Why I am going to opt for the CDT in 2026

I spent the summer of 2024 traveling from Mexico to Canada on the PCT, and nothing will ever be the same.

Before hitting the road in April, I could go on and on about my “why,” or more realistically, my “whys.” For a while, there was a page with them, along with a bunch of inspirational quotes in a long-lost Google Doc. Fortunately, I can now narrow down the reasons for that trip to just a few:

• I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own.
• I wanted to sit with the discomfort and pain that comes with losing my mother.
• I wanted to be able to trust people and learn to be vulnerable.
• I wanted to feel whole again.

And guess what?

Going to the PCT didn’t solve it for me.

but did Give me the time and space to heal myself. I came back from the path much more complete than when I started. Yo return with confidence, energy and a genuine desire to improve my own life. The most important thing:

I came back loving who I am in a long wayand everything else that comes with hiking. Nature, days in the city, new friends, fatigue, all that. Even before I moved into my new apartment in October, I knew I needed more.

Quesando atop Forester Pass

The CDT reached my brain and then my heart. Which brings me to…

Why I am going to opt for the CDT in 2026:

• Since I love hiking, I want to do it more.
• I want to experience the beauty of the Rocky Mountain West firsthand.
• I want to try harder than on the PCT. What am I really made of?
• Because I really, In fact like eating large quantities of chicken wings at a bar in a small mountain town.
• And perhaps my favorite reason of all: meeting PCT friends and making new ones.

I find myself comparing how I feel now, about 6 months into the CDT, with how I felt before I started the PCT. Before the PCT I was excited, but above all very nervous, to the point of having difficulty eating in the weeks before the start. I was reviewing everything with a magnifying glass, planning each section, each resupply and each day in detail. Now? I’m (mostly) very excited. I can still admit to being nervous about a few things, including starting in grizzly bear country, the remoteness of the trail, and those notoriously long water carries.

This time, whether it’s arrogance or just plain stupidity, I know I’ll be fine. Let the CDT come.

9/9/2024

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