Imagine you have been reading an amazing book for the past few weeks or months. You are in love with this book - you are so invested in the characters and their journey that you think about them around the clock. You turn the pages, excitedly anticipating their next move, following their next story, wanting to enjoy each and every piece of the story that unfolds, but excited to see where they are headed next. You are rapidly approaching the end of this book, sad to see it end, but proud of all that you went through to finish. Suddenly, you find that you cannot finish the last chapter of this book. You will have to start this book over and reread it, or never know how it ends. This has happened to some thruhikers on the PCT. We thought this might happen to Teddy.
Let me explain.
With 49 days left until departure, Teddy is continually researching and preparing for his trip. He is planning out each week, with how many days he will hike before going into town for food resupply, to check in with the family, take a bath... I think he said the longest clip of time he will go with out resupplying food will be 9 days. Yes, he still considers this "FUN."
To give you a little PCT background, most hikers begin this trail during the "kick-off" weekend which is May 1st. Teddy did not want to miss a few very important events happening in the month of May - like Jagger's first cello concert, Dakota's music concert, and Dakota's confirmation. He decided to begin his hike a month later, which brings up new challenges to this already rigorous journey.
The later you start, the later you finish.
Teddy will be finishing the trail in British Columbia, Canada, in October. We started to wonder... what is the weather like up there around that time?? does the PCT close down the parks for winter?? Will the weather prevent him from heading to the end? Can you imagine walking 2,650 miles to find out that they have closed Manning Park (the Northern end of the PCT) and you cannot finish the trail?? Your dream of having "thruhiker"status has vanished into thin air right before your eyes. Not Good.
We decided not to leave that one up to chance. The weather has been so unpredictable, so with a little research, we found the number of a gentleman named Mike Dawson, who works for the Pacific Crest Trail Association. He was able to answer some questions and set our minds at ease. He said Manning Park does not close for the winter. Teddy is free to walk through the wintry cold terrain to the Northern terminus of the PCT. We were so relieved and excited about this. Teddy did not need to worry about not being able to experience the last chapter of the book.
I am really anxious to see how it ends... aren't you??
