{"id":5113,"date":"2015-08-05T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-05T14:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=5113"},"modified":"2025-01-09T20:10:43","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T04:10:43","slug":"wild-footsteps-backpacking-a-section-of-the-pct-with-women-only","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/wild-footsteps-backpacking-a-section-of-the-pct-with-women-only","title":{"rendered":"Wild Footsteps: Backpacking A Section Of The PCT With Women Only"},"content":{"rendered":"

If only Cheryl Strayed had hung out with backpacking guide Polly Simpich before she set out on the Pacific Crest Trail. She might not have become known as \u201cCheryl of the enormous backpack,\u201d who famously had to sit down to put it on and then roll herself over onto her knees before standing up with it\u2014all told in her bestselling book Wild<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Golden Northern California sun beamed down on the parking lot of the Cold Creek Inn in Mount Shasta City as Polly gracefully talked each of us through items we could leave behind and made sure we had everything we\u2019d need for three days on the Pacific Crest Trail. Rain pants? Not so much this week. Trekking poles? Absolutely. We weren\u2019t heading off for the entire thru-hike, but I think we were each anxiously aware how miserable a weekend on the trail could be with an ill-fitting pack or the wrong footwear. We\u2019d all either read about\u2014or seen on the big screen\u2014Cheryl Strayed\u2019s painful foibles during the first part of her thru-hike of the PCT.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

On some level, Wild<\/em> was the connecting thread drawing all seven of us women together that afternoon as we left the Gumboot Trailhead at 6,500 feet and settled into an easy pace through the dry forest. Either Wild<\/em> had brought our attention to a beautiful trail we hadn\u2019t much considered before, or it had triggered a thought: Maybe a few days on the trail can inject something into my life that\u2019s been missing lately, or help me find something in myself that I know is there but I might need to be reminded of.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

During the next six miles along the easygoing ridgeline of Gumboot Mountain, we didn\u2019t see a single other person. Mount Shasta\u2019s imposing blue profile, streaked with white glaciers and snowfields, played peekaboo with us through the woods. Eventually the trees parted to reveal the gem-green water of Porcupine Lake, with the gray cliffs of Porcupine Mountain towering overhead on the far side.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

With plenty of June sunlight left, we each picked a tent spot for the night and then relaxed on the edge of the crystal-clear lake.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

Half of us braved the alpine water for a refreshing swim, then dried in the gentle sunlight before eating a dinner of leek soup and burritos with fresh guacamole around a small campfire.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

Not one person in our group had ever met any of the others before we hit the trail. Ranging in age from 20s to 60s, we also ranged from single and childless to working single mom to retired. Our previous backpacking experience was just as diverse. For all of us, waking up in the crisp mountain air and sipping mugs of piping pour-over coffee, life seemed just a little bit simpler. Each of us could be ourselves\u2014no work deadlines, no need for makeup, our hearts and bodies softly reminded of dreams and values we held dearly deep underneath our typical day-to-day routines.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

The second day of hiking, also about 6 miles, took us into a unique transition zone\u2014one minute we wound through dark, moss-covered trees and lush ferns, the next through wide-open, high-desert sagebrush. Shasta would appear on one side, the distant blue-and-white hump of Lassen Peak on the other. We stopped for lunch among delicate blue phlox blossoms shivering in the mild breeze.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

We clambered over hulking fallen trees and followed the trail through a scree field to the Deadfall Lakes, a series of cold, deep-green lakes below Mount Eddy\u2014our objective for the next morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

Mount Eddy, at 9,025 feet the highest peak in the area aside from massive, glacier-covered Shasta, was named for Olive Paddock Eddy, the first woman to climb Mount Shasta. It felt fitting to challenge ourselves with the 2,000-foot elevation gain to the blustery, bare summit on our final day. After a handful of switchbacks through wildflowers of every color, we arrived at the top as a team to find a wide, rewarding view and the remains of a fire lookout tower.<\/p>\n

\"REI<\/p>\n

Throughout the weekend, we tasted a little of the daily rhythm of the special trail we\u2019d read about. It may have felt brief compared to Strayed\u2019s 1,100-mile trek, but it was enough to pluck us out of our daily routines and bring us each back into our true selves, if just for a moment. As Strayed wrote of her final day on the PCT, \u201cIt was enough to trust that what I\u2019d done was true. To understand its meaning without yet being able to say precisely what it was \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If only Cheryl Strayed had hung out with backpacking guide Polly Simpich before she set out on the Pacific Crest Trail. She might not have become known as \u201cCheryl of the enormous backpack,\u201d who famously had to sit down to put it on and then roll herself over onto her knees before standing up with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[8,370,651],"internal-tag":[517,1673,495],"class_list":["post-5113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","tag-hike","tag-hilary-oliver","tag-women","internal-tag-california","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hike","internal-tag-united-states"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/wild-footsteps-backpacking-a-section-of-the-pct-with-women-only","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Wild Footsteps: Backpacking A Section Of The PCT With Women Only","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/wild-footsteps-backpacking-a-section-of-the-pct-with-women-only","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/wild-footsteps-backpacking-a-section-of-the-pct-with-women-only"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/07\/20150619-REI-PCT-021.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/07\/20150619-REI-PCT-021.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["hike","hilary oliver","women"],"dateCreated":"2015-08-05T14:00:09Z","datePublished":"2015-08-05T14:00:09Z","dateModified":"2025-01-10T04:10:43Z"},"rendered":"