How Backpacking Became Home: My Journey From The Backyard Creek to the PCT

In 2021, I went on my first backpacking trip to Hawn State Park. My pack was way too heavy, we took a wrong turn and couldn’t find the water source, and it was at least 90° in Missouri, which means it felt even hotter with the humidity.

When I left the park at the end of the weekend, I had been changed forever.

Where It Started

I spent my childhood in the woods behind my house. I had a trail that was maybe ¼ mile long that followed a creek and ended at the rain tunnels under Interstate 64.

I’ve always loved being outside, but as I got older, I stopped spending time there.

I eventually would take hikes, but they always just felt anticlimactic. I would drive somewhere, hike, get back in my car, and go home.

But when I went on that first backpacking trip, I felt like I had found what I had been missing my whole life.

Then I listened to the audiobook Wild by Cheryl Strayed, and I knew before I was halfway through the book that I was going to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) someday.

The PCT is a 2,650-mile trail beginning near Campo, California, at the Mexican border and ending in Manning Park, British Columbia.

Learning the Hard Way

When I went on my first backpacking trip, I weighed over 220 lbs and my pack was over 40 lbs.

When we couldn’t find the water source, I became overheated, so I sat down under a tree with our packs while my friend went in search of the creek. Once we had water again, I was able to keep going and did not have any other issues.

After this trip, I spent three weeks in Ireland and although I did not backpack, I did car camp around the country using the skills I learned while backpacking.

My next two trips were with a group of girls, one of them being at Hawn State Park again, and the other one was the Taum Sauk section of the larger Ozark Trail.

I then made my first attempt to plan and go on my own trip to Bell Mountain, another section of the Ozark Trail.

Trial, Error, and Experience

My first planned trip was a great learning experience even though it was not fully executed.

Let’s just say that after the water issue on my first trip, I had a fear of not having enough water, and I packed too much water for the first leg of the hike.

I tried to carry 6L of water and after only a mile of hiking uphill, I got a slight pull of my groin muscle and had to set up camp for the night.

I had a beautiful view for the evening and hiked out the next morning.

Between 2022 and 2024, I went on to plan several weekend trips that included hikes in the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois.

I planned a week-long trip to Phoenix, Arizona, and traveled there alone for a solo adventure.

In 2024, I planned my first long hike on a trail called the River to River Trail in the Shawnee National Forest. The trail runs 152 miles from the Mississippi River on the Illinois/Missouri border to the Ohio River at the Illinois/Kentucky border.

I spent 5 days on the trail and hiked just over 38 miles.

Looking Ahead: The PCT

This past year has been a light hiking year, and I am looking forward to a full 2026 season of backpacking as part of my training for the PCT.

I am using this platform to share my journey over the next two years while I prepare to take on this huge feat of hiking the PCT, while I hike the trail, and then my post-trail experience.

I hope this experience helps prepare me as I document my preparations, and I hope that I help others see that anything is possible, no matter where you are in life.

I hope you will join me on my journey.