The Bipolar Trail

There is nothing simple about Sand to Snow Trail inside the San Bernardino National Forest. As soon as you walk away from the parking lot, the ascent begins. After a mile or so, you are lured into a false sense of confidence as the trail levels out and begins to make its way through a burned-out forest. Just when you begin to find your pace, the real uphill battle begins as you climb for what seems like hours. On more than one occasion, I had to stop and collect myself. When all was said and done, I experienced one of the great workouts of my life.

 New Shoes

A pair of old hiking boots may be the death of me. Every rock underfoot, I feel. Every muscle in my feet and legs aches with pain. Every bit of trail seems to leave an impression on me. Without a doubt, this will be my last journey with these boots. They have served me well, but their time has come. It is now time for them to fly off to that great hiking boot spot in the clouds. Once there, I assume they will join countless others and tell stories of their journeys stomping around the blue dot we call home.

Cameras

On this trip, I hiked with two new cameras: a Canon EOS 6D and a GoPro Hero 7 Black. I’ve always hiked with a DSLR and have recently wanted to start shooting hiking videos. For this trip, I wanted to see if I could carry the extra weight and how it would feel with the rest of my gear. The GoPro Hero 7 Black is so lightweight that it is a no-brainer for the PCT, and I really enjoyed capturing the moment. On the other hand, the Canon was bulky and added extra weight. Now, I must decide if this luxury item is worth taking or am I better off just using my phone.

Alone

On this trip, I ran into a group of hikers resting before conquering the next big hill. Needing a break, I stopped and joined a conversation already in progress. Before long, their attention turned to me and why I was hiking alone. I gave them my standard answer about wanting to crush big miles, practicing for the PCT, and not being able to find someone to join me. This didn’t satisfy them, and I was served a lecture on the dangers of hiking alone. I thanked them for their concern and walked away. Over the next few hours, I thought deeply about what they had to say. Once upon a time, I was terrified to hike alone. Now, I relish it. I am not opposed to hiking with others. I absolutely love the company, but there are so very few things in this world I get to do by myself. The solitude and an opportunity to be with my own thoughts isn’t something I get to do often. So, yes, I will keep hiking alone, because alone only visits on rare occasions.

I Quit – The PCT

Remember when I said, “there is nothing simple about the Sand to Snow Trail?” Well, I wasn’t joking. The trail got so challenging that I had to quit. Thanks to a combination of being exhausted, terrible boots, and the wrong type of food to fuel my journey, I turned around before my destination and headed home. It wasn’t an easy decision and it hurt my pride, but it was the right thing to do. On days when this happens next year, I will have to figure out how I mentally handle these moments and not walk away from the entire trail. I think reminding myself of my reasoning behind a thru-hike will go a long way.

Be good to each other,

-Nathan

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