Last year this bro embarked on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail that spans from Mexico on up to Canada. It took just under six months from the time he left his home in Athens, Georgia until the time he finished hiking one of the most grueling trails in the world.
The Pacific Crest Trail is often referred to as just ‘PCT’, as it is in this video. So if ‘PCT’ rings a bell but ‘Pacific Crest Trail’ doesn’t, that’s why. In total, the PCT is a 2,663 mile long trail running from the United States border with Mexico to the U.S. border with Canada. The PCT features an almost unfathomable 420,880-foot elevation change throughout the course of the trail, and it takes most advanced hikers somewhere between 5 to 8 months to complete the arduous trek.
Here’s this bro’s story about completing the Pacific Crest Trail, with 5.5 months of hiking, and learning to play the ukulele along the way:
The man behind the video, the one playing his ukulele, threw this video up on Reddit yesterday and was immediately hit by a barrage of questions. Here are the 8 questions, asked by one Redditor, and the answers from the man who made this video:
Let’s ask the questions everyone wants to know!
1- How long did it take you to do this trip?
1a- 6 months round trip from Athens, Ga. 5.5 months of walking.2- How much money did you have to save?
2a- Saved 10,000 used 9,000 including gear, food & airfare home.3- What kind of preparations did you have to make?
3a- A lot of people send themselves boxes ahead of time, but I hiked about 100 miles on the AT and got sick of the food I brought rather quickly. So, I decided it would be better to get food and extra gear as I go. In terms of saving money, I lived frugally and worked multiple jobs for about 6 years saving up for it. I also had to live in a friends dingy basement to find a place where I was not restricted to a lease.4- How many gigs of video/photo did you amass?
4a- 240gigs of mostly jumbled rubbish videos.5- What gear did you bring (I’m actually interested in your photo/video gear!)
5a- For video I brought a gopro 3+ silver, but it got stolen in south lake tahoe. From then on a mix of Samsung galaxy III and my buddies iphone. You can tell the drop in quality about half way though.6- Coolest memories?
6a- Maybe not what you would think. We did a 24, 24, 24 challenge where you walk 24 miles and drink 24 beers in 24 hours (and turn your beers into wizard staffs). We ended in Belden which was having a music festival for Fourth of July. There was a barge in the river with a water slide and margarita bar. After months in the wilderness being surrounded by thousands of people all wanting to talk to us it was so surreal. One of the best memories of my life. Also climbing Mt. Whitney was really cool7- Worst moments?
7a- At mile 900 a lot of my friends quit, and because I was going slow I didn’t catch them in time to say goodbye. It was nauseatingly hot and humid, my water filter broke, there were a clouds of mosquitoes big enough to cast shadows and I got shin splints which felt like someone stabbing a fork in my leg everytime I took a step. So I was lonely, depressed, dehydrated, nauseous, itchy, in pain and I still had to walk up and down mountains. Absolutely terrible. One of many times I almost quit.8- Can you play us a song on your ukulele?
8a- That background music was a song on my ukulele. I made it up on trail and played the harmonica myself.
This video was like a falcon kick to the junk for me, because I can’t tell you the last time I went on a hike that lasted longer than 4 hours. I’m sitting here watching this guy live out the best six months of his life, I’m watching this in under five minutes, and all I can think about is how life happens, and life gets in the way. I was going to live in Panama for a year…I was going to hike the Appalachian Trail…I was going….Then life got in the way.
I guess what I’m trying to say here, bros, is this: if you’re in a position to get out and see the world, if life hasn’t tied you down to one place yet, DO IT.
And if you need some more convincing, here’s another video from a bro who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, and in this one he filmed one second of footage for every day he was on the trail
Bro Hikes From Mexico To Canada (2,660 Miles) Filming One Second Of Footage Every Day
[h/t Reddit]