In approximately 117 days, my brother Gus and I
will be embarking on the long sought-after experience of hiking the Pacific
Crest Trail (PCT). We've been lucky enough to grow up in a family that puts
hiking and other outdoor activities as a priority above most other things.
I didn’t always consider this a ‘lucky’ aspect
of my family. Instead of the summer camps that my friends attended throughout
elementary and middle school, parts of my summers were spent lugging a weeks
worth of food and other survival necessities through various mountain ranges in
Washington with my mom. While I yearned for the quintessential childhood visit
to the so-called "happiest place on earth", spring break of fifth grade consisted of piling
hiking gear and the four members of our family into the car and driving down to
the southwest so that we could spend the week sleeping in tents, eating
dehydrated food and again, carrying that which would sustain us on our backs.
Over the years however, through a little blood, much sweat, a fair amount of
tears (and a lot of dirt!) I grew
to love being outside and the simple lifestyle it requires.
The
Pacific Crest Trail stretches from Mexico to Canada and extends 2,663 miles in
total. It passes through three states, two mountain ranges, 25 national forests
and seven state parks. It is roughly estimated that 180 out of 300 people who
attempt to thru-hike the trail, finish each year. It is an adventure. It is an
expedition. It is a challenge. And it is a goal.
Both
Gus and I hiked parts of the Washington section of the trail when we were
younger with our parents, and since then had, independently of one other,
created the same seemingly abstract, far-off goal of one day completing the PCT.
The
trail is usually completed in 4-6 months. There is a pretty specific time frame
in which the PCT must be hiked, due to weather (very hot in the south in the summer) and
snow-fall (sometimes the Sierras are impassable). Therefore, the trek requires
much planning, and the ability to leave whatever responsibilities and duties
one may have in order to devote the time and resources towards the completion
of the trail.
Fortuitously
so, Gus and I are both graduating from our respective level of schooling (him:
highschool and college for myself) this spring, so we thought, what better time
to attempt the PCT than when we are both “in-between” so to speak? So, with
much preparing and saving, we plan to begin this extensive hike in May of 2013.
More
importantly however, we want to make this trip expand beyond our own growth,
enjoyment and learning. We recognize the honor and privilege that we possess in
our ability to have this experience. We want to make this trek meaningful for
more than just ourselves, friends and family.
We
have partnered with Tacoma-based not-for-profit organization, Etta Projects, in
order to raise awareness and funding for projects in rural villages in Eastern
Bolivia. They believe in promoting positive change through sustainable
development and partner with Bolivian communities to identify, prioritize, and
implement sustainable solutions to the health, education, and economic
challenges of poverty. (For more information go to www.ettaprojects.org). We chose to
collaborate with Etta Projects because we agree with their philosophy of
sustainable development – the conviction that local people know their needs
best and that they also have the power to meet those needs.
This
blog will be a coupling of a few different themes. First and foremost it serves
to share the experience, through writing and pictures, of what it is like to
live a nomadic hiking lifestyle for four months. Furthemore we want to reflect
on living without everyday comforts such as clean water, toilets, easily
accessible food and nearby health services. Working in conjunction with Etta
Projects, our experiences will be echoed back to ourselves, and shared with
you, in terms of raising awareness and
creating understanding about daily issues in the developing world. We recognize
that ours is a choice to live simply such as this, but that others do not have
the same option. Experience generates understanding and reflection creates
significance.
We
hope to put reflection into action through donations that will directly support
rural villages in Bolivia by implementing water, sanitation, health and
nutrition programs. We are attempting to raise a goal amount of $5000 in order to fund and support projects, families
and communities through Etta Projects.
A
quote by E.B. White reads:
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to
improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan
the day.”
It is with these words that Gus and I embark on this journey in May, hoping to create awareness and support for people,
communities and issues outside of our own daily lives while hiking north-bound thorough the beautiful U.S!
