Am I still dreaming? – The Trek

… or am I starting to live the dream?

I‘m at the Southern Terminus of the PCT. It just feels surreal to finally be here. After days, weeks, months, well, actually years of following other people’s PCT journeys, I’m starting my own. But let’s go back a few days:

Arriving in the USA

The first big step in getting here was entering the US. All the news about cases of Europeans being denied entry to the USA made me quite nervous beforehand. But as my boyfriend and I got off a really smooth flight in San Diego, I had a good feeling. With a bunch of paperwork ready to be pulled out of our backpacks we approached the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) officer. We told him we are here to thru-hike the PCT and he was very friendly and supportive, even offering us to give us more than 6 months to stay to make sure we can finish the thru-hike. After a short visit to a separate room and another officer we left the airport with the permission to stay in the USA for up to 7 months. I was so grateful that everything went smoothly and even better than I could have imagined.

San Diego

Not just the usual vacation

We then spent two days in San Diego, with a bit of sightseeing and – of course – an obligatory visit to REI. REI is a big outdoor gear outfitter and a must-stop for our last-minute PCT purchases. There was a „Welcome PCT hikers“ sign and a world map where you could put a pin where you come from. As I was signing the guest book, a couple approached us asking us whether we‘re PCT hikers. Turned out they’re planning on thru-hiking the PCT too and their start date is very close to ours! I actually recognised the girl as a fellow Trek blogger! It was surreal but very exciting meeting her and her husband. Up to that point, visiting San Diego felt more like a „normal“ vacation, with travelling being something my boyfriend and I like to do as much as possible. But meeting fellow hikers and telling REI staff that we‘re PCT hikers started to make it feel more real that we‘re at the beginning of this different kind of journey.

Signing the PCT guest book at REI

„Tomorrow is going to be your someday“

And then that feeling intensified as we were on our way to Campo. A very kind trail angel with a super cute dog gave us and another European couple a ride to Campo, a small town close to the Southern Terminus. We bought some food for the trail and very tasty sandwiches at the „Green Store“, and picked up some packages they kindly held for us. And then, on our way to CLEEF (they have a campground for PCT hikers), we walked on the PCT for the very first time! It almost felt „wrong“ to walk on it before our actual start (and in the – for us – „wrong“ direction). At CLEEF we pitched our tent, met more fellow hikers, and signed the famous banner. As we stayed at CLEEF for two nights, we got to listen to the information-packed and entertaining fireside chat of the amazing hosts and enjoy „Papa Bear‘s“ breakfast pancakes twice. „Tomorrow is going to be your someday“ is what „Just Paul“ said during that fireside chat… „someday“, because many of us have been thinking „I‘ll do a PCT (thru-)hike someday“ for such a long time … I almost had tears in my eyes, because that was just so true. Tomorrow was going to be my „someday“!

In front of the PCT 2025 banner at CLEEF

This is where it begins

The night before our start date, I was laying in our tent, asking myself whether I was nervous. But the answer was „no“. I felt ready. I slept very well that night. Firstly, because I‘d already had my sleepless night the night before our flight (that’s when I spontaneously wrote my last blog post). And secondly, because these two days at CLEEF provided for a smooth transition between our „Pre-PCT“ phase and our start date. Meeting fellow hikers and experiencing the kindness of the team at CLEEF seemed to prevent me from having last minute pre-trail jitters. Packing up our tent this morning still felt strange. We still need to figure out a routine. But that’ll come with time, I‘m sure. For now, I‘m enjoying the excitement of every new aspect of the beginning of this journey. And then it’s time. We walk to the Southern Terminus of the PCT. We take our obligatory starting pictures. Here we are. This is where it begins.

Us at the Southern Terminus of the PCT!

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