Common Questions and Lions, Tigers and Bears. Oh My!

Here's a list of some of the more common questions I've been asked when I tell people that I'm off to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in April

1. Are you going by yourself?

• Yes, I am going by myself.  BUT truly, you're not by yourself.  The PCT is a heavily traveled National Scenic Trail that many people hike.  You have day hikers, backpackers out for a week or a couple days and you have thru hikers.  I'm sure it's going to be actually difficult to be alone unless purposefully adjusting your hiking speed or breaks to avoid people.
• Second, I think for me it's better to go alone.  The pressure of hiking together with someone that may be faster or slower, what if someone gets hurt then does the other person feel obligated to stay back and wait for an injured ankle or foot heal.  What if you get sick of one another and you want to split up.  For me, taking this dynamic out of the equation is just simpler.  Does that mean I won't meet people on trail that I'll hike extensive amounts of miles with, no not all.  Actually I hope I do.  And if I decide to hike a long distance trail in the future, if a friend wanted to go I'd consider it. 

2. Are you having a midlife crisis?

• This question is more for my mom :) and some of my friends.... the answer is No.  Yes I'm in a transition in my life and I'm fortunate enough to have an opportunity to make this happen.  So I'm healthy and young enough and this has been a dream for the past decade so I'm going to make it happen.

3. How long does it take (how many miles)?

• It takes roughly 4-5 months to hike the PCT.  It's about 2650 miles in length and on average I'll be hiking 20ish miles per day.  This mileage changes, initially starting out I'm probably going to be doing 15-17 miles per day just to make sure I don't get hurt and then as you get your "trail legs" the mileage will creep up to 20-23 miles or more per day depending on how I'm feeling.

4. What about the bears (or other animals)?  Are you going to carry a gun, bear spray or some other weapon?

• Bear-mania is a thing for those that don't backpack or get outside.  Bears truly are more afraid of you than you are of them.  The limited number of bears I've seen in my many years outside I've really only gotten a glance of the hindquarters as they are running away.  Now is it important to store food correctly, yes but bears aren't a big thing on the PCT.  Honestly, I'm more worried about a little deer mouse chewing through a corner of my tent as I sleep than I am of any large animal mauling me.
• NO weapons.  This just isn't a thing for long distance hikers, yet it's a question that inevitably comes up.  First off, guns are heavy...meaning they weigh about 7-10 pounds loaded, currently my entire backpacking set up weighs 17lbs!!  A gun is nearly half the weight of my entire pack that I'll be using to live out of for 5 months

5. Food and water?

• For food supply, you typically carry 5-6 days of food on you at a time and then you'll make your way into a town to re-supply.  It used to be that hikers would mail themselves re-supply boxes to different outposts along the trail, but what I've found through extensive research is by the time you get to your 4th or 5th resupply box you're sick and tired of whatever Top Ramen or Snickers bars you've thrown in it.  It's much nicer to go into town and resupply with food that you're craving.  As far as water, this is just filtered out of streams along the trail.

Have a question just leave it in the comments.