Yes.  That was nerve-racking.  As expected, about a thousand thru-hiker wannabes rushed the PCTA website all at the same time.  The mosh pit grounded the website to a near halt.

The way the process works, now that I have seen it, is that when you first select your date, they give you exactly thirteen minutes to complete all the pages of the application.  I would fill out the form and click next and it would take nearly a minute before the next page would appear.  I would frantically fill out the form and then sit there watching a flashing “Processing…” message.

The final page before hitting the submit button required me to enter my credit card if I wanted to make a donation and to purchase a permit to climb Mount Whitney.  I had one minute to do it.  I typed as fast as I could, but I wasn’t fast enough.  When I hit the submit button, my application timed out and I had to start over.  I did that right away only to find that 32 of 35 slots of April 6th were taken!

The second time I skipped making a donation.  I have already done that before, so hopefully it will not make a difference in my application approval.  I clicked the submit button.  Processing…

My phone beeps.  I received a new e-mail from the PCTA with a confirmation notice that my application has been successfully submitted.  Now I wait for the formal approval which should be in about three weeks.  As I gave myself a window of April 6th to September 15th, I do not expect for it to be declined.  The first major step of this hike has been successfully completed.  Now I pack for a three-day, two-night section hike of the Ice Age Trail to celebrate.  It is supposed to be cold and rainy.  It is ideal conditions for a shakedown of my gear.

 

My heart can now stop beating so fast.

The very first step of hiking the PCT does not take place outside, but behind a computer.  Seems only fitting for me.  You need a permit from the Pacific Crest Trail Association if you are hiking for more than 500 miles.  Getting that permit from the PCTA saves you from having to get a permit for every single National and State Forest you’ll pass through.

To protect the fragile ecosystem only a limited number of permits are issued.  Today, 35 permits will be released for each day in March, April and May.  Later in January, they will release another 15 permits for the same window.

Here is where it gets complicated.  There is a time limit to this race.  Everyone who hikes north needs to make it to Canada by October 1st.  Once you get past October 1st, the weather in Washington becomes dangerous for hiking, even for an experienced winter camper like me.  So, it would seem to make sense that a starting date like March 1st would give you the most time to complete it.  However, you have to cross the Sierra Mountains.  They might not be safe to cross until June 15th.  Generally, it takes forty days to hike from Mexico to Kennedy Meadows, the traditional town where you swap your desert gear for your mountain gear.  Therefore, most thru-hikers aim for April 20th.

I have decided that I want to start my hike on just one date — April 6th.  It is the one year anniversary of my best friend, Dennis passing away.  I will walk with a relaxed pace to start to avoid blisters and to build my hiking legs.  If I get there early, I have friends in California I can visit.

So I sit in an empty house waiting for 12:30 Central Daylight Time, when every single person thinking about hiking north is going to sign up for one of those limited number of permits.  It is going to be a mad rush!  I’ve heard horrors about this process.

Yes.  I am nervous.

 

I am pretty fortunate that I have the opportunity to do something so crazy as pack just a few things into a backpack and walk north through the desert, the mountains, the forests, and the mountains again. Especially at my age. I’m not a kid anymore.

It all started when I came home to Wisconsin to pack up my fiancé’s (now wife) car and we drove all the way to Southern California. My career was going well and she was going to start law school at UCLA in the fall. With back-to-back sixteen hour drives, we spent most of the time talking about our future together. We talked about school, money, children, and the like. Nothing was left off the table.

Eventually, we started talking about how long we would live in California. Just a day into our drive, my wife admitted that she longed for home. It was fine for now, but when we had children, she said she wanted to be closer to family. So, we negotiated.

I promised to pay for her law school. In return, the person who made the most money would decide where we lived. As she was going to a top law school, we knew who was going to make the most money eventually. In return, I would have a grand adventure for my twentieth anniversary.

Four years ago, at our sixteenth wedding anniversary, she asked if I has considered what I was going to do. I sheepishly said that I wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. I would be gone a while, but it would be an adventure that met the definition of Grand. She agreed immediately!

So, here I am a could of months from applying for a permit. The butterflies in my stomach keep me up at night. If the way is made clear, I will go.