After 20-some years of day dreaming and about a year of planning and preparations Gabriel and I will begin hiking the Pacific Crest Trail! In just a few days! It’s hard for us to believe.

We fly from Seattle to San Diego on 5/1 and begin walking on 5/2. It was a bit surreal when I was looking at our tickets and realized the flight is a mere 2.75 hours to cover the ~1,100 mile distance (as the crow flies). It’ll take us ~5 months to walk the 2,600+ miles between Campo, CA and Manning PP, BC (as the PCT ambles).

Thinking about the orders of magnitude for these units of time: life goal going on to the list (years), the planning for our 2011 hike (months), and the journey itself is much to comprehend; especially as the significant units of time mentally begin to shift.

A few weeks ago, I was executing tasks in 15-minute billable increments on weekdays and driving the 55 miles to Snoqualmie Pass in about an hour at least one day per weekend. Soon, we’ll be experiencing time on yet unknown to us units that are more likely based on hours of light in a day, comfortable hiking temperatures or the rituals of the trail life (collecting water, snack fests, trail towns). A journey of 55 miles will be a 2-4 day hike, not an hour’s drive and the concepts of weekdays and weekends will cease to hold as much significance.

May the days, weeks and months ahead be an enriching experience to elaborate on these rambling to-be-developed thoughts.