I’m sitting in the Seattle airport. 2 days ago, I finished the PCT. It’s funny, when I started, the thought of finishing was so far from reality. There were so many obstacles and unknown factors in play. Fitness, injury, family emergency, so many of these things could have derailed my trip in the first week, or in the last.

The feeling of finishing something that’s been such a pipedream for 10 years is strange. It’s not like winning a big sports match, where there’s a decisive moment that your team scores the winning goal. Instead it’s a slow build up in the last week, the last month. During that time, i would try to be reflective about my trip, my different experiences, but failing. It’s really hard for me to be really reflective in the moment. I might do one last blog post after this one with some final reflections in the next two weeks instead.

But I can say that standing at the border with Spooky and touching the monument felt pretty great. I guess it’s a feeling of accomplishment. I’m happy to be done, and to be coming home. Some people finish the trail and feel lost. Having people to go home to, people I’ve missed a lot during my 5 months away helps take away that feeling of uncertainty, of “what’s next?“. I still have a bit of that feeling, but I’m not worried about it. I’ll find another job doing software development eventually, and if I don’t find one right away, that’s okay. I’m not worried about my life after trail. Maybe I’m wrong and I’ll get depressed after a week off trail as is common, but having Sarah again as well as friends and family should mitigate that.

The last week or two of trail had highs and lows. It rained for 2 days straight and I got soaked and freezing to the bone, but after that we had picturesque weather the rest of the trip, a small price to pay. The views have been magnificent, going through Goat rocks and northern Washington. The elevation was tough, but it made each day feel like we accomplished something more challenging.

4 days from the terminus Spooky and I met another New Zealander, Logistics. He lives in Colorado now with his wife, and she was meeting him to hike the last 30 miles of the trail. We ended at the same time, and they were kind enough to give Spooky and I rides back to Seattle with them.

At the terminus, I had a shot of fireball, a 6.8% beer, and a cigar. It was 10am. Beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to timing of finishing a 5 month long hike.

I didn’t update this blog as much as I’d wanted to, but creating new posts and being reflective in the moment takes time and effort.

I’m not exactly sure what’s next, but I don’t feel the pull to do something like this again, especially not without Sarah. Being away from her was by far the hardest part of this trip. 5 months is a long time when you’re used to living with someone and seeing them every day. For me, the dream was always the PCT, other major multi-month trails don’t hold any interest for me, though I could see myself doing trips that take a few weeks to do.

For those reading this, I hope you enjoyed following along with my adventure. The written format forces me to think a bit more than a video format, and I’m happy I did my blog this way.

Thanks for being a fan, Coach