[pct-l] marriage and thru-hiking

[Connie Davis]

I met my husband Scott after I had decided to thru-hike but before  
the thru-hike, so he knew from our first date that I was planning on  
doing this. (He may not have believed me!).  We met in 2004, married  
in March of 2005 and I left for the hike in April of 2005.  I hiked  
with my son (his step son.)

I think you've already gotten good advice, but having Mission Control  
(the trail name he earned) as our trail support was amazing. He was  
very engaged in the hike with us.  He kept our trail journal http:// 
trailjournals.com/lookoutandmongous/ .  (The second entry has a  
picture of our wedding.)  Mission Control bought field guides and  
worked to identify the flower and plant pictures I sent him. He was  
the consummate shopper, always finding us new trail treats to keep 2  
vegetarians healthy and happy on the trail.  He was (and is) totally  
amazing and supportive.

My son and I pledged to each other that we were going to complete the  
PCT.   Our motto was "Have Fun, Be Safe, Leave No Trace."  As another  
person has written,  I think the "be safe" is very important when you  
consider your loved ones.  I believe Mission  Control knew enough  
about my hiking abilities and experiences to feel comfortable.  I  
definitely did not want to become injured or worse on the trail and  
had my son to consider.  That said, you do sometimes find yourselves  
in dicey conditions but we were never in a situation that I thought  
was too risky.  We chose to flip-flop to avoid outrageous (to me)  
snow and even worse--fording conditions in the Sierra.  I think  
Mission Control appreciated that decision, as he also kept an eye on  
the weather and snow conditions for us.  He was on the PCT-L during  
our hike and kept up with the gossip about progress and conditions.

Since we were living in Washington State at the time, we saw our  
family a lot for about a month when they met us at every pass  (mid- 
June through mid-July).  Mission Control also met us at Crater Lake  
for a couple of nights in August.  Saying good-bye after that was  
tough.  I knew I wouldn't see him until the hike was over.  He flew  
to California to meet us at our terminus, Kennedy Meadows.  It was  
amazing to see him, introduce him to our trail friends and do a short  
hike on the PCT together for the "Annual PCT Beer Hike."  I would  
definitely recommend seeing your spouse at the end of the trail if  
you can manage it.

I missed Scott very much but it actually helped me keep hiking. I  
knew I was hiking "home."  I often pictured him and hikes we had done  
together while I hiked.  My son could also sense when I was a bit  
low, and since we had agreed to both not have the same bad day, he  
would chatter at me and lift my spirits.  I learned to not phone  
Scott before I had a shower and food since I often was crabby and  
miserable when I first got to a trail town.  Scott never said "come  
home" when I was crabby and miserable. He told me he knew he would  
have to live with me and if I didn't finish the hike I would have  
been even more miserable!  Very wise of him.

The adjustment to real life deserves a mention.  It was great to be  
home, having a quiet dinner and a glass of wine with Scott in clean  
clothes and with fresh food.  I think Scott may sometimes tire of me  
pining for the trail.  I often daydream about the PCT and relive it  
in my head or out loud, and lucky guy, he ends up listening to me!   
He's very kind about it, though.  We've done a slide presentation or  
two about the hike together, which is very fun.  I'll let him tell  
you more from his point of view.  We are hiking the Coast-2-Coast  
trail in England this summer, which will be our first long distance  
hike together.

We do some trail angeling at Manning Park, so let us know when you  
are nearing Canada!

Connie
aka Lookout
Yarrow, BC