5 mistakes from the PCT
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I really wouldn’t change much about my PCT thru hike this year. But I did do a few stupid things involving becoming too friendly with the mosquitoes, trying to out smart bears, and (a lack of) resupply…
1. Putting coffee and electrolytes through my sawyer squeeze
Look it was early days in the desert. I was pre occupied with generally staying alive. The whole ‘dirty bottles-clean bottles’ thing confused me somehow. I would often just drink directly from the sawyer squeeze if I was feeling lazy- which by the way works wonderfully.
Somewhere along that dusty trail i found rare shade under a nice plant and sleepily poured an electrolyte packet into some unfiltered water. Without thinking too much about it, I just screwed the filter on and chugged away. This act got a few laughs at camp later on, especially the next morning when i almost put cold ‘dirty water’ coffee through it.
“Get your dirty bottle system down Clash or you’ll get SICK!” Tombraider jokingly warned me. I labelled my bottles and tried my best. Then forgot about it by the next town. Luckily I never got sick. Still don’t really know what I learnt from this. The sawyer squeeze survived though.
2. Not fully reading my Garmin InReach plan.
And being very confused at the bills each month. $35? Huh? I thought I signed up for a £13 a month plan? £13 definitely isn’t $35, right?
Tracking. The plan didn’t include tracking. Damn. It was fun to share tracking points with family and friends back home. I was sharing it every 10 minutes, then quickly changed to every 4 hours when I realised the battery wouldn’t last longer than a day or so. I worked this out well over 1000 miles in, woops.
The next time I turned it on was for the final mile approaching the Canadian border. Of course I wanted to share that with them! In a land of no phone service, it was nice to know they could follow me in live time. Here’s how it looked when I eventually got into phone service:
Continue reading further details about the 5 mistakes Rachel McVittie made on her PCT hike here.
January 3, 2023
Rachel McVittie
I’m rachel (trail name Clash!) you will most likely find me up a mountain, camping, talking about the moon, or in a hospital- they do actually pay me to be there and work, i don’t just hang around. I’m sometimes a nurse, Sometimes a hiker of long paths. This summer i’m fully indulging in the latter personality, with a gentle stroll from mexico to canada, AKA a mega badass superlong solo thru-hike of the pacific crest trail. I’ve even got my 2 pairs of undies packed and ready. In this sunny corner of the internet you can follow my musings, adventures, and general chaos as we delve into the mountains and more worryingly into my mind- lets get weird over here.
LIFE OUTDOORS
MEDIA MENTIONS
Fresh drinking water is essential. This water filtration system ensures you will never run out as long as there is a nearby natural water source. It can filter out bacteria, protozoa and microplastics.
MEDIA MENTIONS
Faster and more efficient than pumping or waiting for chemical treatments, the Sawyer Squeeze System offers on-the-go hydration at a good flow. This product is long-lasting, affordable, reliable, cleanable, and very user-friendly.
MEDIA MENTIONS
But Sawyer was way ahead of me — 15 years ahead, to be precise. In 2008, the brand started its Clean Water for All initiative, which provides Sawyer filters to developing countries around the world. And the company spends 90% of its profits funding it.
