Day 1: Rain and 45 degrees?

The first day on the road was better than we could have ever imagined. Although we started from CLEEF in the rain and wind, Papa Bear’s amazing breakfast and last pancakes this season were exactly what we needed to get started. Since we knew rain was expected on the start day, we went up to the terminal the day before to take the obligatory photos and videos at the monument while the sun was still shining. It’s surreal to finally be there in person.

From the beginning, we had agreed to take it easy for the first week or two to adjust to our new life for the next 4-5 months. So our goal for the first day was to hike mile 15.4 at Hauser Creek and the campsites there.

We left, absolutely thrilled and full of enthusiasm for what is to come and the adventures that await us. Laughing, smiling and full of energy. The first few miles flew by and before long we were at mile 6.

Due to an accident a while ago, Ditte still has some problems with his left shoulder and started to feel a lot of pain early on. He had prepared himself for that, just so he wouldn’t feel so much pain so soon. Understandably, it made her quite nervous. We knew we had to figure out what we could do. We rearranged some things in his backpack and adjusted the fit so his hips would support more weight. We set off again, this time with much less pain.

The weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do, so we ended up having a lovely first day with a good mix of rain, cloudy skies, and temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Raincoats put on and taken off many times.

We continually talked about how surreal it was to finally be on the road. I still don’t realize that we were now official PCT hikers.

As we approached mile 13, the sun finally began to peek through the clouds, making our quick stop at the water tower at mile 14.4 especially nice. Until May 4, Papa Bear had generously maintained the cache there, but for personal reasons he had to return home. Luckily, another local trail angel, Pete, stepped in and just the day before they managed to figure everything out so there was still water available at mile 14.4 without losing a single day.

With just over a mile to go, we assured each other that it would be best for us to take the first campsite we found and call it a day. Not because we didn’t want to continue or couldn’t continue, but because we wanted to make sure we didn’t push ourselves too hard on the first day.

There are still many days ahead. There are still many days to make an effort.

There is no need to rush.

We barely kept our eyes open until 8pm. Totally worn from day one. But in the best possible way.

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