I had planned and trained for almost a year to hike at least a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. My thru-hiker permit was to allow me to start on April 9, 2020. In March the coronavirus and COVID-19 were just becoming daily news items. Stay at home orders, parts of the PCT closing and the Pacific Crest Trail Association asking hikers to stay off the trail culminated in many hikers canceling their hike including me.
To say I was disappointed is an understatement, but whatever joy I would have derived from the hike would certainly have been mitigated by all the bad vibes generated by everyone saying “don’t go and stay off the trail.” Everyone keeps saying to go next year. Well I have news for them. At my age there is always a chance there will be no next year.
So, in a word – THIS SUCKS! Oops, sorry. That’s two words.
