Hike Your Own Hike
I’m writing to you from my tent in Yosemite National Park. Here the sky is open and blue, the boulders scattered across the valley are a bright grey against the deep greens and the stunning golds of the meadow floor. For being such a popular destination, it’s still and quiet here, and the deer don’t seem to mind my presence.
I’ve been hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for 60 days and I’ve gotten into a comfortable rhythm of getting up each day to walk. I catch myself realizing how much I’ve adapted to the hiker lifestyle. For instance, I go to sleep before dark most nights, I’ve gone weeks without doing laundry, I regularly hitch-hike into towns to resupply, and like most thru-hikers, I have a trail name. People call me “Putt-putt,” which has to do with my favorite method of going #2 in the woods…
I also have come to understand the meaning behind the saying, “Hike Your Own Hike.” It’s a thru-hiker’s motto that reminds us the importance of making our experience on trail uniquely ours, and not changing our goals to adhere to anyone else’s. But sometimes outside influences will change our course, and it’s on us as individuals to make the right call to move forward.
Two weeks ago I made the tough decision to skip nearly 800 miles of trail. Choosing to leave my friends behind in Oregon and pick back up in Northern California was devastating. They all stayed to brave the smoke but I left because it became too much. For a while I dealt with thoughts like: Am I even a thru-hiker anymore? What are other hikers going to think? Did I fail?
These days, completing the PCT in one continuous go is becoming less and less realistic. Active forest fires and past fire closures of the trail have made hiking it a logistical challenge. Not only closures, but the smoke itself has driven hikers to skip entire swaths of trail to save their lungs. Partway through Oregon, my trail family (or “tramily”) and I faced our first bout of smoky skies due to the Dixie Fire in California. It left me feeling debilitated, fatigued, and weak. Leaving that situation was the best decision I’ve made for myself in a long time.
I would have never have anticipated the great amount of gratitude I feel towards myself for making a call that put into question my vision for this hike. To be able to check in and say “Hey body, hey mind, hey heart — what can you tell me?” is an invaluable tool to staying true to you.
Hike Your Own Hike is another way of saying “go your own pace.” For me, I took that quite literally. I now find myself nestled in one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever been, realizing how it’s a gift that I have this extra time to slow down and enjoy it. After all, I’m not rushing anymore to get through the Sierra’s before the frost comes!
My trek is far from over - I’m just about 1,000 miles from the Mexican border, so I have my work cut out for me. It’s a given that my misadventures aren’t over, and that I’ll encounter bumps along my path; but l feel assured that I’ll be ready to take on whatever comes my way… Putt-putt Style.
-Eva
Eva (she/they) currently lives in the foggy landscape of the Bay Area. Originally from Colorado, Eva practically grew up with hiking boots on her feet and climbing chalk on her hands. She is a lover of anything outdoors, though backpacking in high places is her truest love. After graduating with an environmental studies degree in Portland, OR she instructed backpacking and climbing at various organizations, and went on to work for Outward Bound in both Colorado and California as a field intern, trip logistics coordinator, and blog writer. She most recently filled the role as the logistics manager at Stanford Adventure Program. Eva strongly identifies with two things: her outdoorsy-ness and her queerness. She believes that the outdoors is one of the safest spaces to fully be herself. She finds that the wilderness is not only a place for healing, but a place to feel empowered and autonomous. This is why she is about to embark on the biggest thing she’s ever attempted: thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Her current mood? Anxious, but mostly excited. And very, very ready.
A Note from TVOP: The TVOP Ambassador program is still in its exploratory phase, to which Eva has graciously agreed to test-run (test-hike?) for us during her time on the PCT. More details to come on the TVOP ambassador program as we get things up and running again after this test period.