Go Time.

24 hours from now, with trembling feet and a bag full of carefully planned gear, I'll finally be setting foot on the two-foot-wide dirt path that will lead me from Mexico to Canada; the Pacific Crest Trail.

Feels like I have been planning this for years yet I still look at my pack and doubt what I've brought. Do I really need a compass/thermometer keychain? What about that 12oz bottle of sunblock? Yes, for now, for comfort's sake, I do need these things.

Weighing in at 16.5 pounds (before adding food and water which will vary) it's a relatively lightweight load so for now I am satisfied, but I'm not too proud to admit I'm wrong and send back a box of stuff which will likely happen eventually. Compass, you've been warned.

So it begins. 

After a good few days with family and friends in Atlanta I flew to San Diego and met with Girlscout, a well-respected and immediately friendly trail angel I found through the PCT group on Facebook. it's a lot like couchsurfing in this hiking community, and I'm very optimistic after meeting Girl Scout that I am going to meet some incredible people over the next few months. Even the dog I met at breakfast was friendly...

 I'll be leaving tonight to go stay with another trail angel at a different house where there are a dozen other hikers planning to start the trip tomorrow. I've done all the preparing I can for this first stretch which will be 43 miles. I'm sure I will change some gear but it's time to just start and stop worrying about everything!

The first stretch of trail will start at the Mexican border and wind its way 43 miles north to mount Laguna stopping along the way to break the trip up into roughly 10 mile days. I've been training to do more miles but with my pack on and having just started the trail I'm going to limit myself to 10 miles each day. I'm not sure if I'll be camping by myself or with other people but I know I will see plenty of people along the trail and I will rarely feel like I am alone even though I will spend a lot of my time by myself while hiking.

The drought in California has made it necessary to carry most of your water with you along the way. I'll be carrying 3-5 litres and stopping at various water sources (like horse troughs, springs, etc.) which have been documented in the PCT water report to refill from time to time.

I will try and update regularly but who knows when I will have signal or when I will have good stories to tell ...so I will try to update soon and if I don't, please assume I am so immersed in fun I just didn't have time ;)