I've been in love with nature for a long, long time. My first camping trip was when I was 10 months old. My family were all avid hikers, bikers, and backpackers - being in the Bay Area, CA, there was no shortage of nature, and I grew up with weekends and vacations spent in the woods. In fact, for most of my childhood, I didn't realize people could bring their cars to camp since I was only familiar with bike camping. As I grew up, I sometimes had a love/hate relationship with camping. One memorable trip when I was about ten, I declared, "I hate backpacking for three reasons: I hate my shoes, I hate my bag, and I hate my tent!" This might have been due to the heavy pans my sister snuck into my backpack. But despite that, I never wanted to stop. Being in nature is a marvelous feeling - the trees above you, the dirt under your toes, and the wind in your hair. I'm so glad my parents took me on these trips as they instilled a deep appreciation for the world around me.

​

I first started thinking about hiking the PCT when one of my college friends embarked on the AT. I'd known about the PCT for a while, and it seemed amazing but also utterly insane. But when I realized someone my age was about to go on an equivalent adventure, it became very real. Hiking over 2,000 miles was something that people did, and maybe I could do it too. I started devouring books, blogs, and podcasts about the PCT during the summer of 2021 and after many hours of research, finally broached the prospect with my friends and family. They were very supportive, and it emboldened me to actually start to plan. I was then in undergrad for Mechanical Engineering and Philosophy, and decided I would begin my hike a year and a half later, after I finished my Master's in Materials Science. A massive spreadsheet developed that year, and during the summer of 2022, I decided to compile my planning documents in one place, hence the creation of this website. This will be a place to record my thoughts as I prepare, and to hopefully post regular updates once on the trail. To be honest, this is all mostly for me, so I have a nice record of my hike and the pictures I took. But congrats if you found this page, and thanks to all my friends and family for following along!!

​

Happy trails,

Zosia