The story of a tactical artist on the PCT

I've tried to write this post three or four times with very little luck. Thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) was, and remains, the most impactful experience of my life. Someday I will compile the journal entries that I wrote daily on trail. Until then, what I can tell you is that on April 11th, 2015, I took the first steps of a journey that changed my life.

It feels cliche to write that line.

What you need to understand, though, is that I feel like I didn't start truly living until I walked into myself over the course of 2600 miles. The life before these steps is a shadow in my memory. I know there was so much life in the time before the PCT - it's just that the time after feels infinitely more authentic.

You see, thru hiking has a way of burning off all of the noise of every day living. It was a RAW experience where I lived IN every single moment. I remember returning to my life post-trail and hearing others describe time as "flying by". I felt so sorry for those people. When you're present and in love with every single moment, even the ones when you've been cold and wet for days on end, time stretches hold infinite space - infinite life. When I feel time "flying by" now, I worry, "Am I missing it; this one wild and precious life?".

For four, long months, I lugged my full-frame, DSLR up the country. As I became more present in the experience, I took fewer and fewer photos - not wanting to lose any moment hiding behind a lens. I placed some of my all time favorite images in a gallery on this site. There are two photos though - the one below and one of myself at my most vulnerable state that I have blown up to HUGE, beautiful framed images in my home. These are the two that I come back to when I need to remember. These are the ones that pull a wry little smile out of me, regardless of my head space.

Moons on Muir

In the end, I fell in love with every single PCT experience and person. Returning to 'real life' after the trail broke my heart and, for years after this journey, I mourned the experience as if the most precious person in my life had died.