Most people think you have to quit your job to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

I am testing whether that assumption is true.

I will not take five uninterrupted months off. I will not disappear from work. Instead, I will build the trail into my existing life as a vehicle-dwelling nomad.

On March 5th, I will start at Campo, California, at the U.S.–Mexico border and head north toward Canada. This is the traditional northbound, or NOBO, direction. The PCT runs roughly 2,650 miles through California, Oregon, and Washington, crossing deserts, forests, and high alpine terrain, including the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range.

I will continue working full-time Monday through Thursday. Each week, I will hike from Thursday night through Sunday night. At the end of each hiking block, I will exit at the nearest road crossing, get a ride back to the campground, and work remotely from there during the week. Then I will return to the exact point where I left off and continue north. This will require me to hike 20-30 miles per day.

My Jeep Wrangler and Braxton Creek Bushwhacker travel trailer will serve as my mobile basecamp. During the week, I will park at campgrounds near wherever I am on trail, sleep in the trailer, recharge batteries and gear, and prepare for the next stretch. When road access becomes sparse for extended sections, especially in the High Sierra where there are hundreds of miles between access points, I plan to use vacation time and hike continuously.

I secured a long-distance PCT permit that covers the entire hike from Campo to Canada. That permit simplifies the process significantly, allowing me to travel through the multiple wilderness areas along the trail under a single authorization rather than managing separate permits for each section. Having the full permit gives me flexibility. Even though I am hiking in segments, I have legal clearance for the entire northbound route.

There are trade-offs to this approach, but there are also advantages.

Resupply, for example, becomes easier. Traditional thru-hikers must carefully mail food boxes ahead or rely on small trail towns with limited grocery options. I will still carry four days of food at a time while hiking, but Monday through Thursday I can restock from regular grocery stores, store extra supplies in my vehicle, and eat real meals in my trailer. I do not need to live exclusively on ramen and dehydrated meals for six straight months. My recovery and nutrition should benefit from that.

My gear setup reflects this hybrid model. I am carrying a lightweight system designed for durability and comfort over the long term rather than chasing the absolute lowest base weight. The full breakdown of weights and costs is available in my separate gear list post. The short version is that I aim for a practical balance between efficiency and sustainability.

Each week, I will post an update here. You will see what works, what fails, and what needs to be redesigned. This will not be a polished influencer narrative. It will be a real-time experiment in blending career, wilderness, and mobility into one integrated life.

I do not know if I will finish the entire trail by my deadline of September 15. Weather, injury, wildfire, work demands, and logistics could all change the plan.

Campo to Canada. One section at a time. Let’s see what happens.