In two days I’m leaving my job, in eight days I’m flying to San Diego, and in nine days I’m beginning my hike from Mexico to Canada. It hasn’t really sunk in just yet, but I hope it does soon because I don’t have much time left to savor the excitement. The Pacific Crest Trail has been a dream of mine for a few years now, and it’s not every day you cross a dream off your list. When was the last time you did something you wanted to do, entirely on your own terms, purely because you wanted to do it? I’m sure many people have a few things they’d like to do, but it’s so easy to find a multiplicity of reasons why they can’t do those things.

About a year ago I was frustrated with my hobbies, had reinjured myself, and had ended a relationship. I didn’t want to finish my 20s with regrets, so I considered what I would need to do to accomplish something–anything–that I really, really wanted to do. I considered the Pacific Crest Trail (or any one of the Triple Crown of Hiking), since it’d been on my radar for some time. I would need to quit my job, since my job didn’t allow me to take off more than a couple months from work. I would need to move out of my apartment, since I saw no point in paying rent on a space I would never use. I would need to save money, since I wasn’t going to pull from retirement or emergency funds for non-retirement or non-emergencies. And I would need to get the gear, since I wanted to shakeup my backpacking setup.

So I did it. All of it. I cut expenses, drew up spreadsheets, and put together my to-do lists. I meticulously tracked my plans and setup milestones (the way to motivate my Type A-self into admitting progress on a goal). All of it could have been tossed aside at any time, but by April, I was in perfect shape to follow through and realize a dream of mine.

And that answers the question I get most: “why?” Why would I want to quit my job and radically change my life just to hike a trail? Because I want to, I worked hard to, and I’ve been dreaming to. And most salient, I’m at a point in my life where I can, and I’m not sure when–or if–I will be able to again.

In two days I’m leaving my job, in eight days I’m flying to San Diego, and in nine days I’m beginning my hike from Mexico to Canada. And now it’s starting to sink in.

Photo: Point Reyes National Seashore, Inverness, CA in April 2019.