It's just like it sounds. I want to hike a continuous 500-mile loop in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (the ones in California). I don't know how yet. And I'm turning to the one tool I have in my toolbelt to figure it out: Project Management. This site is where I’ll share the work of shaping that idea, planning the plans, and doing the dang thing.
Why tho?
I’m obsessed with backpacking. If I’m not backpacking, then I’m talking about backpacking, or planning a backpacking trip, or trying to figure out how to make backpacking even better the next time I go backpacking, or looking at backpacking gear, or consuming other people’s accounts of their backpacking experiences (did I mention I LOVE this content? Keep it coming).
I love the Sierra Nevada Mountains. <3
I love Project Management.
And I’m cultivating my love for stepping into new possibilities as the last of my four kids nears the end of high school.
All of this comes together to form what I want: I want to spend all my time backpacking in the mountains. I want to do something really big, really remarkable, really substantial. And I want to manage it like a project.
a project to go for a hike?
Not just any walk!
About 2 years ago I became interested in hiking the John Muir Trail (JMT). A trail that runs about 211 miles along the Eastern side of the Sierras – from Mt. Whitney to Yosemite. It is extraordinary, and I’m going to do it.
But it isn’t enough. Which is wild to say because I haven’t actually done it yet. I haven’t done anything close to it yet.
For context, back when I learned about the JMT, 300 feet of elevation gain was a lot to me and 10 miles was a long distance. So, the idea of gaining something like 47,000 feet of elevation and walking over 200 miles in a row was unfathomable. Impossible. Crazy talk.
Now I’ve got a lot more experience under my belt. And I will hike the JMT. But I want more... The more I think about it, dream about it, imagine doing it, the more I want.
This idea of a loop started to form itself in my head. I could park my car in one spot, hike up to Yosemite on one side of the Sierras, and hike back to my car on the other side. Then drive home. beep beep
I did some searching and learned that a loop like this doesn't exist yet. Not in the way that I want it to. So instead of compromising, I'm just gonna make it myself.
a project to go for a hike.
This project is about more than planning a hike. This is about what happens when an ordinary person wants to do something that seems a little outside of their reach. How it happens. What goes into doing the thing.
One of my favorite parts of my corporate lackey role is the operational side - busying myself with how things get done. So, I’m gonna get to nerd out on operations AND hike 500 miles.
But this isn’t just for my project management and operationalization nerds. This is to show (me?) that its possible to start without all the answers – you can learn, you can fail, and you can become capable of something that currently seems beyond you.
There’s a big gap between me and my goal, and I’ve got time to fill that gap with skill building, route planning, mountain treks, and the physical training necessary for it to happen.
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