My Backpacking Resume

Most of the blogs about hiking the PCT that I've seen, were written by relatively young folks.  People in their 20s and 30s. Most with pretty loose ties to the world.  The sort of people who have the youth, health, foolhardiness, freedom, and naive ambition to take on a long backpacking trip.  I'm not that person. I'm 40.  I'm overweight. I have a very good regular job. A house. Car payment. Dogs. Cats.  Tendinitis in my right foot.  Burgeoning arthritis elsewhere.  Most importantly, I don't think I'm invincible. In short, I have the trappings (emphasis on trap) of a middle aged person.  This is why I'm writing this blog.  For all the middle aged folks out there who want to hear about this sort of endeavor from one of their own.

So who am I?  I think this is a rather important question that will provide context for other posts to come.  To understand what (and why) I'll be writing, you need to know who I am and what my experiences are.

You already know I'm 40 (almost 41) and overweight.  Well, I'm also 5'3 and female. My left leg is longer than my right (which causes real problems when backpacking).  The difference in leg lengths means that I over pronate pretty badly on my left side (more on that later).  I have a Master's Degree in Anthropology and I've been an archaeologist for 18 years.  Despite my weight, I'm actually in pretty decent physical shape.  I'm a runner - not fast but I've participated in loads of 5k's and 10k's.  I like to walk and hike (gee, go figure).

Working as an archaeologist, I have hiked A LOT.  That's part of the job.  We call it "survey" or "inventory." That's when we go out and actively look for sites.  We can walk all day. I've surveyed in 0 degrees to 110 degrees. Rain, snow, hail, burning sun. Wind.  Oh gosh how I hate working in the wind.  Hiking for archaeology has taught me TONS about being in the outdoors.  I started working back in the day when GPS units were still pretty rudimentary so I learned to navigate with a map and compass and I'm darn good at it.  I've done a lot of hiking in the middle of nowhere and I'm 100% comfortable being outdoors for long periods.  I know the kind of gear I need and what I prefer.  I know how much water I use.  I know how to deal with blisters.  I know that food, more than anything else, is the most important item in your pack for preserving your sanity and good humor.  Most importantly, I KNOW MY LIMITS.

BUT. Hiking for archaeology is really just a series of day hikes (5-10 days in a row).  At the end of the day, you go back to your motel and you take a shower and enjoy a beer - maybe join the crew for a steak dinner.  Then you go back to your room, turn on the A/C, watch some TV, and drift off to sleep in a nice comfy bed. There's none of that in long distance backpacking. But still, I'm pretty confident that my skill set will translate.  The walking day after day thing doesn't change and I've done that.

Backpacking is really just a series of day hikes punctuated by camping.  Right?  We'll see . . .