Post Script: Overdue Thank You’s

I should have written this post months ago.

I have always been terrible at thank-you’s.  If you’ve ever sent me a gift or a kind message and I didn’t respond or send you a thank-you card, well, I apologize.   I appreciate every single one even if I am too scatter-brained to acknowledge your thoughtfulness.  And I promise to make my southern mama proud of my efforts in the future.

A lot of people helped me start and finish my PCT thru-hike, and they deserve a little attention.  In no particular order, they are:

Mom

My mom drove me down to the trailhead in Campo, California from Southwest Washington State, housed my cat (I think my cat is now happier at her house, go figure), made herself available for whatever I needed, and only asked me once why the heck I wanted to do this.  Thank you, Mom.

Tim

I once read a quote attributed to the Dalai Lama that goes something like, “Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay.”  It now makes me think of my boyfriend Tim.  As many of you probably already know, it is a lot to ask of someone to stick around and take care of things at home while you go off traipsing through the wilderness for darn near six months.  This guy completely understood why I needed to do this, even on the days when I wasn’t exactly sure, and he has made sure that I have a loving home to relax in while I figure out what my post-trail life is going to look like.  He also came out to the trail several times to drive us around, cook us food and cheer us on.  He met more hikers than I did, I think, while he was waiting for us to show up at trailheads.  Thanks, Tim, for being an angel on the trail and to me.

Outdoor Women’s Alliance

Outdoor Women’s Alliance is a grassroots, volunteer-run, non-profit that seeks to promote the empowerment of women through outdoor activities.  They feature women from all over on Instagram doing badass outdoor things, and I got to be one of them.  Follow them on Instagram (@outdoorwomen) and check out their website.

Toast and Jammz

Toast and Jammz are an adventurous couple who share their adventures with the world here.  They host hiking trips, promote resource conservation, and highlight other hikers like me!   Go see what they’re all about!

My Tramily

My trail family (“tramily” if you will) got me through the rough times on trail and made the good times even better.  I couldn’t have done this without them.  Thank you, guys, for being exceptional people. If any of you dear readers want to read about their adventures (and you should), you can find Fluffy’s beautifully designed site here, A-Game’s thoughtful blog posts here, and Donkey and Polliwog’s hilarious stories here.

Trail Angels

Last, but far from least, to all of the people out there who dedicated their time to shuttling us, feeding us, housing us, and cleaning us up, I cannot thank you enough.  What you do has a HUGE impact and sometimes saves our butts.  You are all amazing.