to actually do it. I’ve hiked all Oregon and Washington, and I’m hoping to hike all of California this year. See you all on the trail, Pegleg
I have never heard of PCT before, but I am interested in learning more about it! My favorite things to do are hiking & camping and biking–but hiking/camping is one I really want to get more into. Great post, and thanks for hosting a giveaway!
A girl in my local hiking meetup group took some of us to ADZPCTKO. I was slowly getting hooked with every passing hour. I volunteered to help cook and got up at 3:00 AM to crack eggs. When the sun came up, I beheld hundreds of hikers marching off along the bank of Lake Moreno having grabbed a burrito. This hooked me.
Over the next year I learned – mainly from the PCTL. Then I began talking about hiking the trail with my wife. My wife and kids thought I was crazy. She did not want me to go away for months. But I kept it up, started buying ultralight gear, and began hiking in earnest. One birthday, I opened a box from my wife, and in it was a bandana she’d made from scratch. On it was a scene of the PCT with a little figure of me walking it! 2014 after I retire if all goes well.
In the early 1990s we lived in the Seattle area where my son’s 5th grade teacher, who was also seasonal Forest Service Ranger, invited us for a weekend encampment along the PCT near Snoqualmie Pass. Part of his arrangement was to sponsor this activity. I knew nothing about the PCT before, and really not much more after that trip. I guess I assumed that the PCT was just a local trail. Anyway, it was a memorable outing between a father and son. Since then we have moved several times including the SF Bay Area, Minneapolis/St Paul and then back to the Bay Area. In 1998 the family relocated to San Diego. All of this time I was still oblivious to the PCT and my focused on work and family. So fast forward to 2005. The wife and I heard about a local stream with an actual waterfall during the spring time. We embarked on a day hike with lunch and wine. The stream was Kitchen Creek with access via the PCT. I did take note of the trail marker at Boulder Oaks and found it an odd coincidence that a trail in Southern California would have the identical name and markings as one in the heart of Washington State. That evening after our outing I Googled the Pacific Crest Trail. Well, as you may imagine I learned that it was no coincidence and it was actually the same trail. That search marked the moment where I became obsessed with and began hiking the PCT. One of my major life goals is to complete the entire trail. And hopefully my son will be able to join me for most of it.
I first heard of the PCT from friends who got me into back packing. We ventured out annually doing short trips between MT Hood and Jefferson, during which time we constantly ran into thru hikers. I looked for them , eager to learn everything about their trips and gear. This of course only fueled my dream of doing the same one day. I stalked the PCT-l for 4 years gleaning all sorts of amazing help, and finally …..well that day came last year and although my family couldn’ t agree to a thru, they did cheer me on from Sierra city CA to Canada and rejoice with me this year when I completed to trail from Mexico to Sierra City. I found I really love long distance hiking and plan to do more.
KiwiLegs
I had never heard of PCT until I discovered your website while reading about cyclocross and caps. Amazing… Here in Kentucky people usually hike the AT. I plan on learning more about PCT and hopefully hike it someday (and leave the midwest too!!).
Regards,
Mike
I first learned about the PCT about 15 years ago from friends who got me excited about backpacking here in Oregon. We went on many short backpacks between Mt Hood and Jefferson. During those times I constantly came across PCT thru hikers who I pumped for every bit of information I could about their adventures, and got more and more excited about the traiI , I found out about the pct-l and have been a stalker for the last 4 years, and have gleaned heaps, I became a “gearmonger” and constantly dreamed of actually setting out on an adventure myself. Finally last year ( although family commitments didn’t allow a thru hike ) I did complete Sierra City to Canada, and was super pumped to come back this year to complete the trail from Mexico to Sierra city …now I only want to do more.
KiwiLegs.
I was planning for a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail when I was introduced to the PCT (conceptually, not physically). One of my husband’s co-workers had just returned from a PCT thru-hike, and was saving money for a CDT thru to earn his Triple Crown title. The PCT was nothing but a mere inkling for quite some time, as all of my thoughts and efforts were consumed by its East Coast sister. In the midst of my AT thru-hike in 2010, I fell in love with the lifestyle of long-distance hiking, and the PCT grew from an inkling to a dream to what is now a tangible goal, as I prepare for a PCT thru-hike in 2014! I still have not yet set foot on the PCT, but I have a feeling it will live up to all of my dream-filled, sleepless nights’ expectations, and will surely be love at first sight.
I am not sure when I first heard of the PCT. I live near the AT so I was aware of the triple crown with out really knowing much about the other two trails. The first time I hiked a piece of the PCT was when I did the JMT. I fell in love with hiking out west and with the idea of doing the entire PCT. A couple of years later, everything came together and it happened. What a wonderful summer that was. I hope to do it again in the next few years.
I first heard about the PCT while hiking the AT back in 2002. It was always some far away fantasy to go out and try it, but finally this year I started preparing (mostly by getting gear, so far) and I plan on head out and start walking in April 2014.
I bought and watched “Mile… Mile & A Half” several weeks ago, and I still can’t find the “Wizards of the PCT” film available for digital purchase, but now I see that this movie is available DRM free, so I guess I’ll give it a go if I don’t win this raffle here.
Never heard about the PCT until I picked up the book Wild when traveling to Austin during March this year. I quickly found myself preparing for Colorado Trail starting from April…and then I became the first Chinese woman to solo the entire trail (finished in 31 days). After returning to my home in NYC, I became trail-sick. The PCT has such a magnetic charm that I couldn’t resist the idea of hiking it. So, see you in 2014 on the PCT. By the way, my trail name is Chinese Rock 🙂
#HAPPYTRAILS#
My husband and sons came home from a 50 mile backpack trip in Lassen talking about a woman solo section hiker on a trail from Mexico to Canada! We were all amazed that such a trail existed and that a woman could hike it by herself. When I took my morning walks with women friends that is all that I could talk about. I knew that the PCT thru was in my future and I made my friends agree to hike it with me when our children had left their nests. Ultimately, my hiking partner was my husband…the best ever hiking partner.
Marcia
I first heard of the PCT when a former scout from our troop was going to thru hike in 2012. I remember thinking how can any one hike that far and for that length of time. After reading several journals I have had the desire to at least section hike parts of the trail our attempt a thru hike.