Michael
Trail name: Big Bro
From: Augsburg, Germany
Photographed at mile 0 and at mile 2,591
“I guess I have changed. I’m more confident, maybe. But I don’t really see the changes because they happened over several months. I think I am a happier person than before. I learned to say goodbye to people and things. I did not master that, but I got better.
“Hiking the PCT is hard, sometimes very hard. But compared to the life off-trail, the life on the trail is easier. There are fewer concerns. You still have some, but they are very basic. It’s all about water, food, a place to sleep, the weather, the gear. That’s about it. In normal life, the concerns are much bigger, even though they are much smaller.”