“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step…and ends with nice, cold beer” -Ancient Chinese Proverb

Greetings Ladies and Gents,

As one of the great orators and visionaries of the modern age, Mr Austin Powers once said,”Please allow myself to introduce myself”.  My name is Steve.  With me is my best friend and exceedingly sexy companion, Rachel.  Together, we’re about to set out on a mission: A 6 month, 4265km journey along the Pacific Crest Trail.  A backcountry footpath that traverses the entire west coast of the United States.  We’ll be camping the whole way, carrying everything we need on our backs, stopping in towns along the trail to resupply.

Let’s have a look at the map, shall we?

At this point you’re probably asking yourself 2 questions:

1. Why the hell would you want to do that, are ya friggin’ nuts!?
2. Hey, isn’t this the same thing as that book with the girl and Reese Witherspoon?

Yes, the book is titled “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed.  Reese Witherspoon stars in the Hollywood adaptation of the same name.  Check’em out if you haven’t already; it’s a great story.  Our reasons however for hiking the trail are a wee bit different from those portrayed in the movie/book.  I can’t speak on Rachel’s behalf but my reasons for hiking the trail are pretty simple:

1. I’ve always wanted the Buns of Steel we were promised on TV back in the 80’s.
2. I still haven’t paid off my student loans and we all know that collection agents don’t hike.

Truth be told, this hike was Rachel’s idea.  A few years ago I completed a solo bicycle journey across Canada.  It was a big, challenging trip.  I think Rachel was inspired by my journey and wanted a big challenge of her own.  I don’t blame her in the least.  We work long hours.  Ridiculously long hours.  As I write this passage I’m currently sitting in an aircraft at 30,000′, flying home from a jobsite.  Rachel was in the air this morning too, flying home from a different job in a different corner of North America.  We love our jobs but one of my greatest fears is that I’ll wake up one morning and realise that all I’ve done with my life is work.  I strongly disagree with the life path that has been engrained in our modern existence: Childhood, School, Work, Reproduce, More Work, Brief Retirement, Sickness and Death.  I choose not to conform to this model.  I choose to put work on hold, if even just for 6 months.

We’ve decided to document our journey through words and pictures on this website and I’m glad you’re along for the ride.  We’ve adopted a bit of a unique method when it comes to updates in that we’ll each be writing submissions.  Hopefully, this will present differing viewpoints and allow you to see the trail from each of our perspectives.  In addition to keeping friends and family up to speed on our progress, this blog will also serve as a really cool journal that Rachel and I can look back on in years to come and relive old memories.  I can’t promise that I’ll always be in the best of moods when I sit down to write but I’ll do my best to keep things fun!

This brings me to another concern: How are Rachel and I going to keep from killing each other?  6 months together 24/7 is one heck of a test of a relationship.  The greatest challenge we will probably face will be not sawing each other’s head off and burying the body in the desert.  But make no mistake, this will also be a very physically challenging trip, walking +30km per day.  The dangers we’ll face are many:  Desert drought, poison rattlesnakes, hungry bears and the ever present threat of male pattern baldness loom large.  But if our bodies can survive the first month, I suspect we’ll be fine from a musculoskeletal point of view.

Our departure date is set for April 5th.  That gives us less than 8 weeks to get our poop together and there are lots of moving pieces to nail down before we start walking.  For example, we’ll need 476 maps to cover the trail.  We’ll each go through 3 to 5 pairs of boots/shoes.  We’ll need to consume upwards of 4000 calories per day to stay alive and healthy.  And with only 1 hot shower per week, I don’t know how I’ll keep my coiffure in order.  But despite the challenges, we’re commited to giving this trip our all.  In my mind this hike personifies the adage “life is about the journey and not the destination”.  Whether we make it all the way to British Columbia is somewhat irrelevant.  What’s critical though is that we’re taking the time to step away from normal everyday life and doing something for no reason other than to have fun, make a memory and have a proper adventure.

-Steve