Hiking the PCT With Anxiety: The Paradox of Planning

I am originally a planner. Ever since I can remember, I’ve loved planning activities with friends and family, and these days I love planning adventures on my own. The excitement of planning your next big thing is nothing like the experience of actually going out and doing the activities you planned. I am also naturally anxious. Just as I loved planning as a child, my struggle with anxiety goes back to my childhood. The externality of this anxiety in my daily life is that my brain is constantly thinking about what’s next and how to deal with it, so I struggle to stay in the present and enjoy the moment. Powerful forces meet in that one is a coping mechanism for dealing with the other. When I’m feeling anxious about something, I make a plan so I can be present in the moment. When it comes to hiking, we tend to try to plan down to the smallest detail when we are insecure about our trip. For example, moving from where I currently live in Northern California to the South Terminal of the PCT has caused a lot of anxiety because I don’t know exactly what to do. To handle and assuage this anxiety, I created a plan in Google Docs, itemizing steps for when, what, and how I would do it until I arrived at the Southern Terminal on April 28th.

It is for these reasons that raising the PCT in 2023 is paradoxical to me. Every day at PCT is full of unknowns. A myriad of variables are completely out of my control, and that fact makes me uneasy. Moreover, one of my biggest fears about this endeavor is that my anxiety is winning over me day by day and I can’t be there. People I’ve asked for advice have told me: Don’t plan too much! Some planning is required. So today I want to tackle this paradox and outline how to deal with it while hiking the PCT.

My plan is straightforward (kind of?) and focuses on three pieces of advice I received along the way:

1. 3 water sources, 2 campsites, 1 supply station
2. You can plan a place or time, but not both
3. Outline your fears.

3 water sources, 2 campsites, 1 supply station

There are too many uncontrollable variables in everyday life on the trail, so the name suggests which variables are most important, such as water, shelter, and food, and how much control these variables need to have. shows exactly. This nickname works for me because it simplifies everything and gives my planner brain some day-to-day boundaries, freeing up mental bandwidth so I can stay present.

You can plan a place or time, but not both

Due to many variables outside of my control when hiking, this nickname is only used when I want to meet someone (be it someone on the trail or someone from outside life). It says that you should try to meet people. Plan around either the time or place aspect. How I interpret this about planned life on the trail is to make plans with friends, family and girlfriends that focus on place rather than time. Because the ability to reach a particular spot on the trail is higher than the flexibility of time. An important caveat to this saying, I think, is that we should try to give people trying to make plans an estimated time range.

An example of this is something we are all likely to experience on the trail: At the beginning of the day, plan to meet with your new hiking partner at a defined campsite. Do your best to give a time estimate instead of saying. That way they know when they are waiting for you. I know if (or when) they start looking for you. Over time, you’ll be able to make assumptions about your hiking partner’s pace, physical and mental limitations, and common risk factors associated with daily life on the trail, and you’ll have far less to worry about. Until. I keep a close eye on this moniker when I’m on the trail.

Another example of this, this time an off-trail meetup, I have plans to meet up with my parents and girlfriend in South Lake Tahoe the week of June 26th. This allows me to take responsibility for my pacing, communicate with them about whether this timeline is achievable, and ask them to act if they don’t see or hear from me by the end of a certain time range. We firmly believe that it is our responsibility as hikers to take steps to reduce fear and anxiety, not just for ourselves, but for those we love. So this nickname I plan to rely on frequently during my hikes.

Outline your fears.

The last piece of advice I received is not really related to PCT hiking, but I think PCT is the perfect topic to apply it to. It’s about writing down your fears and taking manual steps on how you’re going to process and deal with them. So here’s mine:

1. I’m afraid I won’t be there every day.
   1. To counter this, I will be journaling nightly and writing a weekly blog post about the experience of the previous week. increase.
2. I’m afraid I’ll hurt myself on the trail and not be able to finish.
   1. I have a history of overuse injuries, so knowing this, I asked my primary care provider to refer me to a physiotherapist who specializes in endurance sports to train my body as best as possible for extreme conditions. I had them help me create a plan for the trail.
3. I fear that my desire to immerse myself in experiences will prevent me from communicating clearly, often, and effectively with friends, family, and girlfriends. It covers what is most important to me in this world (Gordy is my family) and wants to support me and be a part of this journey. You can’t let them down.
   1. I took a page out of my pony book and created a girlfriend relationship plan (s/o episode 155 of BPR) to address these concerns. The question at the heart of this plan is how do I stay connected while tracking. You don’t have to share all the details, and while they’re unlikely to be relevant to some, the basic tenets of our plan are: Plan out as many places as you can meet, meet them, privately, and introduce them when I resupply. Keep their feelings and experiences at the center when we are able to speak.

I hope this helps you with your planning – whether it’s your daily life or your PCT hike. helped ignite and address some very important topics with people in my life.

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