I am currently en route to the USA's southern border with Mexico. Over the next few months I'll be following the Pacific Crest Trail north until I reach the border with Canada.

Arid biomes rule the southern portion of the route -- the Sonoran and Colorado Deserts. Water is hard to come by. On day 1 there is already a stretch of ~20 miles between reliable sources. Creeks have vanished by this time of year. Literally evaporated.

Though it may be dry, this desert is not flat. In the San Jacinto and San Bernadino mountains closer to Los Angeles I'll see some serious climbs, enough to encounter snow at the top.

Further up in the Sierra Nevada, I will climb the continental USA's highest peak, Mt. Whitney, at 14,505'. I will pick up my government mandated bear canister to make sure I don't accidentally share my snacks with an ursine neighbor. Winding through remote passes, the trail here hovers around 10,000' elevation for hundreds of miles. In Yosemite and Sequoia-King's Canyon National Parks I’ll meet some of the close to 4 million annual visitors from around the world. The subject of countless desktop backgrounds and wall calendars, craggy granite peaks preside over crystalline streams and lakes in every direction. I have been among these peaks many times before but still struggle to believe a place of such raw terrifying beauty is actually real.

Past Lake Tahoe, in Northern California, the terrain flattens and becomes volcanic. North of Mt. Shasta, I’ll cross into the Cascades in Oregon, around Crater Lake, through thick Pacific Northwest forests. Finally, in Washington, I’ll hike through peak wildflower season in the Central and Northern Cascades, until I reach Canada.

I expect to spend 100 days +/- walking, plus however many "zero days" I take off to rest. I will pick up food from towns every 4-5 days. I'm carrying 8 pounds of equipment and gear to start, including my backpack. Everything I need to survive is in here.

If you’re curious, a list of each item is available on lighterpack. Needless to say I will sleep, and eat, and brush my teeth, and go to the bathroom, and everything else, outdoors.

It's impossible to truly prepare for something like this. You cannot possibly anticipate what will happen over 100+ straight days of backcountry travel. I have poured over my gear list, weighed and modifying everything, practiced knots, memorized first aid acronyms and calorie-per-ounce values of different foods. But that will all pale in comparison, I'm sure, to what I’ll learn when I'm out there.

Wish me luck!

Eigen

P.S. Live progress at share.garmin.com/eign, access code is COLDBREW. You can send me a message at that link which will be delivered via satellite. Be sure to include your name so I know who it’s from!