Deciding on the GWL

The idea to attempt a long thru-hike first occurred reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed in 2018 preparing for my first 6 day backpacking trip in Yellowstone National Park. The trip in Yellowstone transformed the idea into a deep burning desire.

In 2018, I hadn’t even heard of the Great Western Loop and furthermore, quitting my job and putting my life on hold seemed impossible even just for the more traditional Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail. I certainly did not possess the courage then to make the leap. So, I decided to do the next best thing: find a 100+ mile hike I could complete using vacation time at work.

Enter the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), a 165 mile hike around Lake Tahoe. It’s known for being an excellent first thru-hike because the trail is a loop, is well-developed and contains convenient resupply options halfway through. I told myself this would be a test to see if I truly could do something like this long term. It was an intentional baby step to build the courage I was then lacking.

A year after Yellowstone, I completed my solo attempt of the TRT 2 days faster than my plan and during the hike, I felt so. dam. alive. Upon returning home, I met with my bosses at work to plant the seed of my desire to take extended time off to potentially hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

I’m not sure when the idea to attempt the Great Western Loop first entered my head, but I first learned about it through Episode #38 of Backpacking Radio with Jeff “Legend” Garmire where he chronicled his 2018 successful completion of the loop. The episode aired May 24, 2019, but I think I first shared out loud my interest during a backpacking trip in Isle Royal National Park ironically during Independence Day in 2019. It was just a dream then with no real belief I’d actually do it.

But I continued to try more challenging hikes of longer day efforts and developed more confidence after each one. I reckon it was late 2019 when I mentally committed to the idea of at least giving the Great Western Loop a chance, and started to take steps to make the reality possible (like doubling my car payments so it’d be paid off before I started).

I’ve become fascinated with the idea of finding my limits, physically and mentally, and the GWL presents the perfect challenge. The physical challenge is extreme due to the high volume of miles and so is the mental as it requires daily focus for 200+ days (one doesn’t hike 35 miles a day on accident).

I officially began mapping out the loop and starting research April 10th, 2020 almost exactly a year before I’ll begin (start date is April 4th). Once the PCT announced in January of 2021 they were issuing permits for the year, I committed — I will hike the Great Western Loop.