Hard Launch of My Summer Plans: Lava Goat on the Colorado Trail

I’m Amanda, trail name: Lava Goat, and I’m planning to hike the Colorado Trail this summer!

a little about me

I hiked the PCT in 2012 (Best year ever! Hardly any rain, no raging stream crossings, no dangerous drought conditions, just some fire detours) and learned that there’s nothing like spending weeks at a time outdoors, walking slowly across the landscape, gaining a sense of self and rhythm at the same time.

In the years since, I’ve gone on trekking trips in Nepal and Patagonia, backpacked to the Grand Canyon and day hiked in a few other national parks, and hiked, car camped, backpacked, and done trail maintenance in Washington state, but I miss the full immersion of a longer backpacking trip.

My home base is Seattle, which is close to many amazing outdoor spaces, as well as great walks around the city. I left work last year and am enjoying my free time exploring the city, traveling, visiting my family and practicing all the hobbies that cross my path: crocheting, knitting, embroidery, learning to paint with watercolor and draw, finally learning to play the musical instruments I’ve been collecting, building Lego and reading my book portfolio.

Why am I taking the CT this year?

• I love mountains! Hiking in alpine environments makes me happy and I haven’t spent much time in Colorado yet.
• I want to hike with flexibility: I love being able to choose how far to go each day instead of fixating on a specific mileage and stopping place. I’ll still make a spreadsheet of my daily planned campsites (because I LOVE spreadsheets), but it’s important to me to allow spontaneity during my hike.
• As a launching pad for longer hikes: I’d like to complete some longer hikes: the PNT, the Arizona Trail, probably the AT, split the CDT over 2-4 years, and hike some long routes in Europe. So I’m using this year’s hike as a round of training for them (as well as an incredible experience in itself!), a less time-consuming way to reintroduce myself to long-distance hiking.
• I don’t want to be away from home TOO long – my cat turns 18 this year and she’s very attached to me, so I hate leaving her for long periods of time. About six weeks is the maximum I’m comfortable with.

Athena the cat, judging me for thinking about leaving her

What if Colorado is on fire?

After a warm, dry winter in Colorado, I’m worried about wildfires affecting the trail in late summer. I’ll keep an eye on conditions, and if it looks like I can’t spend at least three weeks (300+ miles) in Colorado without too many logistical complications, I’ll move to a contingency plan.

Alternative hiking ideas so far:

• Hike Oregon again or some combination of the Oregon and Washington sections of the PCT
• Walk the long path
• Walk the upper path
• Walk something in Canada?

What’s next for this blog?

I’ll be posting about monthly until I hike in August, with updates on my planning, training, and gear process. And probably more cat photos.

This spring, on a walk through the Bavarian forest

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