I kept adding miles thinking harder meant better but the slowest section of the PCT taught me the opposite

I was out on a section near Crater Lake last summer and kept pushing 18-20 mile days because I thought that was the whole point of backpacking. After day 4 I hit a stretch of blown down trees and steep scrambles. I was burning through my water and my knees were done. I slowed way down to maybe 8 miles that day and suddenly I noticed the views, the birds, even a little spring I would have walked right past. It hit me that I had been treating the trail like a checklist instead of a place to be. Has anyone else had a route force them to change their pace?

2 comments

2 Comments

rayy8324d ago

Know exactly what you mean, man. Had a similar wakeup call in the Sierras where pushing big miles just made me miss all the tiny alpine lakes and wildflowers that were right there.

ben40224d ago

Those alpine lakes you mentioned, @rayy83, are exactly what I was missing too.