Out/Back: The Pacific Crest Trail, Mile 0–40

Day One

We rose before the sun. Ate some breakfast. Made final checks to our gear. Put everything in the trunk of my friend’s Honda Civic. Hugged and accepted final wishes for good luck and an unforgettable journey. Then, we began driving toward San Diego and then onward to the Southern Terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail.

As the monument came into view, I will proudly admit that I cried. Two years of training, preparation, saving, and sacrifice had culminated in delivering me to this tiny pixel on a map. We signed the trail log. Took an obligatory photo that we thought would serve as a before photo hungry for comparison to another photo six months in the future. My friend drove back toward reality. COVID-19 was waiting for him. It was March 13th, and we thought the trail was the safest place to be in the world. Far from civilization, we assumed this is where everyone would like to be.

Then we walked away from the monument. A sense of pride washed over me. Everyone deserves to feel as I did at that moment. As we walked past Mile Marker One, it began to rain. There was no more dreaming of the trail. Now, we had to hike it. This would be a completely different exercise.

Day Two

Finding a place to camp at the end of day one was a bit of a challenge. With rain falling…