Planning? … yeah, good luck with that :)
Planning is futile
As previously mentioned, I need to try and plan in advance approximately where on the route I’ll need to resupply with food and possibly gear. So planning… good luck with that! Because before I actually start walking, there’s no way I can know how far I’ll be able to go each day.
For example, it’s about 33 km to the first place where I can buy food. 33 km, you might think, that’s no problem! – No, I don’t expect it to be, but from experience, I know that if I start a hike by walking 30+ km, my feet and legs will be pretty sore the next day, when I then have to walk another 33 km to the next food resupply point.
And if I’m unlucky, I might also get a couple of lovely blisters, and then it’s not exactly the most fun to have to walk that far.
That’s why I want to start off a bit slower and gradually work my way up to being able to take on some brutal stretches of 60-80 km, which will give me the opportunity to take more zeroes (zeroes are days where you don’t hike).
So planning? … yeah, good luck with that 🙂
At the beginning of the hike, it’s obviously not a huge problem, since I can just bring food for two days and plan to start by walking 15 km per day. Easy peasy.
But then I’ll start going up and down mountains, and suddenly, maybe I won’t be moving as fast anymore. And if I’ve planned for a 7-day stretch until my next resupply stop, my plan can completely fall apart if it suddenly turns into 8 or 9 days because of something unforeseen.
And I also need to take photos 😉
I have this little romantic dream of walking along the trail and suddenly coming upon the most amazing landscape. And then I can just say to myself: “Self, we’re definitely staying here for a couple of days :)”
Both to photograph in peace and quiet, but also just to enjoy the freedom and flexibility.
But that suddenly means I have to adjust my entire plan afterward, because now I need to spread the “lost” kilometers across the remaining days. And have I even packed enough food to make it to the next town before I DIE of hunger? 🙂 – Okay, a bit dramatic maybe, but you get the point, right?
Luckily, there are websites like PCT Planner where you can input your data and get an overview of resupply points and how many days/km there are from A to B to C, etc.
But the thought of spending a lot of time entering information that won’t even hold up in reality – yeah, that annoys me a bit, but at the same time, it’s incredibly exciting to shuffle things around and see how the whole plan changes.
On the other hand, there’s definitely something charming about just taking things as they come. Scary charm 🙂
I haven’t been able to find anyone else who has posted their plans online – and that does make me feel totally alone and clueless, even though I’m well aware that everyone else who is going on this hike – or has done it before – has been in the exact same situation.