Washington PCT 2015: Pre-trip

Riding a bike across Washington was a fun time! I loved it but I certainly wanted to do more. What I had not considered was how much my wife, Laura, also wanted to see the outside world. Late in the fall, as winter was beginning, she mentioned maybe wanting to do a solo hike of the PCT. Then, after watching "Wild" together, we talked about it a lot more.

A pretty day in the gorge

This was a big deal for her. As the only daughter in her family, she felt that she had missed out on some of the more athletic and outdoor activities that boys are often encouraged to engage in. She was encouraged to be safe, and perhaps to avoid some risks in life. Now, she wanted to take some of those risks. She wanted to solo hike on the PCT. Listening to her made me happy and proud. I don't know about other men, but I want to be married to a woman who is free, powerful, and beautiful in her own security. We had lots of fun talks about her plans over Christmas break.

Hiking Hamilton mountain together

Over the spring, we squirreled away some money for proper equipment, which Laura dutifully researched as only she can (she is really good at researching stuff). In the meantime, we talked about me joining her once school got out. This was a good plan because I had a bit more outdoor experience, and Laura was completely new to backpacking. It may seem backward to some that she would start out alone but it made sense to me. You see, I understood the value of mistakes and struggle from my own solo bike trek. I also didn't want to fall into the role of the guru hiker "man-splaining" everything to his newbie wife. That would not be enjoyable for either of us. Beside, Laura wanted to do a solo hike while I was still teaching HS. Why would I try to take that away from her? The final plan was this: Laura would start hiking north through Oregon in May. I would finish school and meet her near the Washington border. Then we would continue on to Canada.

Cape Horn with my brother and nephew

Preparing for the PCT is a little complicated. Most hikers have a tentative schedule so that they can send the proper amount of food and supplies to stops along the way. This type of planning was a bit of a challenge for us as a couple. I tend to be pretty relaxed about things, trusting that things will be fine and always throwing in a bit extra just in case. Laura tends to meticulously plan and pack exactly what she wants, no more and no less. The cool thing is that both methods worked. But it didn't make trusting each other with food packing any easier.

Sorting out supplies

We got Laura a nice new Dueter backpack, a lightweight 2-man tent (to share later), and a SPOT gps beacon. There were other important purchases but is was a long time ago and I am not a details person. Feel free to ask if you have questions about any of that. As for my stuff, I got a Columbia Sportswear backpack that was like new on Craigslist. Oh, we also chose to use sawyer squeeze water filters because they are easy and instant.

Ready to go

As spring break approached, we got the boxes of food together for Laura. Finally, the time came for me to drop her off. We had a great trip down to the Oregon/California border. It was weird leaving her in the middle of nowhere, but I knew she could take care of herself. And she did. Things didn't go as she planned but she made quite a few miles, and became a pro over the week she was on the trail. I won't go into many details, but the Oregon PCT is kind of a mess in early summer and often still snowy. Laura fought bad conditions and made it about a quarter of the way across the state before throwing in the towel. I now know how she felt because I made a similar decision last summer. Regardless, she came home about 2 weeks before school was out and we got ready to do Washington together.

At the border

Goodbye, my love!

Not everyone can hike as a couple but this proved to be one of the best trips we will ever go on. We still both dream about it. I am so glad Laura enjoys the outdoors and we can share it together.

On the trail in Washington