Intro to Pacific Crest Trail Preparation

As I’ve told my friends and family about my PCT plans, I’ve frequently gotten looks of confusion, followed by, “but what about _________?”, insert: predators, food, camping alone, if you get lost, etc.  Yes, I understand that undertaking the PCT is both a dangerous and daunting task, but it’s not nearly dangerous as what our imaginations would have us believe.  In the hopes of allaying some of these fears, I’m going to spend the next few posts describing my plans and preparation for the trail and how I’m attempting to mitigate these dangers as much as possible. The types of preparation I’ve been doing can be broken into physical, mental, skills, and gear/supplies.  All four of these are extremely important, and I’ve been working diligently on each in order to be as safe as possible, but also to be able to have a lot of fun whilst hiking from Mexico to Canada.