July 3
My friends Ivan and Nicole have a teardrop trailer that they live in and travel around the country full time. They happened to be in Yosemite, and were planning on driving through Walker today to get up to South Lake Tahoe for 4th of July weekend, so we all met up at the Walker Burger for lunch.
This was the first non-trail friend I have seen in months, and we actually hadn’t seen each other since before COVID when we went on a trip to Vegas to see the Backstreet Boys, so it was extra exciting to see them! Ivan also used to work a soul sucking corporate office job and then ended up getting a trailer and never looked back.
They asked us all kinds of questions about the trail, but already seemed to know so much about it since they do a lot of hiking on their travels, which was pretty cool to talk to “regular” people who didn’t just think we were insane for doing this, since people often think their lifestyle is pretty abnormal as well.
We talked about not wanting to own anything. They have a storage unit in Miami, where they’re from, with a few things leftover from a big purge, but they were planning on emptying the unit and owning even fewer things, just what fit in their trailer and Jeep.
Before I left for the PCT, I purged a ton of stuff. I donated a ton of clothes, and sold extra sporting goods, but I’m still terrified of what I’m going to go home to – a house still full of too many things. I don’t want to own anything either. I do want to bring my mattress with me to Canada because it’s extremely comfortable, but beyond that, I’d love to not have to move a ton of things with me – ideally only what fits in my little blue Subaru Crosstrek that’s so old it doesn’t even have a backup camera.
Being on the trail and having to carry all of my things has really changed my idea of simplicity. Even letting go of things throughout my time on the trail has been difficult, but has felt rewarding. I don’t need these things. I don’t need to buy things that I don’t need, and don’t want. For so long, I was so miserable at work that I would buy things that I was sure would make me happy, if my living room looks perfect, then I’ll finally feel happy. If my boat has the perfect light fixtures in it, then I’ll finally feel happy. If my shower curtain matches the wall color perfectly, then I’ll finally feel happy. But all this stuff never made me happy. It made me feel like I was just drowning in a nicely decorated home, a nicely fixed up boat.
I’m weirdly excited to get home and purge even more stuff. I don’t want to own anything. I’d love to fit all of my belongings in a tiny RV, or a studio apartment. Part of my mind already feels like it has left the trail. I’m between two lives, with the trail being the thing separating them now. I don’t need to rush to my new life just yet. I keep reminding myself of that. Enjoy the trail while you’re here, because soon you won’t be.
The skin on my shoulder has been peeling off, and it looks pretty horrible now. Ivan and Nicole gave me some Neosporin, and I bought some bandages from the general store. I need to keep this clean in the backcountry.
I’m not sure what it is, I’ve felt more and more tired as the days have gone by in Walker. Every time I stop in town, it becomes more difficult to go back to the trail. My body feels exhausted. After we came back from Walker Burger, we just watched TV the rest of the day. I didn’t really want to go back to the trail, but I did. Between two worlds.
If you are enjoying this blog you can subscribe here to get email updates! If you are really enjoying the blog, please buy me a coffee and help me on my PCT journey! ☀️
