Time flies. That’s true.
Even occasionally, I see myself thinking about my last moments on the PCT, climbing Mount Whitney. (Why Mount Whitney? That is a long story …)
The year was 2019. Since then, six long years have rushed at the speed of a shinkansen. And now, once again, I face me preparing myself to take a flight that will take me from South to North America, in this case, to northern North America. I go to the Glacier National Park. I will try the continental path divides, towards the south.
Much has happened since I completed my second walk. I had planned to get my triple crown a long time ago, but the pandemic changed the course. I obtained a new job, which forced me to restrict my walks at short distances (abbreviation of someone accustomed to walking 2,000 miles).
I walked along the Camino de Santiago in Spain, mainly to be able to settle and say «yes, I did» when I asked if I did, because that is the first thing people ask when I say that I am a long -distance hiker. I have walked a lot in Brazil, my country of origin, helping to create a national path of trails: I crossed La Transcarioca, 100 miles with 25,000 feet of elevation and loss gain through forests embedded in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro. I walked Shoeless The Lençóis Maranhenses, a 4 -day walk in a landscape of sand made and the freshwater lagoons. I walked through the fields of soybeans and corn and visited colonial cities in the state of Goiás, walking 200 miles in the Caminho de Cora. I visited five national parks in Brazil. I kept moving.
Somewhere on the road, I wrote and published two books: the first on the Sender of the Apalaches, another at the Pacific Crest Trail, presenting the paths to the readers of Brasilians. (The first is also available in English on Amazon, not the best translation, I admit it, but good enough to capture the path through the eyes of a foreigner).
I continued sharing my stories online and my presence grew on social networks (it is @distaIncaga on Instagram and YouTube if you are curious). And I saw my granddaughter, Lis Aspin, a baby when I did the PCT, become one of the ten best skaters in Brazil, collecting trophies and awards at 11 years (well, at this age she is still a girl, I think …)
And then … I renounced my work. I made the decision I have been postponing for years. I decided to finish what I started. I decided to complete my triple crown.
I feel that I am more anxious than the first time, when I installed a store for the first time in my life at the Hawk Mountain camp in Georgia. On the other hand, I never felt so prepared.
Everything feels new again: new path, new states, new wildlife, new team. I am not fast as it used to be. The weight of the years is heavy for my shoulders. But I’m leaving.
In a week, I will be in Montana, in the southern direction to try to overcome my fears, my anxiety, my doubts. I will look for answers to the questions I still do not, even though I carry tons of them. I am looking for loneliness and new friends, adventures and peace.
I know that walking to the south I will miss the great Glacier final. But in my mind (the mind of a foreigner who knows the CDT just for reading and watching videos), Southbound is the way to follow. I hope to omit a little (or at least a good part) of the rain, the sun and the snow. I am psychologically prepared for long periods without seeing a soul. I am prepared for the sound of silence. I am prepared for a boring end in Mexico. That is the price I agreed to pay.
My trip will begin at the end of June. I hope I have done everything right: the lottery, the permits, the reserve of camps. I have already met my first Trail Angel (thank you, Loofah), who will receive me for a couple of days before my start date. My backpack is ready, a beautiful new one that weighs 18 pounds, which includes bear boat, microspikes and ice ax.
You can continue here and in my social networks (turn on your translator. I write and speak mainly in Portuguese there). I understand? It is @distianciaga, both on Instagram and on YouTube.
My name is no longer Jeff Santos (well, at least it will be until immigration crosses, but it is also fine with that).
I am fast González again.
See you along the way.
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