Should I walk the PCT this year?

[Luke Ochsenbein]

Best of luck on your 2010 thru. Don't worry, there are plenty of lawyers to screw things up while you are gone. ; )

[Ed Barkowski]

Well said, Luke.

Nothing quite like getting buried under student loans, a high-stress job with limited vacation time, the crippling effects of old age and a nagging wife. Yikes.

Alternatives?

Go, go, go!

[Brandon Sanchez]

Thank you all again for giving me ammo with which to try to explain my desire to people. My family has been surprisingly supportive of the idea. Just wish I had more cash to spend on gear!

[Nia Schmald]

Don't do it! All you do is walk and eat and look at beautiful scenery. It get's really boring. Plus all the other hikers smell really bad!

[Ryan Linn]

"Just wish I had more cash to spend on gear!"

Don't we all?

heh. I guess the only downside, really, is that you might end up liking it too much and not want to go to law school. That's not exactly how it worked for me (on the AT), but I definitely haven't had a "real" job since then. But that's just me.

[Dean F.]

I'm a surgeon. Needless to say, being a professional of any sort cuts into your hiking time. Add a family to that, and I have to tell you…

I regret nothing that I have done in this life, but rather those things that I didn't do. I could have done these epic hikes when I was younger and uncommitted, but I didn't. Now I may never do so- and that is a tragedy.

You're a fool if you don't do this.

(Oh, and doing these epic hikes AFTER law school isn't such a hot idea- all your prospective employers will be wondering why you have that big blank spot on your resume. Then you have to explain it, and they might not believe you and think you're covering something up, or if they do believe you they may be callous people who think that hiking is immature and pointless escapism and dislike you for not sharing their petty priorities, etc.)

[Brandon Sanchez]

Dean, that is a big motivator. The anticipation has been killing me, its been hard to fall asleep at night.
I dont want to have any regrets about NOT doing it since I do have a "carpe diem" tattoo after all…

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Dean

> I could have done these epic hikes when I was younger and uncommitted, but I didn't.
> Now I may never do so- and that is a tragedy.

Retire EARLY!
I did.

Cheers

[Bob Gross]

Instead of retirement, some of us are still trying to figure out what to be when we grow up.
–B.G.–

[Mark McLauchlin]

I'm interested to know that is Law School is all doom and gloom with regards to no life and big loans to pay back…why are you doing it? sounds like entrapment for a big part of your life

[Bob Gross]

"I'm a surgeon."

Dean, I think the readers here would love to see a contents list for the first aid kit that you take on the trail. Obviously, you don't intend to do surgery on the trail. OTOH, a friend of mine was seriously injured on the trail (due to glacier moraine rockfall), and the first person to wander along the trail to him was an emergency room physician who had a complete kit and did the surgery, right out on a rock.
–B.G.–

[Anonymous]

"when we grow up."

Whatever for?? ;}

[Anonymous]

"I do have a "carpe diem" tattoo after all…"

Then carp the diem, man! Go for it!! Dean speaks with straight tongue.

[BlackHatGuy]

"I do have a "carpe diem" tattoo after all…"

If you don't go, you'll have to change the tattoo to 'carpe dontem,' and who wants that!

[Brandon Sanchez]

haha even throwing the idea of the tattoo around before i got it was kind of moot since it begs the question in way. I said to myself "should I get it?" "Might as well- carpe diem!" Same goes for this I guess :)

[Ryan Linn]

"some of us are still trying to figure out what to be when we grow up"

When I grow up, I want to be a grownup. Until then, I'm fine not being one.

Brandon: the trail is still a couple months away, so don't start losing sleep yet. I imagine you'll want to be well rested when you start :)

[G Foster McLachlan]

Ok on a serious note…don't be to hasty now…of course hike it-but ONLY if you prepare a bit ahead of time so when you come out on the other side you can set yourself up for success to make it to the fall of 2011. You will have to wing it to some extent it sounds-but don't take it on blindly. You don't want to have an awesome time but then be miserable in the real world afterwards–that will drive you back to the woods–which then you couldn't afford to do :) …a perpetual state of conflict it will be.

You already have the answers as to the why and how to now now. Its the after that scares me. Also, someone here said it–how will it affect you is something to consider? Law school you say? haha. Hopefully your not a deep thinker.

[Dean F.]

@Bob

Nothing too odd in my kit. My mantra is to keep reminding myslef "I am not a walking teritiary care center", or I find that my first aid kit gets a bit out of hand. I chimed in on a first aid thread here some time ago with some ideas:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=13691&skip_to_post=108013#108013

I'm also discovering that I mostly hike solo, so bringing an oral airway would be kinda pointless. :o) About the most advanced thing I include that most people don't is a 14-gauge angiocath- primarily to do needle thoracostomy if I have to, but could also be used for needle cricothyroidotomy- though that'd be pointless so far from help, and obviously can't be done on oneself- or just to pick splinters, or to poke holes to make a spray nozzle to irrigate a wound, etc. (I go back and forth on carrying a syringe for irrigation.) Heck, I don't even carry suture material when I'm solo- just Dermabond, Mastisol, and some Steri-Strips. I would happily sacrifice a shirt for a pressure dressing if I had to. If I hurt myself worse than that- SOS button on my SPOT and a tourniquet made from the shirt.

OTOH if I'm with a large group then, yes, I tend to become the "medic" and pack a bit more. But that kit isn't as well-defined as my personal UL solo-hiking kit.

And, of course, I keep my Leatherman Micra wicked sharp…

[Bob Gross]

That was an interesting first aid gear list.

I took a Mountaineering Medicine class one time, and one 30-minute session was called How To Do Emergency Surgery On The Trail With Your Swiss Army Knife.

Think about that.

The point of it was that there were very few procedures that a layman should ever consider to be done out on the trail, for obvious reasons. However, there are a few, and we were taught those rare situations and what could be done.

Kids, don't practice this at home!
–B.G.–

[Miguel Arboleda]

Some reading to help you get in the spirit of things. (and perhaps to sleep at night!). I really like Chris Willett's accounts. (His tale of the Great Divide Trail is especially fascinating).

[Brandon Sanchez]

I really like this guy Gopher's account of his 2008 trip. Got sucked into reading the whole thing!
http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=6577

[Elena Lee]

Do it!

But one concern though.. after doing it, your perspectives might change, and you may not want to lead a life of a lawyer after this.

[Brandon Sanchez]

If that happens then s be it. As long as I would be making that decision out of love for a certain way of live, no fear of another.

[Jeff K]

>As long as I would be making that decision out of love for a certain way of live, no fear of another.

+1

[EndoftheTrail]

Brandon:

Normally, I would caution about the need to focus on building one's career — it's so important to start off right and build a good momentum.

But in your case, since you will be starting law school in 2011 — then YES! — this is definitely the time to do the PCT — or whatever fun thing you want to do! No question.

[Author]

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