2018.04.29 - Landing to America

Copyright (c) 2018 Pacific Crest Trail Association

I am writing this from a rental car that Susanna is driving towards Pacific City in northern Oregon. I flew from Helsinki to Portland the day before yesterday, on 26th of April, just three days after coming back from a running trip from Vienna. I am a bit beat, but with good friends, Mikko and Susanna, a couple that has lived in Corvallis for a bit more than a year now. We're heading to have an easy day hike on the coast line. This time is as good as any to try to clarify my thoughts about the mess I am about to dive into, and maybe inform you about that as well, my dear literate friend.

... and the blogging starts while Susanna is busy keeping us on route.

As many people before me, I'm gonna soon hike the Pacific Crest Trail. Or to be more exact, at least try to do that relatively enormous task. What's that, you say? Google will tell you that we're talking about a continuous footpath in United States of America, from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. Totalling 4265 km. God and all other supernatural entities well know that my preparation for this could have been better. Way better. Then again, it always could. Important thing is that you get up from your arse and start walking. Literally. Never mind if you only make a tenth of the length. The journey, as in most cases, is worth the trouble anyway.

From the hills of Jakomäki, Helsinki, day before taking the flight towards America.

But why to do something seemingly so futile? It certainly does not fatten your wallet or give you any advantage in modern life. Just the opposite. You are somewhat off the grid almost half a year, get disconnected from the professional world, from your social connections and hobbies, without gaining anything tangible that you can use for your next steps in life. The great appeal is in just that: reduce life to its basics, get off from the daily grind, and really see and feel the nature and world around you. What's left of it, anyway. It is a sad sentiment, "see it while it is still there", but at least doing it mostly by walking does not increase your ecological footprint that much. Except the flights. And the gear if you are into that. 

From Helsinki to Portland via Reykjavik, only 11 hours (plus 1 hr stopover). Not bad. The peak in the distance is Mt Hood.

I've always had a taste to do something mind numbingly physical, that after getting to the excercises rhythm does not require that much thinking. There's pleasure to be had when your body physically needs to work for its fuel, and you can let your mind wander free in the vast surroundings. Even if I have not done that much hiking, and surely nothing comparable to this, I've enjoyed tremendously the few trips that I've done. Feeling the distances in your feet gives you appreciation on how big and rich world there is around us, even after all the exploitation and destruction. It also gives you great perspective and peace to relate yourself to the environment.

Kudos to Icelandair. Plenty of leg room, no delays nor problems.

I've first heard about PCT from a friend in 2012 when he did some section hiking in the area. The pictures he took were astounding, and the idea of thru-hiking the entire trail insane. Back then, I did not see the point of doing it. Why exhaust yourself doing something as dull as mere walking, days to an end, when you could sample the best parts with a car and still have energy to enjoy lifes other things, all in less time. But somehow the idea stuck. Since then I've been exposed more to ecological thinking, started to appreciate nature and doing things in simple, more connected manner. And I've started to explore nature more, mostly in Finland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

From South to North, the PCT crosses 3 pacific states of USA. See this great video about the trail.
Image copyright (c) Casey Gannon and Colin Arisman, Wild Confluence Films

Taking the time to do something this time-consuming is not that easy today. Modern life easily traps you in place, and different obligations might not let you venture into the wild at all. For me, this meant that I needed to quit my job and sell my flat in Helsinki. It is a rare employer that would grant a half year leave from work. Also, keeping paying a mortgage did not feel right while not having income or experience from renting your place out. Granted, I was not happy about my place in the first place and wanted to be free of it. For me, tackling the PCT is in some ways an exercise of regaining my freedom. At least the illusion of it. Probably not that rare sentiment among people trying the feat.

Susanna and Mikko. He will join me to consume energy at the trail and she will provide us some by sending resupply boxes.

Earlier in my life thoughts about these kinds of trips have been wrecked eventually by not founding company to execute upon on those thoughts. Many people are excited about doing a world tour or having an adventure through the jungle, but more often than not the so-called real life gets in the way. The people that end up doing stuff are the ones that do it no matter they got company or not. My attitude has shifted in recent years so that I need to belong to this group of people. Having said this, I am lucky that Mikko is joining me for the adventure. He moved to Corvallis 2017 and has become increasingly intrigued by hiking and PCT. 

Mikko and the author, a happy reunion to do something extravagantly fun together. 

I met Mikko when doing military service 2001 and we have been friends since. The time spent together when serving and few subsequent trips give me trust that we get along splendidly during the hike. Mikko is a strict vegan, but such relaxed and nice guy that does not give me trouble even if I do not always follow the true vegan way. It will be interesting to see how one fares with such a diet on such a long hike. Especially as it goes through places that are most likely full of people that swear in the name of meat.

Some simple Finnish gifts to my vegan friends, as ordered! Happily did not cause problems at customs.

Preparation for the whole ordeal has not been as adamant from my part as it should have. Before committing myself to the hike I already had decided to run the Vienna marathon on 22th of April. Doing huge amount of running meant that I did not do any actual hike training. You really should do a good amount of walking in uneven terrain with a trail-weight backpack on. Additionally, the high kilometer running weeks resulted in a small exertion injury, which jeopardized both the marathon and the hike. Luckily, good amount of rest, stretching and superb care and advice from our running groups coach made it possible not only to run the marathon but also tackle the hike with almost problem free legs.

The author doing something that is surely physically demanding in Vienna but maybe not the wisest thing to do just before a long hike.

Physical training is not the only thing which is lacking from my preparation. I've read about PCT, hiking in general and about gear and peoples experiences. But not to that extent that one should. Ray Jardines book was a bit of an eye opener, and web sites like Mac's halfwayanywhere, Craig's PCT planner and Guthook's pages provide tons of useful information.

Preparation that I did not do was fatten myself for the hike, because running a marathon as a fat guy might be hard. At the trail these delicious dishes are just a dream. Thanks for this great gift for the taste buds, Mikko and Susanna!

My original intention was to use as much as possible my old hiking gear. Following people's blogs, reading about ultralight hiking and reasoning that with a long hike like this every carried gram will grow in significance a thousand fold, made me eventually order tons of new stuff. I also told myself that if I order them directly to United States, I save quite a lot and I do not need to carry that much from home. Now this feels a bit like a waste, especially as this UL stuff really does not feel sturdy and in some parts functional enough. Time will tell. Also, it cost me a long penny. I will make another blog entry about the stuff I bought and why, if I can think of any good reason.

Yesterdays trip to Silver Falls, Oregon, was filled with waterfalls. First touches to a some of the gear I ordered directly to United States. Also a taste of the great sights that will await if just managing the huge amount of walking.

It is still 9 days before we take the Pacific Coastliner train from Albany, OR to San Diego. We will start our hike on 11th of May from Campo. Before that I need to look carefully through my gear and decide if I need anything more or adjust the current setup. I need also to assemble my resupply packages. Luckily Mikko has already done his, so I will get valuable help and tips from him. Maybe half of the food I need for the boxes I already ordered to Mikko's place, but the rest needs to be purchased locally. The nine days will most likely go by like flying as we need to plan  how to execute the hike together, what will be our exact resupply locations, hiking strategies, and functioning in general as a team. One also needs to prepare for the occasion that we split at some point, either if one of us wants to quit, needs to quit because of injury or alike, or if we just have too different hiking styles and want to have the freedom to go solo. We've never hiked together more than day hikes so this is a big question mark.

Our car got us to Cape Kiwanda on the shore of Pacific Ocean, to greet the lone fisherman. 

The rental car is approaching our destination under Susanna's command, so I will wrap up this pre-hike mumbling. Feels that there is still too much to do and the reality of walking the whole PCT is still not quite sunk in. That surely will change the coming days as the panic of not being ready increases. I will try keep a semi-live blog about everything that will unfold, though I severaly doubt how often one can fit in a proper amount of writing when walking 30+ km days without access to modern facilities. But hey, I guess finding that out is an interesting challenge unto itself!