Cheers To Discomfort
If somebody told me five years ago that I was going to walk all 2,660 miles from Canada to Mexico, I’d scoff at them in disbelief. Yet here I am, meticulously packing, planning, and training to *attempt to* hike the Pacific Crest Trail this summer.
For those who aren’t familiar, the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a stretch of established trail that runs down Washington, Oregon, and California about 150 miles inland of the west coast. The PCT is notorious for having all of the elements: from the wet, temperate rainforests up north, to the highly exposed, high-elevation of the Cascades and Sierras, to the extremely hot and barren mountainous desert of Southern California. In other words, hiking the PCT is no joke.
It’s hard to pinpoint why I chose this hike. I keep asking myself: Why am I doing this extremely challenging trek? Why did I quit my job, move everything into storage, and uproot my life to spend 5+ months just… walking? Like any good adventure, there’s no way to anticipate what will happen, what I’ll learn, or who I’ll meet; but I do have one very clear intention: to reclaim my time.
Having been raised right next to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I was lucky enough to be exposed to the outdoors at an early age. I went on my first backpacking trip when I was 13, and that’s when I first discovered my power. There is a special satisfaction of watching the sunset after a long day of hiking and a triumph in knowing that I brought myself to that spot, with my two legs and some perseverance. Since then, I have attributed so many moments of self growth to my outdoor adventures and, more importantly, my outdoor misadventures.
To me the outdoors is not only a place for growth, but a place for healing. When I’m outside, time seems to slow down, my breaths get deeper, and my eyes feel clearer. As a queer individual, I feel as though the outdoors is one of the few spaces where I can get a breather from the exhausting elements of society, and relax for awhile.
The pandemic this year has been a challenge for all of us in different ways - it uprooted our plans, it put us in a state of uncertainty, and for many of us it added new anxieties. If nothing else, just taking the time to slow down, gently treat ourselves with compassion, and reconnect with our bodies, would make a huge impact on how we heal after this tough year.
Hiking is my favorite time to think. I find that physical movement, paired with solitude and wide open skies, is a recipe for existential thoughts, creative ideas, and big reflections. A quote by Marcel Proust has been replaying in my head as I prepare for my trip: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
As I meticulously count the weight of each piece of gear I’ll be taking on the PCT, color coordinate my food resupply spreadsheets, and diligently do my physical therapy, I’ll never fully be prepared for the unknowns of my adventure ahead. I know there will be countless challenges, but I also know that the discoveries, the “aha” moments, and the stories cannot happen without some discomfort. So cheers to discomfort. Cheers to doing things that are hard. And cheers to the adventure ahead!
-Eva
Eva (she/they) currently lives in the foggy landscape of the Bay Area. Originally from Colorado, Eva practically grew up with hiking boots on her feet and climbing chalk on her hands. She is a lover of anything outdoors, though backpacking in high places is her truest love. After graduating with an environmental studies degree in Portland, OR she instructed backpacking and climbing at various organizations, and went on to work for Outward Bound in both Colorado and California as a field intern, trip logistics coordinator, and blog writer. She most recently filled the role as the logistics manager at Stanford Adventure Program. Eva strongly identifies with two things: her outdoorsy-ness and her queerness. She believes that the outdoors is one of the safest spaces to fully be herself. She finds that the wilderness is not only a place for healing, but a place to feel empowered and autonomous. This is why she is about to embark on the biggest thing she’s ever attempted: thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Her current mood? Anxious, but mostly excited. And very, very ready.
A Note from TVOP: The TVOP Ambassador program is still in its exploratory phase, to which Eva has graciously agreed to test-run (test-hike?) for us during her time on the PCT. More details to come on the TVOP ambassador program as we get things up and running again after this test period.